It's fellowships time

Many students are in the process of applying or thinking about applying for funding for their summer opportunities. I wanted to share some of my quick thoughts.

• "Fellowship": There's nothing special about the word. All it means is a type of grant--financial support provided to an individual for some specific experience. I'll admit that I didn't understand the concept of a fellowship until after college! Don't get intimidated by the word.
  
  
• Gobs of Money?: Yes, it's true that Harvard offers a ton of financial support to students to do interesting things with their summers. But it doesn't mean getting that support is easy. The difficult thing with fellowships or internships at Harvard and elsewhere is the sheer number and variety of them. Each has their own criteria and restrictions whether it be by class year, time period, industry or field, area of the world, nature of the opportunity, etc. Case in point: Even as someone who served on the selection committee for one of the Radcliffe fellowships last year, I can't recall exactly what the criteria were for that fellowship (although I certainly knew them at the time!).
  


• Where to look?: Finding an appropriate fellowship requires time. Browse the OCS fellowships office website; you'll find the Harvard Supplement for their guide to grants online. Monitor your listservs and keep your ears open. Some fellowship and internship programs, like Weissman and CPIC, are well-publicized, others not as much. And if you have specific questions, drop by the Fellowships office on the 3rd floor of OCS. Paul and Adonica have open walk-ins during the day and can either answer questions on the spot or arrange to meet with you later. So long as you have some sense of what kind of opportunity you're interested in, they should help give you a sense of the fellowships landscape.
  


• When to apply?: It's intersession and time to relax so I don't like talking about deadlines but do keep in mind that many fellowship deadlines are in February (and some at the end of January).
  


• Shapes and sizes: While a fellowship basically means funding, they come in different flavors. For instance, for one fellowship, you may be asked to apply with an internship that you intend to set up on your own in mind (e.g. Weissman). For another, you may be asked to explain your interests in your application, and the organization will then find an internship or opportunity that suits you (e.g. many of Harvard's international centers such as the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies). And the most structured programs offer the opportunity and the funding together (e.g. IOP Director's Internships in which internships are already set up). All fellowships will require that you have a sense of what you'd like to do but it's not true that you necessarily need to know every last detail.
  


• How to further explore?: First things first, think about what you'd ideally like to do. I often recommend that students look at what other students have done to see the range of possibilities out there. So if you know you're interested in going abroad, check out the (newly online) Weissman reports, wonderful write-ups by previous fellows that describe their experiences. If you know the general field you'd like to pursue, reach out to faculty, departments, and academic centers to see what they know. If you know the area of the world you'd like to be in, reach out to Harvard's international centers. When I asked these orgs at the Summer Opportunities fair if they'd be willing to meet with students to discuss their interests, I don't think there was anyone who refused. Folks want to help you! And talk to your fellow classmates whether that means individually or via a student group. In many ways, you guys are your own best resources.

Good luck! If there's something you'd like me to clarify or expand on, let me know. Happy intersession.

The "traditional" professions

Really interesting article in the NY Times about medicine and law, the two "most elite of the traditional professions." Lots of evidence of burnout and dissatisfaction in both perhaps due to a culture shift in how we think about work, more demanding hours and work conditions, and the allure and perception of competing options like investment banking. The article puts notions of prestige and money right out there in the open, and is brutally honest about what some doctors think about the work they chose.

Sophomores declaring concentrations

We've heard it's a particularly busy time among concentration advisors meeting with students regarding their concentration elections. Keep in mind that being "premed" should not be your primary reason for pursuing a particular concentration (in or among the sciences). With some planning, students are able to declare a concentration in any area they are most passionate about and still prepare themselves for medical or health professions school. Take this opportunity to develop depth in a field you truly love. Good luck with this hard decision!

Sophie is rooting for you...

An alum's perspective: Before joining a medical research lab…

A recent Harvard alum was generous enough to share with us her thoughts about medical research and what she hopes would be useful for current students to consider. Lee Ann and I think it's a wonderful piece. Here it is in its entirety. Many thanks to this very helpful alum!

