deciding between two summer opportunities

Hello all,

I have been accepted into an environmental science research program, but I have also been offered a job/internship/opportunity at a lab I volunteered at last summer. I need to decide which place to go to, but it’s a very difficult decision.

The environmental science program: I will be conducting my own research project while being mentored by a graduate student. This is at a prestigious university, and is a free program. Many of my friends have attended this program, it’s structured, the people involved are a very tight family who provide a lot of opportunities down the line after the program.

The other opportunity: I will be working with a family friend who also mentored me last year, very involved research in biomedical sciences (specifically electrophysiology), I already have background knowledge. Possibility of a stipend/pay and name on a paper. It is at the same university at the environmental science program. The PI (principal investigator) likes me, so he might be able to write a killer rec if I do well at the lab this summer.

I am equally interested in both. All my friends are saying I should go to the environmental science one, but my dad says I should go to the other lab. Also, I don’t know if it’s bad to just abandon my family friend in favor of another program.

It seems like I can’t go wrong with either one, but I also don’t want to make a “wrong” decision. If I posted this in the wrong thread, please let me know.

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.