Stanford University’s Clinical Summer Internship (CSI) program goes paperless

feature_box.img.620.high

“I definitely would recommend SlideRoom…I was shocked at how easy it was to set up. It’s been a big improvement over our previous system.”
– Kimya Stidum, Former Program Coordinator

THE CHALLENGE

When Kimya Stidum joined Stanford in 2015 as the program coordinator of its Clinical Summer Internship (CSI), she inherited an inefficient application process. “We were using a web-based form created by the IT department here at Stanford. Students would click a link, fill out a form and emails would go to our program manager and me… attachments were there, somehow everything had to be sorted and filed for each student. It was cumbersome,” she said.

“We were printing out a lot of applications because of how directors were reviewing them — it was a lot of paper and quite inefficient,” Stidum added. The web form didn’t offer an online payment option for application fees, so staff were buried in checks, which required a great deal of manual processing and regular trips to the bank. “Families kept asking if there was any way they could pay by card and we had to tell them no,” Stidum said.

THE SOLUTION

Stidum knew she needed to find a more efficient way to capture and review applications. One of the co-directors of her program recommended SlideRoom™ — a
similar program on campus was already using it. “I was told it was easy to set up, and it was surprisingly easy. I may have done it all in one day!” shared Stidum.

“When I went on to set up the rating system we were going to use internally, which was completely new for some of our leadership, I was concerned because we
have a range of technical abilities on our team. I wanted it to be easy for everyone,” Stidum said. Implementation was smooth, and the team had no problem using the system.

THE PROGRAM’S OUTCOME

CSI has grown every year since implementing SlideRoom, while increasing applicant diversity and reducing application review time. While Stidum attributes some of the
program’s growth to the addition of housing options for students, she also believes adding an online payment option helped. “That was probably a factor in the increase of applications we saw because of the convenience of being able to pay the application fee online — especially for international applicants,” Stidum said.

“We’ve increased the number of applications from around the U.S. and international students. We also had applicants from farther away than ever before — Ghana,
China, Russia,” said Stidum. And while growing the number of applications, CSI has dramatically reduced the amount of time it takes directors and faculty to review
applications.

“I would definitely recommend SlideRoom,” Stidum said.

RESULTS

Since implementing SlideRoom, Stanford’s CSI program has:

  • Increased applications approximately 20% each year
  • Improved applicant diversity, attracting students from a broader geographic area and more varied ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds
  • Dramatically reduced application review time

About Stanford University’s Clinical Summer Internship

Stanford’s Clinical Summer Internship program brings high school juniors and seniors, as well as undergraduate pre-medical students, to the Stanford campus for two weeks each summer to explore the art and science behind world-class medicine. Participants learn from Stanford medical students, residents and faculty

Learn more about how SlideRoom can elp you find best applicants at slideroom.com

Read Next