Dear current, past, and future pre-meds,

There are many advantages to attending the world’s pre-eminent research university, including, unsurprisingly, the opportunity to conduct world-class research. Completing a research project can be an extraordinarily enriching part of your undergraduate experience, or it can become the bane of your existence, depending largely on what you get yourself into. The more you think about what you are looking for before you apply for positions, the more likely you are to find a good match. Whether you’ve just completed the intro life sciences course or you’re heading out into the real world with a masters in hand, I hope that considering the questions below will help you find the perfect research position for you.

Do you want to do clinical or basic research?

What you’ll be doing on a daily basis will vary from lab to lab, but there are some basic differences between clinical and basic research. Clinical research often involves a lot of time spent on the computer and on the phone, communicating with patients, updating excel files, etc. Depending on the study, you may get to do a fair bit of interacting with patients, which can be exciting. But if the idea of sitting at a desk all day isn’t something that appeals to you, you may want to consider another type of employment. Bench research, on the other hand, can range from maintaining mouse colonies, to running hundreds and hundreds of gels, to endless hours spent under a sterile hood. The bottom line—you should consider where and how exactly you want to spend your working hours.

How much time do you have?

You need to be realistic about how much time you have, both on a daily basis, and on a yearly one. If you’re still in school, how many hours a week can you work without jeopardizing your coursework? And how long are you planning to work in the lab? Generally speaking, the longer you can commit to a lab, the more likely you are going to be able to get substantive work done on a project. If you’re applying to work right after college, consider whether you can make a two-year commitment. Many labs consider one year too short a time for someone to substantially contribute to a project.

How much time will you spend doing lab management?

Some labs have managers who order all the supplies and dishwashers who wash all the beakers. Some don’t. You should find out how much of your time will be spent doing general lab maintenance and then figure out whether that suits you. Generally, the less experience you have, the more likely you are to be autoclaving reagents, at least initially. But don’t get discouraged. People often start working in research labs before they have the scientific background necessary to contribute much—you will pick up what you need to know by being in the lab.

How big is your lab?

There is a difference between working for a 25-person lab full of students and post-docs and working one on one with a professor. In a larger lab, you tend to have more of an opportunity to interact with other students and researchers. In a smaller lab, you may get to know your PI better, but may not have anyone your own age to talk to. Consider what kind of a work environment suits you. Do you need to be around a lot of people? Can you spend a whole day working alone?

How famous is your boss?

There are upsides and downsides to working at the biggest lab at HMS. On the one hand, you might get to be involved in well-funded, cutting-edge research. On the other, your boss may never know you exist. This is related to the previous point, but think about the kind of interaction that you are likely to have with your PI. Is he a new assistant professor who may not have a recognized name but who will invest a lot of time and energy in you? Or is she a Nobel-prize winning researcher who will speak to you twice a year? You can’t always know this at the outset, but try to get a sense of who your boss is, and whether you think you’ll be able to cultivate the kind of relationship with him or her that you need.

How much do you really like rats?

Many labs conduct research on animal models, be they rats, mice, monkeys or flies. The majority of this research involves “sacrificing” the animals. You should be honest with yourself about how you feel about killing living creatures. Are you okay with mice but not monkeys? Flies but not mice? There is no point in spending your days doing something you find distasteful.

And finally, how will you get paid?

Although education can be its own reward, you still need to eat. If you have graduated, and are applying to be a full-time research assistant, you will get a full-time salary, so you’re all set. If you’re working during school, however, it’s unlikely that your PI will offer you a salary. Some labs offer stipends to undergraduates, but many don’t. Your best bet is to apply for a research fellowship, scholarship, or award. Fellowships and scholarships, including those listed on the OCS website, are generally intended to offset the cost of living for students conducting research instead of working. Before you begin your project, you will need to submit an application including a project proposal, and often a recommendation letter from your PI. Remember to always give your PI as much time as possible to review drafts of project proposals and compose letters for you. Another way to get funding is to apply to awards after the research is done. Harvard offers some prizes for independent research in a variety of disciplines, especially if you are conducting research for your thesis. Although you can’t necessarily count on awards, they are a good way to reap financial reward from all your hard work.

