<p>@quidditchcat: You mentioned directly emailing a professor… is there a particular way to do this? I feel as if it might be taken as invasive or bothersome if I were to randomly email research professors.</p>
<p>@WishUponThisStar: It depends on your interests. Hands-on work in a clinic is much different from research. Some people love working directly with people and hate research; for others it’s the opposite. If you’re not sure which one you’re more interested in, just pick one and if you don’t like it, try the other the next time you get a chance!</p>
<p>Also if by ‘beneficial’ you mean ‘helpful on college apps’, then I think both will be beneficial because both show that you’re exploring your interests. What you actually do won’t matter as much.</p>
<p>Hmm. Well, personally I thought YSP was worth my money, but money wasn’t a huge issue for me. (I live within 1.5hr driving distance so travel wasn’t costly either.) Since I’m getting college credit for it and am going to a UC for sure (some colleges may not give you the 5 units of credit, but it’s guaranteed credit if you’re going to attend a UC), I think it’s worth it. Plus there’s room & board, field trips, extra food parties and other stuff.
You can apply for financial aid and hopefully you’ll get some!
I think right now you should apply to as many internships & programs as possible; then choose from whichever ones you get in… because a lot of these programs are pretty competitive.</p>