<p>How beneficial is a summer internship for a rising high school senior?</p>
<p>I've heard that it really helps with college admissions because they want to see hands-on experience and research, but I've also heard that no one expects research to be done in a 3 month period, and that students often find it a waste of time because they're stuck doing menial tasks like filing papers and getting coffee for their superiors when they could be learning new stuff at a college camp. </p>
<p>So how impressive does an internship really look on an application? I'm all for the experience of working in a science lab, but I don't want to waste time doing pointless things either. I'm able to get an internship at a pharmaceutical company nearby, but should I do it?</p>
<p>Any input would be great!
Thanks!
~Hautbois</p>
<p>I have really been wondering about this, too! I was thinking about doing an internship a month ago but I decided to apply to another business program instead. Would the internship be just as good? (Sorry it’s not really a response, OboeWhizzy!)</p>
<p>That’s ok! It’s what forums are all about, discussing questions and asking new ones. :)</p>
<p>You should do what you like, and what interests you the most. If you were selling cars and you honestly believed that Toyotas were better than Hondas, you’d do a lot better selling the Toyotas. What I mean is that you should do the one you personally want, because you would have a better time writing about it in a college essay.</p>
<p>I think they’re worth it if your internship is doing something you love. You probably won’t be in the middle of all the action but if it’s a topic you’re interested in and you get to be involved with the work in some way then I’d say its worth it. Also, you get to make connections which always come in handy</p>
<p>It made a difference to my son, but he got “lucky” in that his internship had him working with researchers in a lab. He worked hard and was sufficiently useful that the head of the lab got to know him well enough to write a supplemental LOR. </p>
<p>It is difficult to know how much difference the LOR made, but it did not hurt him any, and I’m personally convinced that it was a big help. IMO, Adcoms see so many awards and EC bonus points handed out by the HS administration that their eyes glaze over; a 3rd party acknowledgment of work ethic, knowledge, dedication, passion, etc. just counts for more. </p>
<p>Otoh, some internships are bogus (filing and coffee fetching); those sound like a wasted summer to me.</p>
<p>In research lab experience for high schoolers is mint.</p>
<p>Office filing, coffee fetching sounds like a waste of time but it depends on what you are getting out of being in the environment. Are you talking to people? What are you observing, hearing, are they answering your questions? Being in the authentic environment of some jobs is just worth experiencing. But if you are fetching coffee and filing without paying attention to what is going on around you and you are not talking to anyone - that would be a waste of time maybe even in the President’s office.
Ask yourself if you would be able to write an essay on the internship experience in the context of the career. </p>
<p>Some business or other educational programs can be worthless too. I would risk and choose an internship over summer classes any day.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! That was a lot of help. I just got an internship at a pharmaceutical lab over the summer, due to your advice. Looking forward to it!</p>
<p>Just curious - how did you go about getting the internship? Was it through a connection? Or did you simply contact companies on your own?<br>
Thanks</p>
<p>This internship is going to make you stand out more with your college applications. Some Colleges and Universities - you can’t even get a lab research position until junior year. You are very fortunate!!! It also helps with scholarships.</p>
<p>@Wyanokie
I got mine through a connection; the place I’m doing it at this summer is where one of my family members works, so it was fairly easy for me. I didn’t have to apply or anything, because the manager knows me and he said it would be fine.
I also have older friends who did internships at colleges, Allied Health, and other research labs. That’s a bit harder if you don’t have a connection, but if you contact the professor/person in charge and send a persuasive personal letter, they might consider accepting you. Lots of colleges offer internships, but they aren’t really broadcast and sold like their summer programs are (you can probably guess why!), so you have to go looking for those.
I heard that Rutgers has a good summer internship thing at their engineering lab.</p>
<p>@IxnayBob
Thanks!</p>
<p>I guess I got really lucky with my internship. I interned at Emory’s Chem Dept, under a grad student working at a Physical Chemistry group focused on quantum confining materials and nonlinear spectroscopy. I learned so much in those five weeks, and thankfully never had to file paper, get coffee (except for me!), and I felt like I considerably contributed to the group’s progress on their research. I also got to participate in group meetings, I really felt as if I was a part of the group… </p>
<p>I’m definitely going back this summer, hopefully to work for 2-3 months, and will try to get published this time!</p>