Are you saying the Adcoms don't like paid trips ?
I have found that many trips that seem meaningful require the people to pay to participate.
It's not that they don't like them (certainly, "investing" to help others abroad is far better than doing nothing at all). Rather, it seems that they are wary of considering such trips as being truly generous to populations in need and as being true indicators of one's "altruistic spirit." There are several reasons for this. For one, it costs hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars just to transport the volunteer from the US to the country in question. There is a large carbon footprint associated with such travel, and not a cent of that money goes to the needy populations (consider what, say, $1000 could do for an impoverished village in terms of sustenance or medical supplies...) Also, one's ability to pay for such a trip is likely to be dependent on luck (having the resources at one's disposal) and free time (some are simply too busy to squeeze in such a trip). In addition, given that the duration of these trips tends to be quite short, the volunteer is unlikely to accomplish anything that will afford long-term benefits to the population in question. Finally, the responsibilities that a volunteer is likely to be given will generally entail little more than, say, handing out supplies or comforting patients. These are certainly important tasks, but given the steep price tag and lack of time, it just doesn't strike me as being worth it.
I personally believe that there are far better things that could be done with such money and time if one is looking to be generous/supportive towards the needy. For example, why not instead spend several weeks hosting a fundraiser to send money directly to populations in need? Or, donate your money to an organization that has well-established roots in an area of interest, since they will not need to spend all of that money on travel and can put it to better use with greater efficiency and haste. Or, why not just stay in the United States and - for a fraction of the money - travel to one of its many needy areas (yes, they do exist here) and volunteer there. You'll have just as much of an impact as you would in, say, Costa Rica, at a fraction of a cost and with a smaller carbon footprint.
Now, having written all that, I will still say that - if
you are interested in a medical trip abroad for reasons
unrelated to your medical school application (IE: language skills, seeing a new culture, exploring the world, etc...) and you have money to burn, then go ahead and travel; that is your prerogative. I might also say the same if you're fortunate enough to have the trip be funded for you by some sort of organization. Just don't go there, return, and expect adcoms to fawn over you during the application process because of your decision, because they won't. And (this is a personal opinion that I am injecting) please don't go because you think you'll get more "hands-on" experience in a medical setting (IE: being allowed to participate in surgeries). Strict medical rules exist here in the US for a reason, and I've never been fond of the idea of going abroad to places just so one can exploit lax standards and satisfy their medical jollies. Patients anywhere in the world deserve the same standards, and if you don't have a background that allows you to safely and effectively participate in medical procedures, don't do it anywhere, even if they'd allow it. You'll have plenty of opportunities to do that once you're in medical school, both in the US and abroad, in a far better way.
