<p>I am currently a junior in highschool which means I have only one summer left to impress colleges. The problem is I don't know what to do in the summer to impress colleges. I am trying to decide between finding an internship or going to a summer program and so I'm curious if an admissions officer will find one more impressive than the other. Keep in mind that I plan to go to college for engineering so either endeavor will revolve around science/engineering/ and or research.</p>
<p>I was in a similar position. I contacted many engineering professors at UC Berkeley and got myself a lab position last summer. It was, in short, the best summer I’ve ever had. The people were incredible, extremely smart, and I was allowed to operate equipment, collect data, and learn an inordinate amount about the sophisticated science they were doing there. And you never know, having worked with a professor could help with admission to that university. An internship is also cleaner than a summer program: no application, essay, or anything. The hard part is finding a professor who would agree to have you over for a whole summer. I was working closely with a postdoctoral researcher over the summer who sacrificed a considerable amount of his time to mentor and teach me, so your need to understand that it’s not always in the professor’s best interests to give a HS student an intern position. Your e-mail should be contrite, yet confident and to the point. Make sure you actually look up the research the professor is conducting and have some idea of what they’re doing before you get there. Attach a well-edited and pretty-looking resume (but also slip your most important credentials in the e-mail body itself). Don’t be surprised if you don’t even get a response back. Give it a few days and if nothing happens, rinse and repeat until something does. With some luck, a professor will respond and you will have gotten yourself a lab internship for the summer.</p>
<p>When it comes to these activities, the main purpose is not to just slap something down on the application, but to be able to talk about it passionately and explain how it opened your eyes to the field of engineering. An internship experience is definitely a good essay topic and something to bring up during interviews. It’s also critical that you find research in the field of engineering that you plan on entering. For example, I worked at a MSE and EECS lab and I got into Berkeley for EECS. An internship is a great experience but it means nothing if it doesn’t build towards your interest in your chosen field, so make sure it helps everything in your application come together.</p>
<p>Hello, I’m an international student from Belgium and currently a high school junior.</p>
<p>I’m also interested in an internship for next year. First of all is it possible to have an internship for international students? If so how does it all work? Can you sleep on the campus or do you have to book a hotel or something? I was wondering how you have to approach the professor and what you have to write in your e-mail to him?
I know it are a lot of questions and you might not be able to answer them all. Thank you. ;)</p>
<p>Greetings,</p>
<p>Jeroen</p>
<p>It depends what the internship is but generally I’d say internship over summer program. In a summer program you are most likely going to be doing what is preselected and everyone else is doing. An internship, especially one you’ve obtained on your own, where you are hands on and learning and providing useful skills to the organization can help set you apart. My son started interning for an architect the summer between Jr/Sr year as he was professionally certified in CAD. He was hired over college applicants. It was a paid position, full time. He was not making copies and getting coffee. He was altering and updating blueprints according to requests, changing elevations, adding electrical, etc. I think it helped him stand out in engineering admissions. He went back for two additional years and breaks, each year increasing duties and skills. </p>
<p>Best of luck</p>
<p>Sounded like a great opportunity and experience but I dont think I would be able to do something like that. Also I plan on trying to do multiple projects during the summer. As in I plan on getting an internship with a local politician for my graduation project(and i am interested in politics). I also plan on doing a 2-3 week summer program either taking a course on engineering or working at the Lincoln Lab at MIT building a radar. I might also try to get a job.
So as you can see my summer is quite crowded so I dont think I can devote all my time into one initiative. </p>
<p>Also, ace did you live near Berkeley so you were able to commute there? How was Berkeley like? It’s a college I am considering myself.</p>