How to maximize your summers!

“A summer well spent brings a year of content!” Is that a saying? Because it should be!

When summer rolls around, all that matters are pool parties, late nights catching up with friends, and maintaining an even golden tan. As much as summertime allows students to recharge after a long and stressful year, it’s still important to use and optimize this time to work on personal, professional and/or educational goals. Especially if medical school is on the horizon.

The idea of working toward any sort of goal in the summer can lead to stress and resistance from students. They tend to think of summer as their “free pass” to travel, socialize, and take on part-time jobs that allow them to coast through the warmer months commitment-free. While all of that is perfectly fine, students must aim to maintain a balance between productivity and relaxation.

Diverse summer experiences are vital for several reasons. They allow students to get out there and get a sense of what it’s like in the “real world” while also figuring out their likes and dislikes. Whether you spend your summer volunteering at a camp, local clinic, or youth program, exposing yourself to diverse opportunities can spark interests and passions within you that—once developed—can make you stand out as an applicant. Summer activities also allow you to grow and mature as a person. Whether this means enhancing your time management, communication or collaborative skills, these activities will always help you add more to your valuable skill set.

Now that we’ve covered why taking on summer activities is a smart choice, let’s discuss what options are available to students:

Work experience – work is a good way to spend your summers and earn extra income. However, securing a job might be tricky especially if you’re planning on quitting come September. When considering where to apply for a summer job, you should seek out positions that relate to the medical field. Admission officers like to see that students devote personal time to med-related tasks and projects. For example, taking on a part-time job in a local clinic or research lab is always a safe bet as it shows that you are determined and passionate about medicine.

Research experience – depending on a student’s age and academic standing, finding a paid/unpaid research position can be valuable for aspiring medical students. Research labs will typically only take on undergraduate or graduate students as part of their degree requirement. This is where personal connections can come in handy. They make it possible for students to acquire entry-level administrative positions (such as data entry positions) in certain labs. We recommend that students read up on the lab (and the research conducted in this lab) prior to applying to ensure they are genuinely interested.

Educational pursuit – Students more focused on pursuing educational goals may want to look into writing their MCATs (if they qualify) or taking a summer class or two. If students choose to spend the summer studying for their MCATs, they should make a thorough and effective study schedule to help them remain organized and focused. Luckily, there are several MCAT tutoring companies that can help with this. However, if students rather use their summer to get ahead by taking on a summer class or two, they must first research how much value medical schools place on summer courses as some schools highly discourage it.

There is no right way to spend your summers that will guarantee a spot in your medical school of choice. However, taking the time to figure out what you’re passionate about and actively seeking opportunities that relate to these passions, will give you a significant advantage over other applicants.

We hope this post has helped you plan for a more meaningful summer!