I participated in the BFC summer institute between my MS3 and MS4 year. I really enjoyed the program. I don't know about the competitiveness since I was accepted to the program, and never really talked with the other applicants about the perceived difficulty in getting in. If you are new to the world of addictions, this is a great eye-opening experience. It is part of the reason why I eventually chose to go into psychiatry. Additionally, I talked about this on interviews, as they always like to see "unique experiences." For the most part in the evenings everyone was pretty bushed from a full day; towards the end of the week we all went out to downtown Palm Springs (some of the students drove from other places in Cali, so we carpooled). The evening before you leave you have free to go out with the other students. With the nature of the program, everyone is supposed to keep the week "dry"; I think our group did, esp since one of the participants was in recovery. We had a few drinks on the last night before everyone went home. I would highly recommend this experience. I was on the inpatient. The impaired professionals program would have been good to see as well since there were many physicians and it gives you a different perspective.
