What Should Pre-Med Students Do in the Summer?

If you’ve made the pre-med commitment, you know you have semester after semester packed with science and math courses ahead of you. The pre-med track means signing up for some pretty strict requirements, especially when it comes to the classes you have to take—and when you have to take them.

Put that together with studying for your MCAT, getting clinical experiences, and (eventually) preparing your medical school applications, and you’ve got a packed slate of fall and spring semesters. But what should pre-med students do in the summer?

Those sunny days of free time and a little more flexibility can tempt you with their possibilities. Will you intern or volunteer? Dedicate yourself to MCAT prep? Maybe even study abroad?

It’s no wonder you want to get the most out of your break and make it productive. Here’s what you need to know.

How to spend summer as a pre-med student

From summer internships for pre-med students to summer courses, networking events, and more, you’ll find plenty of ways to learn and grow while still enjoying the warm weather and flexibility between semesters. These pre-med student summer opportunities will help you make your summer productive, educational, and meaningful:

1. Get a pre-med internship abroad

Internships are a great way to gain experience and learn more about your career path!

Participating in an internship gives you a valuable, authentic experience, complementing learning you’ve done in the classroom with practical insight into medical settings and different specialities. When you opt for an internship abroad, you’ll have the chance to make a real difference while you build skills to put on applications and use in your future career.

To make the most of your time interning, look for summer internships for pre-med students with organizations like International Medical Aid that work with community-led initiatives and provide on-the-ground and alumni support. You’ll learn from local leaders as they address health concerns, and you’ll hone skills applicable to your educational background and future career goals.

2. Take summer courses

Whether you use the warmer months to put all your focus into organic chemistry or you enroll in that Japanese literature or Latin American studies class you’ve had your eye on for a few semesters, hitting the books under the summer sun is a great answer to what pre-med students should do over the summer.

Here’s your ideal time to take courses that let you get ahead in your degree requirements—or explore electives you might not otherwise have time to take.

Psst: No one’s stopping you from signing up for summer classes abroad! Summer is one of the best times to study abroad as a pre-med student, especially if you take a look at all your requirements and realize you can’t make it work to get abroad for a full semester or year.

3. Learn a language

Knowing a second language can only help your career prospects.

Biology, chemistry, math…foreign language? While learning another language isn’t always top-of-list on pre-med students’ to-dos, devoting your summer to language study can help you academically, enhance your med-school applications, and ultimately make you a better health care professional.

Consider the science behind learning a second language. You’ll find studies showing off the cognitive benefits of learning a language, from improved problem-solving and creativity to better memory.

But learning a language isn’t just about gaining an advantage for memorizing those anatomy flashcards. You’ll also build an ability to connect with future patients by speaking their language, letting you develop deeper relationships with the people you’ll treat. It’s an invaluable boost to your future career.

4. Get clinical experience or participate in research

Getting clinical experience is one of the most valuable things you can do as a pre-med student. You’ll get hands-on insight into what daily life is like for health care professionals, and while you’re at it, you’ll expand your medical knowledge.

By participating in an internship, shadowing doctors and other on-the-job professionals, or volunteering at a hospital or clinic, you’ll show your commitment to the medical field and learn about possible paths for your future.

Summer is also a perfect opportunity to participate in research projects. You’ll find research programs at universities and medical institutions that are open to pre-med students, allowing you to see innovation as it happens (and to strengthen your credentials!).

The MCAT is no joke—start your prep ASAP!

5. Dedicate time to MCAT prep

Ask anyone what a pre-med student should do in the summer, and chances are you’ll hear “prepare for the MCAT” somewhere in the response. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is crucial to your medical school application, so dedicating some quality, uninterrupted time to preparing is a great move.

You already know it’s important to set yourself up for success when you sit down to take the test. Your summer break means you have the flexibility to set up a consistent study schedule so you can focus on weaker areas, hit up some prep books and online resources, and take a practice test (and then another, and another) without worrying about other classes and exams.

6. Volunteer in your community—or beyond

If you want to make your summer meaningful, you can’t beat volunteering. Volunteering comes with plenty of benefits both for yourself and for the people and cause you support. Whether you volunteer in a medical setting or look for other ways to give back to your local community, volunteering shows your dedication to serving others.

Maybe your community has a senior citizen home or food bank where you can lend a hand, or maybe there’s a local ocean clean-up initiative looking for volunteers. You can even use the summer months to volunteer abroad and make a difference while seeing a place you’ve always dreamed of visiting.

7. Get teaching experience

Teaching will help you build skills that you can use in your career later on.

Teaching might not be the most common suggestion for what a pre-med student should do in the summer, especially if you’re thinking about all the studying you need to do yourself. But summer teaching builds skills you’ll draw on in medical school and beyond.

Work as a teaching assistant at your university or teach English abroad over the summer—you might be surprised by the transferable skills teaching develops. If you’re considering a career path in academic medicine, you’ll teach residents or students at some point.

Teaching skills also carry over into traits you’ll need to succeed in the medical field (think: communication and leadership skills), no matter if you go into private practice or you keep teaching throughout your career.

8. Attend networking events

Summer offers an ideal time to broaden your network. When you attend events like conferences or recruitment fairs, you get a chance to tap into an assortment of resources all in one place.

You can attend presentations about preparing your medical school application and ask representatives questions about their schools. You can learn about admission requirements, meet all sorts of medical professionals, and develop friendships with other pre-med students like you.

Networking events are a great place to build relationships and ask in-depth questions about your next steps and possible career paths so you can start to figure out your future.

9. Engage in hobbies and focus on self-care

Why not take a little time for yourself? You deserve it!

Don’t forget to add taking time for yourself to your list of what pre-med students should do in the summer. You’ll have so many academic and clinical experiences to explore, but you also need to make yourself a priority if you want to make it to the finish line.

Let yourself focus on your physical and mental health. Take time for your hobbies, those books you want to read, that trip you want to take, those concerts or games you want to attend.

Recharging is just as important to your journey of becoming a medical professional as all the study sessions and resume-building experiences.

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Pre-med summer opportunities could be essential to your future

What should pre-med students do over the summer? Though the exact answer will depend on your personal needs and goals, it comes down to finding the pre-med student summer opportunities that put you on a path to success in med school and beyond, while letting you explore passions and causes meaningful to you.

Whether you take science classes or learn a language, study for the MCATs or sign up for a summer internship abroad, summer is your time to prepare for your future.

Explore ALL Summer Medical Internships Abroad on GoAbroad.com

This article was written with help from International Medical Aid, who also provided all photos seen above. IMA is a not-for-profit organization that offers medical programs for students in places like East Africa, South America, and the Caribbean through an ethics-based approach to care. They offer summer, fall, and winter programs.