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    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical

    The Top Medical Programs for High School Students in 2027

    We assessed medical summer programs against the same criteria used across the series. This guide compares nine organisations in detail and explains what students will actually do.

    Last verified: 16 Oct 2026Reviewed by:SSSean Stevens
    150

    Programmes assessed

    9

    Profiled in full

    Free-£6,950

    Fee range

    Quick take

    • Under-18s do not examine or treat real patients on any of the nine programs. Clinical contact means simulation, laboratory work or supervised observation.
    • Age floors run from 13 to 16. Only Immerse admits 13-year-olds; Stanford SIMR requires 16.
    • The one free program (SIMR) is open only to US-resident juniors and seniors and favours Bay Area students. Every internationally open option is paid.
    • Two-week residential fees run from about £3,500 to £6,950 before travel, and three providers publish bursaries of up to 100%.

    Organisation
    Envision
    		Format
    Residential
    		When it runs
    26 June to 1 August 2027
    		Contact hours
    [TBC: not published]
    		Fee
    $4,499-$4,799
    		Ages
    Grades 9-12
    		Location
    Six US medical-school campuses
    		Scholarships
    Partial awards of $250-$750 and a small number of full-tuition places
    		Safeguarding policy
    Published
    Organisation
    HMS MEDscience (Harvard Medical School)
    		Format
    Day
    		When it runs
    One-week sessions June and July; 2027 dates not yet posted
    		Contact hours
    30
    		Fee
    $2,800
    		Ages
    Rising 10th-12th graders and graduating seniors
    		Location
    Boston, Massachusetts (Longwood campus)
    		Scholarships
    Limited, Greater Boston residents only
    		Safeguarding policy
    Not published
    Organisation
    Immerse Education
    		Format
    Residential
    		When it runs
    June, July and August 2027
    		Contact hours
    40
    		Fee
    £7495
    		Ages
    13-18 (separate 13-15 and 16-18 streams)
    		Location
    Cambridge, England
    		Scholarships
    Bursary Programme, up to 100% fee reduction, apply by 31 March
    		Safeguarding policy
    Published
    Organisation
    Medic Mind (Study Mind)
    		Format
    Residential
    		When it runs
    [TBC: no dates published]
    		Contact hours
    [TBC: not published]
    		Fee
    £1,799 (1 week), £2,999 (2 weeks), £3,999 (3 weeks)
    		Ages
    15-18
    		Location
    London, England (UCL Ramsay Hall)
    		Scholarships
    Bursaries at 100%, 75% and 50%, first come first served
    		Safeguarding policy
    Published
    Organisation
    Oxbridge Summer Scholars
    		Format
    Residential
    		When it runs
    6-19 December 2026; 4-17 July, 18-31 July and 1-14 August 2027
    		Contact hours
    6-8 hours a day
    		Fee
    £6,550 (December 2026); £6,950 (summer 2027)
    		Ages
    14-19 (Junior 14-15, Senior 16-19)
    		Location
    Oxford and Cambridge, England
    		Scholarships
    None published
    		Safeguarding policy
    Published
    Organisation
    Premed Projects
    		Format
    Residential
    		When it runs
    One week: 18-24 July and 8-14 August 2027 (also 14-20 February 2027). Two weeks: 4-17 July and 25 July to 7 August 2027 (provider-confirmed)
    		Contact hours
    [TBC: not published]
    		Fee
    £1,965 to £3,535
    		Ages
    14-18
    		Location
    London, England
    		Scholarships
    Widening participation: 10% of places at 25-100% bursary, apply by end of December 2026
    		Safeguarding policy
    Not published
    Organisation
    Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
    		Format
    Day
    		When it runs
    7 June to 29 July 2027
    		Contact hours
    About 40 a week
    		Fee
    Free ($50 application fee, waived under $80,000 family income)
    		Ages
    16+
    		Location
    Stanford, California
    		Scholarships
    No program cost; very limited need-based stipends
    		Safeguarding policy
    Not published
    Organisation
    Summer at Hopkins (Johns Hopkins University)
    		Format
    Hybrid
    		When it runs
    2027: on campus 28 June to 8 July, 12-22 July, 26 July to 5 August
    		Contact hours
    30
    		Fee
    2027 fees finalised late October; 2026: $1,950 online, $6,140 residential
    		Ages
    Rising 10th-12th graders (provider-confirmed); 3.0 GPA
    		Location
    Baltimore, Maryland, or online
    		Scholarships
    Dean's Fellowship, need-based, up to $950
    		Safeguarding policy
    Published
    Organisation
    Summer Springboard
    		Format
    Residential or commuter
    		When it runs
    June to August 2027
    		Contact hours
    [TBC: not published]
    		Fee
    $2,498-$7,498
    		Ages
    Grades 9-12 (completed grade 8)
    		Location
    US university campuses and Oxford, England
    		Scholarships
    Need-based up to 30% of residential tuition; IDEA full-tuition awards
    		Safeguarding policy
    Published
    Recognised as Best for Career Exploration

