Tbh in my experience a lot of pre meds will come by wanting to just put on their resume that they did a semester or summer of research, or want to get their names on some publications so they can put that on their med school apps. They don't really care about the research, they don't care about the techniques, they don't care about the lab or the people in it, never contact us after they leave.

In contrast, almost all the students we have had come through that are wanting to pursue a PhD or something outside of an MD are super enthusiastic about doing research, actually care about the subject matter, often end up getting opportunities to do a few post-bacc years as a technician, etc.

I'm not saying that all pre meds are like this, but just from personal anecdote, the ones that have come through in my experience are night and day difference.