How This Page Is Structured
This page is organized around themes represented by common questions from parents and guardians. Feel free to use the menu to navigate through this page.
1. Introduction
What We Do
Atlantis is the global leader in healthcare experiential education in and surrounding the college years. We have run programs for more than 15+ years, and Atlantis alumni, after participating in Atlantis and graduating from college, have gone on to attend almost all medical schools in the U.S. We operate short-term programs (1-10 weeks) over school breaks, aimed at U.S. undergraduates, and taking place primarily in the U.S. and Europe. Medical schools want 3 things: healthcare exposure, GPA/MCAT, and certain competencies; Atlantis gives students the best version of the 1st, frees them to focus on the 2nd, and cultivates/shows the 3rd to medical school admissions committees.
Atlantis Helps at Different Stages Of The Pre-Health Journey
Atlantis makes students more competitive to schools and provides clarity about their career choice. Where does your student fall in the matrix?
Your student is unsure about their medical vocation.
Your student is already competitive for medical (or PA) school admissions.
Your student is not yet competitive for admissions.
2. Will Atlantis Help With Getting Into Medical/Graduate School?
Atlantis can give students the elements known to drive successful medical school applications (and interviews) or applications to schools of other health professions. Below, after a few box mini-profiles showing some of our alumni, you’ll see links to the parts of our website that show evidence of that success, but also to sections that explain why that success happens in the first place.
Our Alumni Enter Great Medical Schools
John Daines
- Atlantis '17
- Brigham Young University '19
- Washington U. in St. Louis MD '23
Zoey Petitt
- Atlantis '17
- U. of Arizona '18
- Duke MD '23
Zoey Petitt
Hungary ’17 || University of Arizona (undergraduate) ’18
Completed Atlantis Program Location and Date:
Hungary, Summer 2017
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
I believe it was very helpful.
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
For me, my Atlantis experience played a key role in confirming my decision to go into medicine. This was important for me to discuss during the admissions process.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews?
Yes
Yong-hun Kim
- Atlantis '17
- Stanford '19
- Mayo Clinic MD '24
Yong-Hun Kim
Budapest, Hungary ’17 || Stanford University
Program:
Budapest, Hungary – Winter 2017
Undergraduate:
Stanford University class of 2019
Major:
Computer Science
Honors:
Bio-X Grant (award for research)
Undergraduate Activities:
President and Founder of Stanford Undergraduate Hospice and Palliative Care, Volunteer for Pacific Free Clinic, Research Assistant in Wernig Pathology Lab, President of Hong Kong Student Association, violin performance
Describe Atlantis in three words:
Eye-opening. Spontaneous. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I chose the Atlantis program because it combines opportunities to shadow physicians and travel abroad, both of which I had little prior exposure to.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
My favorite experience as an Atlantis participant came in the stories exchanged over meals or excursions and the breadth of conversation that reflected the diversity of backgrounds within our cohort and site managers.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I appreciated the chance to speak with physicians in Budapest and hear their personal motivations for pursuing medicine because it really helped better contextualize and validate my own interest in medicine. The physicians were also just really welcoming, relatable, and down-to-earth people.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
The Atlantis program has equipped me with a better understanding of what a career in medicine looks like, which I think is an invaluable gift considering the long road ahead of those who aspire to be a physician.
How has Atlantis equipped you for active leadership in the medical field?
The ability to interact and empathize with patients of diverse backgrounds and communities is a necessity to be a leader in the medical field. I think the Atlantis program, through my interactions with mentors and their patients, has helped me take my first steps toward attaining the cultural vocabulary and literacy required of a physician.
Megan Branson
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Montana '19
- U. of Washington MD '24
Sarah Emerick
- Atlantis '19
- Eckerd College '20
- Indiana U. MD '25
Snow Nwankwo
- Atlantis '19
- Catholic U. of America '21
- Georgetown U. MD '26
Tiffany Hu
- Atlantis '16
- U. of Maryland '17
- U. of Michigan MD '22
Tiffany Hu
Tereul, Spain ’16 || U Michigan Medical School
Program:
Teruel, Spain – Summer 2016
Undergraduate:
University of Maryland class of 2017
Admitted medical student at:
University of Michigan Medical School
Major:
Neurobiology
Honors:
Honors Integrated Life Sciences Program, Banneker/Key Scholarship
Extracurricular Activities:
American Medical Student Association Co-President & Advocacy Day Liaison, Alternative Breaks Experience Leader, Health Professions Advising Office Student Advisory Board, Biology Teach Assistant, Health Leads, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, NIH Research Intern, Physicians for Social Responsibility Environment & Health Intern
Describe Atlantis in Three Words:
Educational. Eye-opening. Exhilarating.