    Envision

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best for Career Exploration

    Envision's National Youth Leadership Forum: Medicine and Health Care is an eight-day residential run at Yale, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Rice, Emory and the University of Michigan. It suits US-based students in grades 9 to 12 who want a fast, hands-on survey of clinical skills without committing to a multi-week program. It was shortlisted because students practise suturing, drawing blood, surgical knot tying and disaster triage in one week, and residential participants earn two college credits from George Mason University. The 8:1 student-to-staff ratio and 24/7 health and safety team are published, which most US commercial providers do not do.

    Location:
    Six US medical-school campuses
    Fee:
    $4,499-$4,799
    When it runs:
    26 June to 1 August 2027
    Length:
    8 days
    Ages:
    Grades 9-12
    Format:
    Residential
    Application:
    Nomination or open enrolment, first come first served
    Contact hours:
    [TBC: not published]
    Cohort size:
    Student-to-staff 8:1; classroom 17-25:1
    Scholarships:
    Partial awards of $250-$750 and a small number of full-tuition places
    Safeguarding policy:
    Published

    Points to consider

    Envision states the program is operated independently of Yale and is not sponsored or endorsed by the university. The website makes no statement about international admissions, and the Rice and Emory 2027 sessions were still listed as pending when checked.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Most Innovative Curriculum

    HMS MEDscience (Harvard Medical School)

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Most Innovative Curriculum

    MEDscience Clinical Summer is a one-week, full-day program in which students work a shift in a simulated emergency room at Harvard Medical School's Longwood campus. It suits students in the three years before university who want intensive clinical simulation without a residential commitment, and whose families can be in Boston for the week. It was shortlisted because the curriculum is built around evaluating, diagnosing and treating acutely ill simulated patients, with students learning and practising suturing, intubation and inserting IVs. The teacher assessment in the application signals that places are allocated on more than ability to pay.

    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts (Longwood campus)
    Fee:
    $2,800
    When it runs:
    One-week sessions June and July; 2027 dates not yet posted
    Length:
    1 week (4-day option)
    Ages:
    Rising 10th-12th graders and graduating seniors
    Format:
    Day
    Application:
    1 January to 15 March (2026 cycle); student application plus teacher assessment
    Contact hours:
    30
    Cohort size:
    [TBC: not published]
    Scholarships:
    Limited, Greater Boston residents only
    Safeguarding policy:
    Not published

    Points to consider

    The program is non-residential and students must be accompanied at local accommodation by a parent or responsible adult for the whole week. Rising 9th graders and 14-year-olds are not eligible, and scholarships are restricted to the Greater Boston area.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Best for Younger StudentsCommercial partner

    Immerse Education

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best for Younger Students

    Immerse Education runs a two-week medicine summer school in Cambridge colleges with a dedicated stream for 13 to 15-year-olds taught separately from the 16 to 18 cohort. It suits younger students who want a structured first look at medicine before sixth form, with the ethics, diagnosis and emergency care content pitched at their level. It was shortlisted because it is the only organisation in this guide that admits 13-year-olds to a medicine-specific course rather than a general summer school. The 40 hours of academic sessions, including two hours of one-to-one tuition and an average class of seven, are unusually well documented for a provider at this age range.

    Location:
    Cambridge, England
    Fee:
    £7495
    When it runs:
    June, July and August 2027
    Length:
    2 weeks
    Ages:
    13-18 (separate 13-15 and 16-18 streams)
    Format:
    Residential
    Application:
    Rolling, first come first served
    Contact hours:
    40
    Cohort size:
    Average 7 per class
    Scholarships:
    Bursary Programme, up to 100% fee reduction, apply by 31 March
    Safeguarding policy:
    Published

    Points to consider

    Dissection is not listed for the Cambridge course, so students expecting anatomy lab work should check the current module list.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Most Innovative CurriculumCommercial partner

    Medic Mind (Study Mind)

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Most Innovative Curriculum

    Medic Mind's Medicine Summer Career Camp is a one to three-week residential in central London that folds medical school admissions preparation into a clinical skills programme. It suits students in the two years before applying who want clinical exposure and UCAT and interview practice in one booking rather than as separate courses. It was shortlisted because the curriculum combines clinical skills such as blood pressure monitoring, venipuncture and ECG interpretation with a mock multiple mini interview circuit, UCAT training, basic life support and visits to hospitals and a hospice. Cohorts of ten to twelve are taught by practising doctors, and bursaries of up to 100% are published.

