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So Your Teen Wants To Be A Doctor. Now What?


What does a future doctor, entrepreneur, lawyer, or engineer actually do in high school to stand out? Over the next several weeks, I will be spotlighting one career path at a time, with specific activities, programs, and opportunities that help students explore it with intention and build a college application that tells a compelling, authentic story.


I still remember the moment when a quiet, determined sophomore I was working with, Grace (name changed for confidentiality), looked me in the eye and said, "I want to be a doctor. I've known since I was eight." Her certainty was beautiful. But when I asked what she had done to explore that dream, she paused. She was acing her classes with a 4.0 GPA. But she had not yet found the right opportunities to bring that dream to life outside the classroom.


That gap between aspiration and action is one of the most common things I see in my work with pre-med students and their families. And the good news? It is entirely fixable, especially when you start early.


Here are 8 meaningful ways to build your profile, starting right now:


1. Volunteer at a Local Hospital or Clinic


Best for: Grades 9-12


There is no substitute for time spent in a real healthcare setting. Volunteering at a hospital, community health clinic, or nursing facility gives students direct exposure to patient care, medical teams, and the emotional landscape of medicine. It also generates the kind of genuine storytelling material that makes college essays come alive.


PNW Specific: Seattle and the Eastside are home to world-class medical institutions, and several of them open their doors to high school volunteers every year. The programs below are all verified. Application windows vary and fill fast, so bookmark these now. 


Overlake Medical Center (Bellevue) runs a dedicated Teen Summer Volunteer Program for students between 16 and 18. Students complete 40 to 45 hours of volunteer work in the summer. Two references are required: one from a school guidance counselor and one from a teacher. This is a particularly convenient option for families in Bellevue, Redmond, and Sammamish.


Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (multiple Seattle-area locations) accepts volunteers aged 16 and up for some positions and 18 and up for others. The commitment is 100 hours or 6 months. Note that summer-only volunteers cannot be accommodated, which actually makes this a stronger option on a college application: sustained, year-round commitment stands out. 


UW Medical Center (Seattle, Montlake campus) offers a competitive Summer Teen Volunteer Program for students between 16 and 18 who have not yet graduated. The program receives four to six times more applications than available placements. One important note directly from UW Medicine's website: if you live outside the immediate Seattle area, volunteering at your local hospital will give you the same level of experience and the same admissions consideration. Do not overlook your neighborhood hospital!


Harborview Medical Center (Seattle) also accepts volunteers aged 16 and up who are required to commit 4 hours per week for 6 consecutive months. They also offer summer volunteer opportunities for students. 


Broadly Applicable: Most major hospital systems have junior volunteer programs with summer and year-round options, and as UW Medicine confirms, local hospital experience carries equal weight in admissions. Always prioritize opportunities that allow for direct patient care experience.


2. Join HOSA: Future Health Professionals


Best for: Grades 8-12


HOSA is one of the most respected organizations for students pursuing health careers, with chapters across the country, including right here in Washington State at wahosa.org. Members develop leadership skills, learn about health careers, and compete in events ranging from medical terminology to public health debates. Students can run for chapter leadership positions, qualify for state and national competitions, or lead community health service projects. Washington HOSA introduced Regional Leadership Conferences for the 2025-2026 academic year, giving students even more pathways to advance. If your school does not have a HOSA chapter, starting one is itself a powerful leadership activity.


3. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center: Pathways Research Explorers Program


Best for: Rising 10th and 11th graders 


PNW Specific: The Pathways Research Explorers Program at Fred Hutch is a free, two-week summer immersion program where students conduct hands-on experiments in working labs, tour cancer research facilities, and meet scientists and physicians at various stages of their careers. There are two sessions offered each summer, each serving 16 students, meeting Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4 pm.


What to know before applying: students apply in 9th or 10th grade and must reside in Seattle or the surrounding areas (out-of-state students are not eligible). The application requires a teacher recommendation and an unofficial transcript. Applications are competitive, so draft your short answers in a document first, as you cannot save a partially completed application. Apply at: fredhutch.org.


4. UW INSIGHT High School Program


Best for: Grades 10-12 


PNW Specific: The UW INSIGHT High School Program is a four-week online summer program through the University of Washington's Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, giving students exposure to injury and violence prevention research, public health, and social justice as it relates to community health. Students collaborate on an original public health research project, develop resume and presentation skills, and attend virtual seminars with healthcare professionals.


The program is open to students entering grades 10 through 12 or recently graduated. 


5. Regeneron Science Talent Search


Best for: Grade 12 only


The Regeneron Science Talent Search is the nation's oldest and most prestigious science research competition for high school seniors, started in 1942. Each year, more than 2,500 seniors submit original independent research projects, along with a maximum 20-page science report, essays, transcripts, and recommendation letters. Apply at: societyforscience.org.


6. Science Olympiad


Best for: Grades 6-12 


Science Olympiad is a team-based competition covering 23 STEM events, including Anatomy and Physiology, Disease Detectives, and Experimental Design, all of which are directly relevant to pre-med students. Teams of up to 15 compete at invitational, regional, state, and national levels. The 2026 National Tournament is hosted by the University of Southern California. For pre-med students, the Anatomy and Physiology event is excellent preparation for college-level coursework. Students who take on team captain or coaching roles have an even stronger story to tell. Find your state chapter and team finder at: soinc.org.


7. Doctor for a Day (DFAD) at UW Medicine


Best for: Grades K-12


PNW Specific: Doctor for a Day runs from October through May, with the intention to encourage educationally and economically under-resourced students to consider medicine or other healthcare careers. Led by medical students from UW's School of Medicine, the program offers hands-on activities including learning physical exam techniques, suturing, and patient interviewing skills. It is a wonderful entry point for younger students in 8th and 9th grade before they are ready for more intensive summer programs. Monitor the UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity website for the current year's schedule.


8. Passion Project: Start a Health Literacy Initiative


One of the most compelling passion projects a pre-med student can undertake is creating a health literacy resource for an underserved community. This could mean developing bilingual health information pamphlets in partnership with a local community clinic, creating a social media account that explains health topics in accessible language for teenagers, or organizing free first aid and CPR training workshops at your school or in your neighborhood. These kinds of projects demonstrate the values that medical schools care about most: empathy, equity, and initiative. And because it is student-driven, it is authentic in a way that a summer program simply cannot replicate.


A Note for Parents


I know how much you want this for your child, and I know how easy it is to feel like you need to orchestrate every step of the journey. Here is what I have learned in 23 years of doing this work: the students who build the strongest pre-med profiles are not the ones whose parents signed them up for everything. They are the ones who found one or two experiences that genuinely lit them up, and then leaned in with full commitment. Your job is to open the doors. Let your student walk through them.


If you are wondering where to start, the honest answer is: start now, start small, and start with curiosity. One hospital volunteer shift. One HOSA meeting. One conversation with a doctor your family knows. That is all it takes to get the momentum going.



Grace ended up volunteering at a community health clinic in her junior year, joining her school's HOSA chapter, and submitting a science research project for her school's science fair. By the time she sat down to write her college essays, she had stories she could not wait to tell. She was admitted to her first-choice university with a strong pre-med track.

She did not do everything. She did the right things, intentionally.



Want to discover other projects or opportunities? Or talk through which of these activities makes the most sense for your student's specific goals and timeline? I would love to connect. Visit pdadmissionsconsulting.com/contact to book a free consultation.



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