I'm fortunate enough to have two options for this summer. Which do you guys think will be a better experience and prepare me to be in medical school/apply to medical school?
Sophomore @ a UC (Cali Resident)
GPA: 3:88 so far
Research: 600+ Hours in a neuroscience lab over last summer and break ( 3rd author pub pending review)
Clinical Volunteering at hospital: 9 hours so far (continuing 3 a week)
Non-clinical: ~50 tutoring/assorted + 5 (and continuing 2 hours a week) with going into town giving supplies and company to homeless
Leadership: What I think may count as a unique/outstanding experience and will list as most meaningful experience probably (~200 hours?)
Option A: Clinical job as a dual scribe/MA position at a private practice. Work includes scribing as well as hands on experience with casting, drawing blood, cleaning wounds, taking blood pressure and more. I would work here during the school year 8hr/week and full time this summer with a loose two year commitment (1 needed for LOR). I would get to shadow surgeries and learn all parts of the private practice. Also this pays more.
Option B:The post-doc from the first lab I worked at switched workplaces and asked me to join him at a prestigious medical school lab (at my dream school) and I won a scholarship from my school that would pay for me to go this summer. He says he plans to submit another paper this coming fall and has a whole part of the project set aside for me if I want it where I would make my own choices regarding the experiments and get (assuming i'm successful) meaningful results. This pays less.
I have to choose by monday which option to take. I'm leaning towards job A because I feel that's what I'm most lacking and I'm looking forward to interacting with people a lot. I'm very extroverted. Option B though is appealing because it would help connect me to the medical school I want to attend that I think might emphasize research. I also loved the post-doc I worked with and he is considered a close friend now. I am also passionate about research although slightly less so than I think I am for clinical work.
My pre-med advisor advised that my research may not be significant enough to get into research focused schools in general or any of the top 20ish schools. He was pushing me to take the research job and a few of my upperclassmen friends all keep telling me to do more research.
I'm not super set on a top 20 or school of any rank but I am very interested in conducting significant research in medical school so I want somewhere with resources for that.
I also would very strongly prefer to keep living in California as I have spent time in 40+ states and LOVE California. I think my main goal would just be to attend a UC medical school (not easy, I know).
All opinions are welcome, just trying to make an informed decision by monday.
Sophomore @ a UC (Cali Resident)
GPA: 3:88 so far
Research: 600+ Hours in a neuroscience lab over last summer and break ( 3rd author pub pending review)
Clinical Volunteering at hospital: 9 hours so far (continuing 3 a week)
Non-clinical: ~50 tutoring/assorted + 5 (and continuing 2 hours a week) with going into town giving supplies and company to homeless
Leadership: What I think may count as a unique/outstanding experience and will list as most meaningful experience probably (~200 hours?)
Option A: Clinical job as a dual scribe/MA position at a private practice. Work includes scribing as well as hands on experience with casting, drawing blood, cleaning wounds, taking blood pressure and more. I would work here during the school year 8hr/week and full time this summer with a loose two year commitment (1 needed for LOR). I would get to shadow surgeries and learn all parts of the private practice. Also this pays more.
Option B:The post-doc from the first lab I worked at switched workplaces and asked me to join him at a prestigious medical school lab (at my dream school) and I won a scholarship from my school that would pay for me to go this summer. He says he plans to submit another paper this coming fall and has a whole part of the project set aside for me if I want it where I would make my own choices regarding the experiments and get (assuming i'm successful) meaningful results. This pays less.
I have to choose by monday which option to take. I'm leaning towards job A because I feel that's what I'm most lacking and I'm looking forward to interacting with people a lot. I'm very extroverted. Option B though is appealing because it would help connect me to the medical school I want to attend that I think might emphasize research. I also loved the post-doc I worked with and he is considered a close friend now. I am also passionate about research although slightly less so than I think I am for clinical work.
My pre-med advisor advised that my research may not be significant enough to get into research focused schools in general or any of the top 20ish schools. He was pushing me to take the research job and a few of my upperclassmen friends all keep telling me to do more research.
I'm not super set on a top 20 or school of any rank but I am very interested in conducting significant research in medical school so I want somewhere with resources for that.
I also would very strongly prefer to keep living in California as I have spent time in 40+ states and LOVE California. I think my main goal would just be to attend a UC medical school (not easy, I know).
All opinions are welcome, just trying to make an informed decision by monday.