    Location:
    London, England (UCL Ramsay Hall)
    Fee:
    £1,799 (1 week), £2,999 (2 weeks), £3,999 (3 weeks)
    When it runs:
    [TBC: no dates published]
    Length:
    1-3 weeks
    Ages:
    15-18
    Format:
    Residential
    Application:
    Enquiry form; £500 deposit, balance 60 days before start
    Contact hours:
    [TBC: not published]
    Cohort size:
    10-12 students
    Scholarships:
    Bursaries at 100%, 75% and 50%, first come first served
    Safeguarding policy:
    Published

    Points to consider

    No session dates are published for 2026 or 2027; the site invites families to pick a date, so confirm availability before paying the £500 deposit. The camp starts at 15, which excludes the lower half of the age range covered by this guide.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Best University-Based ExperienceCommercial partner

    Oxbridge Summer Scholars

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best University-Based Experience

    Oxbridge Summer Scholars teaches its Medical and Biological Sciences stream inside Somerville College, Oxford, Hughes Hall, Cambridge, and St Peter's College, Oxford for the December session, with students living and eating in college. It suits students who want the tutorial format of an Oxbridge college rather than a lecture-based course, and it takes 14-year-olds through a separate junior programme. It was shortlisted because tutorials are capped at six students, seminars at ten to twelve, and the timetable carries six to eight hours of lectures, seminars and tutorials a day. Medicine tutors named on the site include a junior doctor and an Oxford medical graduate, and every applicant is interviewed before an offer.

    Location:
    Oxford and Cambridge, England
    Fee:
    £6,550 (December 2026); £6,950 (summer 2027)
    When it runs:
    6-19 December 2026; 4-17 July, 18-31 July and 1-14 August 2027
    Length:
    2 weeks
    Ages:
    14-19 (Junior 14-15, Senior 16-19)
    Format:
    Residential
    Application:
    Rolling, online form then 25-30 minute interview, £1,000 deposit
    Contact hours:
    6-8 hours a day
    Cohort size:
    Tutorials of up to 6; seminars 10-12
    Scholarships:
    None published
    Safeguarding policy:
    Published

    Points to consider

    The programme is independent of the universities whose colleges it uses. There is no standalone medicine course: medicine is taught within a stream that also covers biology, chemistry and psychology. No scholarships are published, and the junior medical page shows a different total fee from the fees page.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Best for Practical Experience

    Premed Projects

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best for Practical Experience

    Premed Projects runs one and two-week hospital work experience courses in London, moving students through named sessions in NHS hospital and university settings rather than a classroom. It suits students aged 14 to 18 who want to see what a working week in medicine looks like before committing to the subject. It was shortlisted because each day is built around a distinct clinical setting: an A&E simulation with a SIM mannequin, a multidisciplinary ward round, a radiology session reading chest and abdominal X-rays, guided dissection, a hospice day alongside nurses and GPs, and on the two-week course an on-call day answering bleeps. Students stay in central London accommodation with 24-hour security and full-time project leaders.

    Location:
    London, England
    Fee:
    £1,965 to £3,535
    When it runs:
    One week: 18-24 July and 8-14 August 2027 (also 14-20 February 2027). Two weeks: 4-17 July and 25 July to 7 August 2027 (provider-confirmed)
    Length:
    1-2 weeks
    Ages:
    14-18
    Format:
    Residential
    Application:
    Rolling until places fill; £395 registration fee secures a place
    Contact hours:
    [TBC: not published]
    Cohort size:
    40-60 per start date (site gives both figures)
    Scholarships:
    Widening participation: 10% of places at 25-100% bursary, apply by end of December 2026
    Safeguarding policy:
    Not published

    Points to consider

    The clinical content is explicitly simulated: students practise on mannequins and in staged scenarios inside hospital and university buildings rather than on real patients, and dissection uses animal specimens.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Best for Research

    Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best for Research

    SIMR places around fifty high school students in Stanford Medicine laboratories for eight weeks of full-time, mentored bench research across eight institutes including immunology, neurobiology, cancer biology and bioengineering. It suits US-based juniors and seniors who want to test whether biomedical research, rather than clinical practice, is their route into medicine. It was shortlisted because eight weeks at roughly forty hours a week is about twice the length of most clinical exposure programs and long enough for a student to own part of a project, with no program fee. Every student works with a Stanford graduate student or postdoctoral mentor and presents at a closing poster session.

