I am currently a Freshman in college, and I am really trying to do something proactive this summer towards getting into medical school. I would really like to do one of the SMDEP programs, but the odds seem stacked against freshmen, as it is a first come first serve basis and a transcript is required to complete the application, which I will not have until after this semester (about two months after the application opens). I have searched for similar internships and research opportunities, but for most of them, freshmen are either ineligible or there are residency/certain school requirements. What I am asking for is a little bit of guidance on options for this summer. I can't meet with my premed advisor until February which seems too late for these kinds of things. I consider myself a strong applicant for research programs and internships, as I anticipate having a 3.7-4.0 after this semester, have an underprivileged background, and my mother died from cancer about a month ago. Thank you for any response!
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Summer Internships/Research?
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Those are not real qualifications for any internship (i.e., job). You also don't have your actual grades yet, don't be so quick to jump to conclusions; first semester college can bite you in the ass any time. Also this sucks, but no one cares about your mom dying in this context. I am sorry to hear that and it must be hard to deal with at your age, but that doesn't make you a strong candidate for anything.
Re: your actual questions. What are you actually looking for? A research position at a university? An "exposure to medicine" sort of deal like SMDEP? Something with clinical experience? It sounds like you do not really know. Recall that you are at a university yourself already and could just as easily email PIs for a summer research gig. Structured programs are generally more for older students because they will gain more out of the experience than some random freshman.
Whichever way you choose, it is way too early. No one will take any interest in you without at least a semester of grades to prove you're at least competent. But before that, you need some sort of direction to figure out what it is you would like to try this summer. Don't pander to med schools; find out what it actually is you want to experience this summer.
Lastly, you do not need a premed advisor to advise your summer. They typically don't know **** anyway, much less about summer opps. The fact that you can't meet with an advisor until February hints at the crappy quality you may have waiting in store.
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deleted393595
Summer Research is dumb. Get involved in a lab at your school instead.
umm what? Summer research is an excellent form of summer employment
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deleted393595
At another school? You'll be spending 10 weeks at most there. By the time you learn whatever protocol you're doing, your summer internship is over and you'll be heading back home.
Assuming you mean bio wet lab research.
Not all summer opps are bio, not all are wet lab, certainly not all summer programs are in this narrow subset of lab experience.
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deleted393595
True dat. But imho, for science/engineering/STEM, I think that it is useful to stay at your home institution since you have a higher probability of getting a pub