Why did you choose Atlantis?
I wanted to expand my horizons and understand a culture of health different from the ones I am accustomed to. I had shadowed doctors in the United States and Taiwan prior to my Atlantis program experience, and being able to see first-hand the healthcare system in Spain allowed me to draw comparisons between the different complex healthcare systems.
What was your favorite experience as an Atlantis participant?
Bonding with the other participants and celebrating our time together along with the doctors we shadowed. We would discuss our interests, passions, and motivation for medicine, and it was an incredible experience to learn from and alongside them.
What was your experience with the doctors you were shadowing?
Because of the pre-established relationships with the hospitals in which we shadowed, all the doctors were very welcoming and accommodating. They were willing to translate for us and explain in detail all of their medical decisions. My doctors and I had wonderful conversations about the differences between life in Spain vs. the United States.
What was the most meaningful aspect of your time shadowing?
I was excited to scrub in on surgeries and watch as the doctor explained what he was doing throughout the operation. Before and after surgeries, as well as in my other rotations, I observed how the doctors reassured and communicated with their patients. I was able to glean insight into differences between the experience of health in Spain versus the United States through observation as well as conversations with the doctors.
How has Atlantis helped equip you for the future?
Besides the wealth of medical knowledge I gained from shadowing the doctors, I challenged myself to step outside of my cultural comfort zone and explore more than I thought I was capable of. Atlantis allowed me to make connections with people from all around the United States and abroad, and the friendships I gained helped me learn so much more than I would have on my own.
Lauren Cox
- Atlantis '18
- Louisiana Tech '20
- U. of Arkansas MD '24
Lauren Cox
Libson, Portugal ’18 || Louisiana Tech
Completed Atlantis Program Location(s):
Lisbon, Portugal
Year of most recent program:
Fall ’17 – Summer ’18
Season of most recent program:
Summer
Do you believe your Atlantis experience helped you get into your graduate program?
Extremely helpful
Generally, why do you think Atlantis helped you get into your graduate program?
It exposed me to shadowing that was hard to come by in the states. It also gave me a chance to see other systems of healthcare.
Specifically, did you talk about Atlantis in your interviews? If so, how much relative to other topics?
Yes – they wanted to know about my experience, and specifically how the healthcare I saw in another country compared to what I had seen in the USA.
Kayla Riegler
- Atlantis '18
- U. of Kentucky '20
- U. of Kentucky MD '24
It’s Not Just Getting in; It’s Getting in AND Having Options
It’s not just about being accepted to just any medical school; it’s about being accepted AND having great options. The med/PA school admissions process is a challenging and competitive one. Help your student maximize their chances of being accepted to not one but ideally multiple schools by standing out with the best healthcare exposure, great stats (GPA and MCAT), and proven AAMC competencies.
Our Alumni Have Gone on to 40 of the Top 50 MD Programs
| Top 50 MD Programs (Ranked) |
Atlantis Alumni? |
MD Admit Rate |
Known For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | Yes | 4% | 10 Nobel Prizes, Smallpox Vaccine |
| New York University (Grossman) |
No | 2% | 4 Nobel Prizes |
| Duke University | Yes | 4% | 3 Nobel Prizes |
| Columbia University | Yes | 4% | 5 Nobel Prizes |
| Stanford University | Yes | 2% | 8 Nobel Prizes |
| University of California – San Francisco |
Yes | 4% | 6 Nobel Prizes |
| Johns Hopkins University |
Yes | 7% | 22 Nobel Prizes |
| University of Washington |
Yes | 5% | 4 Nobel Prizes |
| University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) |
No | 5% | 4 Nobel Prizes, Oldest US Medical School |
| Yale University | No | 6% | 4 Nobel Prizes |
| Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (Alix) |
Yes | 3% | Served every US president since Abraham Lincoln |
| Washington University in St. Louis |
Yes | 8% | 19 Nobel Prizes |
| University of Pittsburgh |
Yes | 5% | 2 Nobel Prizes |
| Vanderbilt University | No | 6% | 2 Nobel Prizes |
| Northwestern University (Feinberg) |
Yes | 6% | 3 Nobel Prizes |
| University of Michigan – Ann Arbor |
Yes | 5% | 2 Nobel Prizes |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Yes | 5% | 1 Nobel Prize, First Blood Tranfusion |
| University of Chicago (Pritzker) |
Yes | 4% | 1 Nobel Prize |
| Cornell University (Weill) |
Yes | 4% | 1 Nobel Prize, Dr. Fauci’s alma mater |
| University of California – San Diego |
Yes | 4% | 8 Nobel Prizes |
| U. of California – Los Angeles (Geffen) |
No | 3% | 1 Nobel Prize |
| Baylor College of Medicine |