Conducting research can be an amazingly rewarding experience. Hopefully these notes will help you figure out what kind of research might suit you best, and thus enable you to get the most out of your research experience.

Cheers,
an ’06 alum

Questions about time off

We've gotten several good questions about time off. For example:

Is it possible to take a year or two off after getting into medical school? As in, is it possible to apply to medical schools during junior/senior year, and possibly get into one or two, and then ask to defer years, once in? Or if you take time off, do you have to apply during that time off?

Good question. It may seem that it is better to apply, have your acceptance in your pocket, and then take a year break. However, it is a bit more complicated than that:

1. Not all medical schools will let you defer.
   
   
2. Those medical schools that do grant deferrals may only do so for very specific reasons, such as winning a competitive fellowship like the Rhodes. For example, one of our students who had been accepted to a New York medical school asked for a deferral so that he could work in an AIDS clinic in San Francisco for a year after college graduation. The medical school denied him the deferral. Part of the reason admissions deans may not want to grant you a deferral is that they are admitting a whole class. Granting deferrals means they no longer have the balance they were trying to achieve with the incoming class.
   
   
3. In general, when you are granted a deferral, you are promising that you will attend that school after a year and that you will not apply to other medical schools. If you change your mind about the school where you were accepted, you can of course apply somewhere else. However, you will have to give up your acceptance, which is a hard thing to do!
   
   
4. Medical schools know whether you have applied to medical schools in the past. So, say you were accepted to Happy U Med School, were granted a deferral for a year, and then changed your mind and decided to apply to Very Important Place Med School. VIP Med School will know that you were accepted elsewhere and will not look favorably on your application.
   
   
5. Finally (sorry this is getting so lengthy!), you will most likely be a stronger applicant if you apply after your senior year. You will have one more year of experiences, courses, recommenders, etc.

Jeff and I are happy to talk to you individually to discuss your unique circumstances. As always, feel free to call OCS Reception at 495 2595 (press "0") to set up a time to meet with one of us and/or to find out about our walk-in schedule for the week.

Who's right?

One of the most challenging things about being premed at Harvard is that there's lots of advice available -- but it is often contradictory and confusing. I met recently with a student who said she was feeling overwhelmed by all the advice she was getting from her family, her premed tutor, her lab supervisor, her roommate, and her concentration advisor. Each one told her something different about how to improve her application for medical school. She burst out "I don't know who to believe!"

I've noticed this too when a student asks too many people for feedback on her essay for med school. The student's voice is often lost because she has incorporated so many suggestions from too many people.

I once spoke with an MD/PhD admissions dean about dealing with conflicting opinions at Harvard: He said, "Yes - that's Harvard for you. Often wrong, never uncertain!"

When someone is giving you advice about being premed, remember to consider where they are coming from. If you are passionate about community service and hoping to pursue clinical medicine, then advice from that MD/PhD who insists you should work in a basic science research lab may not fit you.

We all have particular perspectives and biases (including Jeff and me!) and your challenge is to figure out what makes the most sense for you.

The Space Between

The majority of Harvard applicants to medical school last year were alumni rather than seniors. This means that a lot of premeds are opting to take one or more 'gap years' before entering med school. There are rarely bad reasons for taking time off particularly if you're not sure medicine is the right thing.

So how to explore the issues and options around time off? I highly recommend perusing our alumni evaluations of Harvard medical students to get a sense of what Harvard folks have done and why they did it. Previous years' evals (a lot more than online) are in paper form in the OCS library. Another wonderful resource is Cornell's premed advising website. Their general info about time off is good but their premed alumni profiles are incredibly useful, personal narratives about the why, what, and how of time off.

These years in between go by many names: gap years, time off, slide years, post-grad years, in-between time, or living life (the last one's mine). The truth is that many alumni come to medicine as part of a career change so perhaps describing these as 'gap years' is probably not appropriate. Whatever the name, it's worth considering.