There’s a program in my city where high school students compete for STEM internships. Unfortunately, I found this program late and I only have a week to request rec letters, write essays etc. Some of the internships sound really interesting and relevant to my interests, but the pay is pretty terrible: around $2.50 an hour.
My other option is to get a job and work part time over the summer. Less specific, but higher paying. I like this option more, but I’m afraid of falling further behind my classmates in the “stuff done for college admissions” category.
I would just get a job. There’s no reason to half-ass everything. Just accept that that path is gone, and try to find a better one. There’s plenty of summer programs you can do that aren’t necessarily paid, but are great experiences. Check out some colleges near you and see if they offer anything for high school students. You could even call and see if you could be an intern for them or something.
I’d go with the job. Teachers generally don’t like having only a week to write letters like that, meaning yours may end up rushed. And when you’re in college and have enough extra spending money to get a burrito instead of going to the dining hall for lunch again, you won’t be sitting around and wishing you’d done an internship.
Get the application submitted and see if you get an internship. My daughter rushed a number of applications over the years for opportunities she found out late, and teachers came through for her and she wound up with incredible experiences.
If you get an internship, great! Experience related to your intended major pays off in many ways besides the token wages or college admissions. You will learn things that will put you ahead in STEM, you will make connections in the field (including among your peers, who could be very successful one day), and you will find out whether a particular area of study is truly interesting to you or not. If you plan to study science in college and the internship will give you research experience, that is even more important – research is everything in science.
If you don’t get the internship, then take the job and put that on your college application. It will also be impressive.