Yes | 5% | First Coronary Bipass |
| Emory University | Yes | 3% | First & only to treat US Ebola patients |
| University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill |
Yes | 4% | 2 Nobel Prizes |
| Case Western Reserve University |
Yes | 7% | 5 Nobel Prizes |
| U. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
Yes | 8% | 6 Nobel Prizes, basic mechanism of cholesterol metabolism |
| University of Colorado |
No | 3% | First human liver transplant |
| University of Maryland |
Yes | 6% | Discovery that HIV causes AIDS |
| Oregon Health & Science University |
No | 5% | Renowned for primary care, rural & family medicine |
| University of Southern California (Keck) |
Yes | 5% | Research leader in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s |
| University of Virginia |
Yes | 12% | 3 Nobel Prizes, Discovery of LGL Leukemia |
| University of Alabama – Birmingham |
Yes | 6% | Invention of the endoscope |
| Boston University | Yes | 6% | 1 Nobel Prize |
| Ohio State University |
No | 5% | First robot-assisted heart bypass & live-streamed surgery |
| University of Wisconsin – Madison |
Yes | 6% | “Mohs” surgery to treat skin cancer |
| Brown University (Alpert) |
Yes | 3% | 1 Nobel Peace Prize |
| University of Florida |
Yes | 5% | First regenerative bio envelope |
| University of Rochester |
No | 6% | 3 Nobel Prizes |
| Albert Einstein College of Medicine |
Yes | 4% | First Genetics Department in US |
| University of Iowa (Carver) |
Yes | 7% | Fourteen faculty in the National Academy of Medicine |
| University of Utah |
Yes | 6% | 1 Nobel Prize, First artificial heart implant |
| Indiana University – Indianapolis |
Yes | 10% | World’s First DNA Bank |
| University of Cincinnati |
Yes | 8% | Polio Vaccine |
| University of Minnesota |
No | 6% | Alumni considered “Fathers” of Immunology & Oncology |
| Dartmouth College (Geisel) |
Yes | 3% | First clinical x-ray and first ICU |
| University of Massachusetts – Worcester |
Yes | 9% | 1 Nobel Prize |
| University of Miami (Miller) |
Yes | 4% | Groundbreaking research to cure paralysis |
| University of California – Davis |
Yes | 4% | Co-founder of Total-body PET Scanner |
| University of California – Irvine |
Yes | 4% | 1 Nobel Prize |
| University of South Florida |
Yes | 7% | First 3D-printed nasal swabs |
Specialization in Medicine…And Also In Education
If you needed heart surgery, you wouldn’t go to a generalist doctor, since there are benefits to specialization. Similarly, we focus our programs on healthcare, which is how we’ve been able to contribute to the success of our alumni in such an important way.
A large share of pre-meds in the U.S. study abroad during their undergraduate years, but they often do so in general study abroad programs offered by their university. These are often great programs, but they don’t directly contribute to a students healthcare path.
Atlantis brings the best of study abroad, while also contributing to (A) students’ healthcare paths, and (B) society’s need for doctors who are committed and passionate for their fields.
This program was an absolutely incredible experience for our daughter, far beyond our expectations.
Alternatively, See a More In-Depth Version of The Above Table
Compare A Typical Med School Applicant With an Atlantis Alum
Watch Video: See More Than 20 Alumni (Now In Med School or Beyond)
Explain How Atlantis Is a Major Reason They Got In
3. Will Atlantis Help With Vocational Discernment?
Atlantis helps students envision their own future and determine where their passion lies – whether that is ultimately in medicine or not. Their time on an Atlantis program will be well spent as they discern their vocation and develop confidence in their career path.
The reason medical schools value clinical experience, such as shadowing, in their admissions process is that it tells them if a potential student understands the path they are taking and if they will be passionate about it. Similarly, parents and guardians want to ensure that their loved ones will have a career that they can be passionate about.
The more quantity and quality clinical experiences a pre-health student has, the more likely he or she is to make the right choice on whether or not to proceed on a medicine or healthcare path.
The stakes are high, and we can understand the relationship between exposure and vocational clarity by looking at what happens when exposure to healthcare is not available. An article in the Journal of Surgical Research, recognizing that “the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a lack of in-person science courses and laboratories, reduced ability for face-to-face experiences in shadowing or volunteering, [etc.],” concluded that ” these changes may impact the next generation of medical students” since “this reduced ability for premedical students to experience the day-to-day interactions of a physician may lead to applicants with unrealistic expectations and contribute to the already high rate of physician burnout.”
