I am currently faced with a conflict regarding this coming summer. To provide some context I will be a rising senior this summer and I am planning on on studying International Relations in college. My conflict is that I applied to take a college course at a local ivy league institution that will be 2 days a week and I was also was offered an internship with my congressman.
I think that either option will make my application stand out however should I just do one and focus on that one(if so, which) or should I do both (course 2 days, internship 3 days)?
Do the internship with your congressman!!! That will expose you to government/politics and you can see if you like it. Taking a course at an Ivy will not help you get into an ivy. It will not make you stand out. You have plenty of time to take courses and an internship is an interesting thing for you!!
Depends.
If the Ivy League course will be filled with High Schoolers (i.e. pay for an A), than its only sort of worth it.
If the internship is you canvasing and being a gopher (i.e. “go for this,” “go for that”), than its not very valuable either.
If the Ivy League course will be you and a bunch of grad and undergrads, and you can get to know the professor and get a LoR, than maybe it is worth it.
If interning with your congressman will allow you to get a LoR from Chuck Schumer, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, or like famous people, than you would be dense not to do it.
If you can manage both, do both. Just recall that its better to do one thing well than half-*** two things.