<p>Does anyone which research program is better?</p>
<p>Realized I had posted too quickly 
If one had a choice between the Amgen Scholars Program at UCLA or the HHMI program at one’s own school, which would be the better choice?
Which is more prestigious? Which is more difficult to get into? Which would look better on a grad school resume?
Thanks!</p>
<p>Amgen Scholars, to my knowledge, is the more “prestigious” because the acceptance rates of those programs are notoriously low (20-30 acceptees out of ~1000 applicants). HHMI programs depend on which school you go to, but if it is at a well-known, large research school, chances are that the projects and the PI’s you run into will take you places in applying to graduate programs after college. On face value, Amgen gives you bigger bragging rights, but the quality of the actual programs probably do not differ that much.</p>
<p>Keep in mind though, that you can only attend an Amgen Scholars Program once (you can’t do it more than one summer). If you are good enough to receive offers into both programs, which I’m assuming is your situation, chances are that you will have a very satisfying and worthwhile experience either way. The same goes for the quality of your resume. So, my advice would be to pick based on (in the following order of significance) 1) who you’ll be working with 2) the quality of the university’s department (in whatever field you’re interested in, for instance, immunology), and 3) how interesting the project is and 4) external factors, like city and pay (lol). I don’t know what university you attend but for instance, UCLA is a great research environment.</p>
<p>Thank you Will pass on the info to my daughter. She will hear from Amgen UCLA in March but was told she will definitely get a spot in her school’s HHMI program. The pay is the same at both places.</p>
<p>To me the question isn’t prestige (both have it although I agree Amgen has more) BUT the opportunity. I work with high-ability students and counsel them to get a research experience away from our university if possible (through programs like Amgen, REUs, etc.) The reason is that when they are applying for grad achool, or for scholarships such as Goldwater and NSFGRF, it’s valuable to have an experience, AND a letter of recommendation, from another institution. There’s great weight when a professor from a different university says Jane Doe has excellent potential as a researcher in addition to letters Jane gets from home university.</p>
<p>Good point, Inthebiz.</p>
<p>I just started reading up on Amgen Scholars and REU. What does the profile of these kids look like–upperclassmen with lots of lab experience already?</p>
<p>Great point to consider, Inthebiz. My dd is a Goldwater nominee from her school this year.<br>
Ellemenope, she is a sophomore and has been doing research since freshman year.</p>
<p>For Amgen, my students have had a fair amount of research experience when applying. </p>
<p>REUs vary. Some of my students have gotten REUs after freshman year with minimal research although most do so after sophomore or junior year and have a fair amount of research experience.</p>