    Location:
    Stanford, California
    Fee:
    Free ($50 application fee, waived under $80,000 family income)
    When it runs:
    7 June to 29 July 2027
    Length:
    8 weeks
    Ages:
    16+
    Format:
    Day
    Application:
    Opens 18 December 2026, closes late February 2027
    Contact hours:
    About 40 a week
    Cohort size:
    About 50 students
    Scholarships:
    No program cost; very limited need-based stipends
    Safeguarding policy:
    Not published

    Points to consider

    Eligibility is narrow: applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents, currently living in and attending high school in the US, and the program states that selection strongly favours local Bay Area students. There is no housing, and participants must live with a family member or legal guardian for the duration. Stanford does not publish an acceptance rate, and no dedicated safeguarding policy is published beyond mandatory safety training.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Best Online Programme

    Summer at Hopkins (Johns Hopkins University)

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best Online Programme

    Summer at Hopkins runs the same two-week pre-college medicine courses, including Medical School Intensive, Introduction to Surgery and Anatomy, Physiology and Disease, both on the Homewood campus and online. It suits students who cannot travel to Baltimore but want a university-issued credential, and international students, who are explicitly admitted with English proficiency evidence. It was shortlisted because a student who takes the online version earns the same one college credit as a residential participant rather than a reduced certificate. Residential supervision is well documented, with 24/7 counsellor coverage, daily sign-ins and a published curfew.

    Location:
    Baltimore, Maryland, or online
    Fee:
    2027 fees finalised late October; 2026: $1,950 online, $6,140 residential
    When it runs:
    2027: on campus 28 June to 8 July, 12-22 July, 26 July to 5 August
    Length:
    2 weeks
    Ages:
    Rising 10th-12th graders (provider-confirmed); 3.0 GPA
    Format:
    Hybrid
    Application:
    Early Action February, Regular Decision March, rolling to July; $85 fee
    Contact hours:
    30
    Cohort size:
    [TBC: not published]
    Scholarships:
    Dean's Fellowship, need-based, up to $950
    Safeguarding policy:
    Published

    Points to consider

    The online courses are primarily asynchronous at around fifteen hours a week, so a student wanting live teaching should choose the on-campus mode. Johns Hopkins confirmed to us that Pre-College Programs are for rising 10th to 12th graders and carry one undergraduate credit. 2027 fees were still being finalised when checked.

    Visit the organisation's website
    Recognised as Best for Career ExplorationCommercial partner

    Summer Springboard

    Guide 1 of 10 · Medical · Recognised as Best for Career Exploration

    Summer Springboard splits medicine into fifteen separate healthcare courses, from Surgery and Emergency Medicine to Nursing, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine, run on campuses including UC Berkeley, Yale, UCLA and Georgetown. It suits students who have a specific career route in mind and want to test it rather than sample medicine in general. It was shortlisted because the course-per-career structure lets a student compare surgery against pediatrics or public health on the same footing, and because high school programs are staffed and housed separately from middle school. Practical content is concrete: suturing and sterile technique on the Surgery course, CPR and AED certification on Pre-Med, bleeding control and splinting on Emergency Medicine.

    Location:
    US university campuses and Oxford, England
    Fee:
    $2,498-$7,498
    When it runs:
    June to August 2027
    Length:
    1-2 weeks
    Ages:
    Grades 9-12 (completed grade 8)
    Format:
    Residential or commuter
    Application:
    Rolling, 3.0 GPA, $99 application fee, $600 deposit
    Contact hours:
    [TBC: not published]
    Cohort size:
    [TBC: not published]
    Scholarships:
    Need-based up to 30% of residential tuition; IDEA full-tuition awards
    Safeguarding policy:
    Published

    Points to consider

    The medicine courses at Yale and Oxford run for one week in 2027 while most other campuses run two, so length and price depend on campus choice. International applicants need a TOEFL, Cambridge or SAT score, and the scholarship deadlines shown are still for 2026.