The implied lesson here is valid in post-pandemic times as well: the quality and quantity of healthcare exposure seems to go hand in hand with vocational clarity, higher job satisfaction, and lower burnout.
I participated in Atlantis when I was still trying to determine whether I wanted to commit to medicine as a career, and being able to immerse myself into different areas of a hospital for a large number of hours made me more excited about medicine and certain that it was the path I wanted to go down.
Avoid Burnout:
First Clarify if Medicine is The Path For Your Student
11%
In the words of one study, “approximately 11% of students have serious thoughts of dropping out of medical school each year.” These numbers suggest that severe burnout is not uncommon for medical students.
81%
81% of alumni who have been accepted to med/PA school said Atlantis impacted their passion for medicine. Even among alumni who don’t attend medical school, we repeatedly hear that Atlantis helped them make the right decision.
PhD-Authored Study Shows Atlantis Alumni Progress on The Competencies that Medical Schools Seek
In a survey of over 1,000 Atlantis alumni, 93% of them believed they had progressed on the AAMC Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students, which are the traits that medical schools look for when making admissions decisions (view study data). These traits include adapting to stressful circumstances, interacting with people from diverse backgrounds, etc.
You may also learn more about how Atlantis contributes to several of the 15 AAMC competencies by checking out our competencies page, or, more broadly by looking at how Atlantis impacts the actual medical school application, or later the interview, as part of the medical school admissions process, which many of our alumni have been successful at.
4. Is Atlantis Worth The Cost?
As an organization, we prioritize building programs with long-term professional value for our students. Atlantis can be an investment in their future success in medical school and beyond.
Parents and guardians often see Atlantis as an alternative to typical summer study abroad programs, since Atlantis allows for both (1)a study abroad experience as well as (2)a particularly powerful clinical experience, for the price of one.
Atlantis Costs Little in Comparison with Other Elements
Anyone Can Do It
Atlantis can be a career investment just like college, and we offer payment plans, financing, and aid options to help make participation possible. Our team works with you and your student to find a program that fits your budget. The below chart shows some examples of how students could combine several funding sources to pay for one Atlantis program. Each of these approaches to funding is detailed in our financing & aid page.
What About College Credit?
Atlantis programs develop most of the key competencies for entering medical students, contribute to assessing vocation, and play a role in Med/PA applications and interviews. This is why our alumni are often successful. This type of learning experience is often recognizable for credit, depending on the approach of your student’s university. Atlantis doesn’t award credit directly, but alumni are often able to receive credit from their universities for it anyway. Read more about support for requesting course credit.
Compare Standard Break Opportunities with Atlantis
| Standard Break Options | Possible Advantages of Atlantis Over Each Option |
|---|---|
| Volunteer in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country (sometimes doing hands-on work with patients, which can result in automatic rejection by med schools) |
Do observation-only shadowing (AAMC compliant), interacting closely with doctors who have jobs more similar to those in the U.S. Add a diverse perspective to your future medical school class, since pre-med international experience in Europe is more rare |
| Study abroad in a non-healthcare-related program | Make study abroad a major help for your pre-med path, instead of something that does not contribute directly to your goals |
| Work to earn money | Shadow for a few weeks and work the rest of break – keeping in mind how valuable the investment is and the available payment plans you have |
| Shadow domestically | Supplement domestic experiences with shadowing in Europe in order to gain depth, breadth, quantity of hours, and intercultural perspective |
| Research | Get clinical experience – required by all med/PA schools, whereas research is usually not required. For schools that do not require research, great healthcare exposure beats research, if you have to choose. |
Take this as just one set of reasons. Any option on the left is a fair and reasonable option for certain circumstances. However, we are seeking to equip you with data you can use to make the decision that is best for you.
5. Can You Tell Me About The Legitimacy Of Atlantis?
We have run programs for 15+ years, and Atlantis alumni, after participating in Atlantis and graduating from college, have gone on to attend almost all medical schools in the U.S. Read more on our extensive about us page.
Better, Concentrated Healthcare Exposure Lets Pre-Meds Focus on Grades,
While Still Increasing Relevant Experience for Interviews
There is very little in your premedical coursework which actually prepares you for the difficult task of taking care of sick people.
Each interview is different, but it’s common to be asked, “Why do you want to be a doctor?” To answer, you may want to tell a story about an experience or series of experiences that have led to your decision.
6. What about safety?
Safety is our Priority
The safety of our participants is a priority for us. Safety level is a factor when we decide which cities and programs to open. Also, we train our on-program team members prior to each season. Our Site Managers seek to be available 24/7 to students, should students need assistance. Also, we provide each student with travel health insurance.
