<p>I'm corresponding with a professor at my university who said I can join her lab. She asked me if I wanted to be paid, or come on as a volunteer. She said my role would be the same either way-- helping with the current research project.</p>
<p>Which would look better on a medical school application? (I plan to do other volunteer work outside this lab, so this would not be the only "altruistic" thing I do, if volunteering in non-clinical research is even altruistic.)</p>
<p>It seems like the obvious choice here is to take the money! Would that be a mistake somehow?</p>
<p>Go for the money. I have a feeling that the situation isn’t so much pay vs volunteer as pay vs credit. If they have money, take it.</p>
<p>I’m confused. Why do some profs ask if you want to be paid, while others don’t even ask about it and just assume you’ll be a volunteer? In case of the latter, would it be inappropriate to ask whether you can be paid?</p>
<p>mmmcdowe, I’ll eventually be doing research for credit for my major, but not this year. So I guess the pay would probably stop once I started getting credit.</p>
<p>I would take credit over money, but money over… well, receiving nothing. In any case, it doesn’t really matter, so may as well get some pocket change while you’re there.</p>
<p>There is no mistake in choosing to get paid. If anything, since you’re now a financial investment (assuming your pay is coming from lab funds and not your school), you’ll be expected to be more productive, and that expectation motivates better research.</p>
<p>I’d go with the money without a doubt, unless you’re badly in need of easy grade points.</p>
<p>Well, my view is: think about how much your tuition is per grade point. Now think about how much money you’re foregoing by choosing credit instead of pay. Much better to take the grades than the pay.</p>
<p>BDM, at least in my case taking a lab position for credit meant that you GOT credit for doing it, not that you got free credits. I still had to pay for research credits, fortunately though my school had a 12+ credit cut off so it was all the same price for me. So, unless you need research credits towards your degree then I’d without a doubt take the cash.</p>
<p>Take the $ when offered. It does not matter if you get credit from the resaerch project or not. You can always get paid for the reaserch and even get part or full of tuition paid if you work enough hours (10 - 20 per week). Of course, it depends on the school and professor. Anyway, you should think differently that the professor is beneficial from your research work also (future research funding, publications, etc).</p>
<p>Most private universities don’t charge per credit anyway. What I had in mind, though, was just demonstrating the value of credits.</p>
<p>In a concrete sense, it makes it easier to graduate and lightens your courseload.</p>
<p>^ And, if the credit comes with a grade, is an easy way to boost your GPA.</p>