Mentorship FAQ

Yes! Our Mentorship & Career Guidance Program is right for anyone that wants to improve their professionalism, public speaking, and critical thinking skills while working to give back to their community. While you will learn a great deal about medicine and cardiology, we have had many students go on to become lawyers, engineers, or other professionals outside of medicine.

The deadline has been EXTENDED for our Summer 2026 program. The application deadline is February 15, 2026. Students who are selected to interview will be notified in late February. Interviews will occur in mid-March.

Be sure to add the following email addresses to your address book so that incoming emails are not sent to spam/junk mail: info@scarfnow.org, applications@scarfnow.org, salfano@scarfnow.org, and lguerrero@scarfnow.org. Applications are reviewed in the week immediately following the application deadline. Invitations to interview for first year students will be sent out in late January/early February with interviews taking place in February 2025. If you have not received information regarding interview or next step by February 10th after applying, contact info@scarfnow.org immediately.

Be sure to check your junk/spam inbox. Also, add the following email addresses to your address book so that you do not miss any future correspondence: info@scarfnow.org, applications@scarfnow.org, salfano@scarfnow.org, and lguerrero@scarfnow.org. If you have looked through your junk/spam and do not see any emails from the SCARF Admin Team, contact info@scarfnow.org immediately.

Interview sessions are extended to first-year applicants based on review of all applications. Interview sessions will be held in mid-March. Interviews are conducted in a small group setting, typically 4 - 6 students at a time. Students are expected to bring at least one parent (though both are preferred when possible) along with them for the interview session unless extenuating circumstances preclude this from happening (approval by Dr. Alfano must be obtained prior to interview date). Students are expected to dress in business professional attire and come prepared to answer questions about their background, their interest in the SCARF program, and their goals. Interviews are typically conducted in a panel style with all students and SCARF Admin Team members together in one room. You will have the opportunity to hear other students' responses to questions, just as they will hear yours. The interview session is also the time for you (and your parents) to have all questions about the program answered. You will be given a brief overview of what to expect including typical schedules, daily activities, cost, and review of requirements to participate. The interview session is the last time that the SCARF Admin Team allows parents to contact us and ask questions directly. After the interview, all further questions must come from the student directly.

Generally, the program runs from the beginning of June through the last weekend in July or the first weekend in August. Students should be sure that they will be able to participate throughout the program and are only allowed TWO absences (though not allowed to miss a mandatory date). Traditionally, our program runs for about 6 - 8 weeks with students spending two days a week with us. One day is a clinic day (alternates Mon, Tue, Thu, and Fri) and the other day is a professional development day (Wednesdays). The program culminates with our Scientific Symposium. For 2026, the program will run from June 8 - August 1st.

We are based in Sycamore, IL, and Elgin, IL and our students will be required to be at both offices throughout the program. Sycamore office - 2550 Hauser Ross Dr, Ste 350, Sycamore, IL 60178 Elgin office – 500 N McLean Blvd, Elgin, IL 60123 Professional development days are on Wednesdays and take place in our Elgin office. Clinic days are Mon, Tue, Thu, and Fri with all clinics except Friday taking place in our Sycamore office.

9Students are split into 4 groups and will attend our program 2 full days per week. Clinic day: this is a full day (9 - 5:30) and will take place in our Sycamore office on Mon, Tues, Thurs or our Elgin office on Fridays. Groups will rotate which day of the week they have clinic (for example: Group A will meet Monday one week, Tuesday the next week, Thursday the next week, and Friday the next week). The clinic days are broken up into morning and afternoon clinics and the students will be given a 30 - 60 minute lunch break in between. Lunch is not provided on clinic days, so students will either bring lunch from home or are free to go out and buy lunch in the community. Wednesdays: all 4 groups will be with us in our Elgin location from 8:00am - 4:00pm. On some Wednesdays, lunch will be provided. Students will be notified each week whether or not they need to bring lunch. 202 Mandatory Dates include: - June 2th (Pathway to Success/Pig Heart Dissection) - July 9th (Mock Interview) - July 16th (Mock Interview) - July 25th (Scientific Symposium Rehearsal) - July 26th (Scientific Symposium) *** students may not miss more than TWO clinic/professional development day throughout the program. You are NOT permitted to miss any of the above mandatory dates. If you know that you will not be able to attend any of the above mandatory dates, please do not apply. You can apply the following year instead if your schedule allows.