    Visit the organisation's website

    What this means

    A medical summer program for high school students is a short course, usually one to eight weeks, that lets a 13 to 18-year-old test medicine as a career before applying to study it. The nine organisations in this guide fall into three types. Clinical simulation courses (Envision, HMS MEDscience, Premed Projects, Medic Mind) teach suturing, intubation, history-taking and triage on mannequins and actors. College-based academic courses (Immerse, Oxbridge Summer Scholars, Summer Springboard, Summer at Hopkins) teach medical science in seminars and tutorials, sometimes for college credit. Research placements (Stanford SIMR) put a student inside a working laboratory for the summer.

    None of the nine involves examining or treating real patients, because under-18s cannot legally do so in the US or UK. What a program can give a student is a realistic picture of the work and material to reflect on. Medical school admissions teams in both countries assess that reflection, not the certificate.

    How organisations are included and assessed

    Inclusion criteria

    The gate. An organisation appears only if it meets all five.

    1. 1

      Runs a program for students under 18

      Runs a program for students under 18 in the coming summer cycle, open to school-age students rather than undergraduates.

    2. 2

      Publishes its fee and what the fee covers

      Publishes its fee and what the fee covers, so the full cost is visible before application.

    3. 3

      States who teaches and in what setting

      States who teaches and in what setting: the staff category, and the venue the program actually uses.

    4. 4

      Publishes safeguarding information for under-18s

      Publishes safeguarding information for under-18s that a family can find and read.

    5. 5

      Describes the experience without implying an admissions advantage

      Describes the experience without implying an admissions advantage, with claims about certification, contact and university outcomes matching what is delivered.

    Assessment criteria

    How the included ten are judged, and where each recognition line comes from.

    1. 1

      Teaching substance

      Contact hours, group size, and who teaches.

    2. 2

      Access and cost transparency

      Whether the full cost is published before application, and whether means-tested places exist and are reachable.

    3. 3

      Practical or applied content

      What a student actually does.

    4. 4

      Honest claims

      Marketing checked against reality.

    5. 5

      Distinctiveness

      What this program offers that comparable ones do not.

    Safeguarding is recorded as a factual disclosure: we note whether an organisation publishes information a family can find and read. It is never graded or scored by Succeed.

    Read the full methodology

    Frequently asked questions

    It depends on age, location and goal. Immerse Education is the only program in this guide that admits 13-year-olds. Stanford SIMR offers eight weeks of free laboratory research but only to US-resident juniors and seniors. Premed Projects and HMS MEDscience give the most clinical simulation per week. Summer at Hopkins is the only one that runs the same credit-bearing course online and on campus.

    No. Every program in this guide uses simulation, laboratory work or supervised observation. Premed Projects and HMS MEDscience run staged clinical scenarios in hospital and medical-school settings; Envision and Medic Mind teach skills such as suturing and venipuncture on training equipment. Ask any provider to describe the patient contact precisely before booking.

    Fees on the nine programs run from free (Stanford SIMR, with a waivable $50 application fee) to £6,950 for two weeks residential at Oxbridge Summer Scholars in summer 2027. One-week US day programs cost around $2,800; one-week UK residential courses around £1,800 to £2,000. Travel, insurance and meals are usually extra. Immerse, Medic Mind and Premed Projects publish bursaries of up to 100%.

    Some. Summer at Hopkins admits students from more than 50 countries and requires English proficiency scores. Summer Springboard accepts international applicants with a TOEFL, Cambridge or SAT score. Stanford SIMR is restricted to US citizens or permanent residents attending a US high school, HMS MEDscience requires a parent or guardian on site all week, and Envision publishes no statement on international admissions.

    Thirteen at Immerse Education, which runs a separate 13 to 15 stream. Fourteen at Oxbridge Summer Scholars (junior programme) and Premed Projects. Envision and Summer Springboard admit from grade 9. Medic Mind starts at 15, HMS MEDscience at rising 10th grade, Summer at Hopkins after grade 9, and Stanford SIMR at 16.

    Not as a credential. UK medical schools and US pre-med advisers look for what the student can explain about the work: what they noticed about communication, uncertainty and teamwork, and how it changed their thinking. A one-week local program reflected on well is worth more than an expensive residential recorded as a line on a form.

    No organisation pays to be included in this guide, and payment has no bearing on selection. Every organisation featured was sent its profile before publication to check for factual errors, not to approve our judgement of it. Succeed has a commercial relationship with some featured organisations and may earn a commission when a student enrols through the platform. Where that applies, it is stated in the profile itself.

    Sean Stevens

    Written and reviewed by

    Sean Stevens

    Co-founder, Succeed | Founder, Immerse Education (2012–2026)

    Sean works at the intersection of academic enrichment, program quality and university preparation, with expertise in evaluating pre-university experiences for ambitious secondary school students.

    View author page

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