Conflicting med school summer research opportunities?

[damien_chazelle_fan]

Incoming M1. Thinking way ahead, but I was looking at summer research programs for my specialty of interest.

My school has one broad summer research program where you have to pick a mentor in a project then sign a letter of intent saying if selected, you will go through with that program (selection happens in late March). However, not everybody gets the funding, but I would still have the highest probability of getting accepted for this program.

There are other (~8) specialty specific programs that I’ve been looking at around the country at better places that I would much prefer doing (some being URM specific which I could apply for). I would like to apply to all of them. I believe the programs would let me know before late March.

Would it be feasible to apply to all of them and then withdraw from my school program before selection if accepted at one of them? I don’t want to anger anybody in my home department by backing out on a project that I applied for at the critical moment, but I don't also want to pigeon-hole myself to just doing research in my home department. TIA

TLDR: How to balance conflicting summer research opportunities?

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[GoSpursGo]

This is going to be a question for your school. Presumably they are aware that their students will apply for prestigious national programs and would not want to block them from doing that if selected. But this is a situation where it does you no good for us to speculate.

 

[damien_chazelle_fan]

This is going to be a question for your school. Presumably they are aware that their students will apply for prestigious national programs and would not want to block them from doing that if selected. But this is a situation where it does you no good for us to speculate.

Got it. Thanks!