Each day will be different but can include any number of the following: • Rounding with Dr. Nguyen and/or APNs in their clinics, Elite Cardiology Solutions • Rounding with Dr. Rubina Nguyen at Suburban Dental Medicine • Student-led mini-topic discussions on healthcare, current events, and/or ethics • Guest lectures by a variety of speakers: lawyers, financial advisers, college professors, motivational speakers, health care providers, etc. • In-services with medical device companies or pharmaceutical representatives • Small group research working on Scientific Symposium research presentations The COVID-19 pandemic caused many outside facilities such as hospitals or nursing homes to close their doors to outside students. As the years pass, we continue to get back into more facilities and will get our students to experience these locations when possible. Students under the age of 18 will not be allowed to round at local hospitals, but will be permitted at nursing home/assisted care facilities.

The schedule for S.C.A.R.F. is outlined above and students are not permitted to miss more than 2 of their scheduled days. If your summer school schedule will not fit within these parameters, then, unfortunately, S.C.A.R.F. will not be for you this summer.

There are several mandatory dates throughout the summer that ALL students are expected to attend. If you know right now that you will be unable to attend any of these dates, you need not apply/interview. Our 2026 Mandatory Dates include: - June 8 - 19 (First weeks/Orientation) - June 24th (Pathway to Success/Pig Heart Dissection) - July 8th (Mock Interview) - July 15th (Mock Interview) - July 29th (Scientific Symposium Rehearsal) - August 1st (Scientific Symposium)

Yes! You will be provided with your exact schedule in March/April. This will list your group, group members, and your schedule for the summer. This will give you plenty of time to plan trips or other events throughout the summer. In addition, leaving time before the school year begins to plan a vacation.

No, groups are carefully arranged by the S.C.A.R.F. team to ensure that we have an even distribution of new and returning students, students of all ages, etc. We make every effort to group students based on age and location so that carpooling is an option for those that do not/cannot drive.

Most likely you will not be placed in the same group as other family members. In the past, this has led to disruption within the groups. Therefore, we try to keep siblings apart so that they are each able to focus and grow as individuals.

During assigned clinic days, students will be provided scrubs that must be worn. These can be worn with comfortable, neat athletic shoes or other close-toed shoes of your choosing. Scrubs will be provided on orientation day or your first clinic day. The attire for professional development days is business professional. For gentlemen, this means a shirt and tie (mandatory). For ladies, you have the options of pants/skirt with a nice blouse or a nice dress (no sundresses allowed). Skirts and dresses are not permitted to be above the knee.

This is the culmination of our internship program and is mandatory for participation each summer. You will present the research you have been working on throughout the summer. Each small group will present with a large poster and a team of judges will evaluate the information along with your knowledge and speaking skills.

S.C.A.R.F. hosts many fundraising and team-building events both throughout the summer program and throughout the school year. The mandatory summer events will be listed within your acceptance packet, providing you ample time to plan accordingly. Events added after the acceptance packets have been sent out in addition to extra events held throughout the school year are optional. We ask that you make every effort to attend these extra events. Your presence and support of S.C.A.R.F. outside of the summer internship is noted and taken into account when letters of recommendation are written.

The cost to host one student for the summer is typically around $8,000. However, the foundation covers the majority of this cost through donations and fundraising events. Students and their families are expected to cover a portion of the total program cost, which for 2025 will be approximately $3,500. Exact pricing will be outlined during the interview and/or with acceptance letters as this is partly determined on the fundraisers from the year prior. Payment is due at the time of acceptance into the program. We have a very limited number of needs-based scholarships available on request. Additional documentation will be required to receive a scholarship. Given the high interest in our program, no refunds will be offered this year. Please be sure of your interest, availability, and commitment to the program before accepting and paying for your spot.

CPR certification is mandatory and training will be provided by S.C.A.R.F. annually.

Students will be welcomed into real-life medical practices. Therefore, we (and our patients) expect that they are healthy, immunized, and have a clean record. The following will be required from all students to participate in the program: - up-to-date "childhood" vaccinations (MMR, IPV, PCV, etc.) - up-to-date influenza vaccination (this means dated August 1, 2024 or later) - COVID-19 vaccination/booster (recommended; may be required to round at outside facilities) - TB test - Background check - Drug screen It is recommended that students obtain flu vaccine ASAP if they have not already been vaccinated this year. Many places run out of the influenza vaccine by April and without this immunization, you will not be allowed in any patient encounters without this vaccination.

We highly recommend that you follow us on social media (@scarfnow) as we post frequent updates about the program there. If you have additional questions about the program, the application process, the interview process, etc. you can email Dr. Sarah Alfano at salfano@scarfnow.org