To learn more about best practices for safe travel, make sure to sign up for the free Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) administered by the US Department of State. Also, prior to deciding on which country to travel to, you can compare how different countries are viewed by the Department of State. Generally, European countries are seen as safe for travelers.
As with any program and with every country, including the U.S., students should exercise caution and prudence, and know that their own decisions will also play a large role in lowering risks and keeping them safe.
Safety in Europe vs. the U.S.
Students traveling, domestically or abroad, should exercise prudence and engage in habits that make their experience more likely to be safe. However, the European countries in which we have programs (most but not all of our programs are in Europe) are generally as safe or safer than the US. We invite parents to search the Global Peace Index Ratings for their student’s host country. This does not mean that there are no risks (and students should be prudent), but it does mean that, as a whole, European countries have lower risks of crime, for instance.
After visiting a few of the sites, and speaking with students, administrators, and participating physicians, I’m very comfortable recommending Atlantis to our students. They are very aware of, and follow, ethical guidelines, which is important for any program our students may choose to go on. It’s a flexible, mutually beneficial way for students to get shadowing experience at the same time as learning about a healthcare system different from their own.
Authoring Guidelines in the Field
Atlantis co-authored, with the Forum on Education Abroad, the leading non-profit representing the study abroad world in the U.S., the Guidelines for Undergraduate Health-Related Experiences Abroad. These are the general principles that all healthcare study abroad programs are invited to follow.
Europe vs. the US
Another interesting element of going to Europe as a future healthcare professional is to understand their healthcare system. This is very often a talking point that our alumni use in their medical school applications.
Note that this doesn’t necessarily mean one system is better than the other as there are many other factors at play here. In fact, we believe that the ideal outcome is when alumni can clearly articulate the many pros and cons of Europeans systems. This is the sort of maturity and perspective that very few entering medical students have on this crucial question of healthcare systems and healthcare costs, and we believe is one of the reasons many of our alumni fare so well in the medical admissions process.
Compare healthcare costs and life expectancies between countries in Europe and the United States below, to see how shadowing in Europe can provide valuable healthcare experience.
Europeans Have Higher Life Expectancies
Yet Spend Far Less on Healthcare
Note: 83 is the weighted average of the three countries. Source: OECD health statistics
The figures for Portugal & Spain are similar to those of Italy. Source: OECD health statistics
7. Download Parent Guide
Download the below, a quick reference guide on program value, safety, and logistics.
8. Relevant Videos
Watch The Atlantis
Experience
20+ Alumni Now In Med School Explain: Atlantis Is a Major Reason I Got In Here
9. FAQs
What’s included in an Atlantis program?
Is shadowing abroad actually useful, since I’ll be practicing in the U.S.?
Other programs offer credit (although universities still have to approve it) – why doesn’t Atlantis?
What is a typical day of shadowing like?
How will the language barrier impact my experience?
Almost all Atlantis alumni have not spoken the local language. Most doctors in most places speak enough English for the language barrier to not hinder the experience. When there is a language barrier, such barrier will push most students out of their comfort zone, which fosters resilience & adaptability (AAMC competency #8). Moreover, such limited language barrier experiences will be nothing compared with what many of our students’ post-medical-school patients in the U.S. (e.g. immigrants) will experience. Overcoming the any limited language barrier issues is crucial for building your cultural competence (AAMC competency #3), being able to relate to your future patients, growing in oral communication skills (AAMC competency #5), and also having compelling stories for your applications and interviews.
How will Atlantis help me when I’m writing applications or doing interviews?
- Other candidates have done some shadowing; you have done lots.
- Other candidates have seen healthcare in one country, you in two or more.
- Other candidates have seen three specialties; you may have seen seven or eight.
- Other candidates might have shadowed two or three doctors; you might have shadowed ten or fifteen.
- Other candidates say they see medicine as service; you have actually spent time with doctors in countries where medical salaries are relatively lower, and where service is a stronger motivator behind the healthcare profession.
- Other candidates say they have an intercultural perspective in healthcare because they shadowed in a diverse U.S. setting (e.g. inner-city or rural); you may have a deeper intercultural perspective because you shadowed in a different country (which, unlike the diverse U.S. setting, has far more cultural differences relative to what you’re used to).
- Other candidates say they are passionate about policies for affordable care; you have seen what a more government-run healthcare looks like and can speak maturely about its many pros and cons.
- Other candidates can speculate on what it’s like to be a surgeon; you have seen several surgeries.
Read more here: Comparing an Atlantis alum with a regular pre-med in a med school interview.
4.96
/5Go Overseas
9.72
/10