NIH SIP HELP

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

So I applied to the NIH Summer Internship Program in the beginning of February and have been furiously contacting PIs. I usually do not hear back from PIs and the ones that I do, they tell me that they are not taking any interns this summer. So far I have already contacted 13 PIs after submitting my application (will contact 3 more tomorrow) and this does not even include the many PIs I contacted before I applied (I just showed interest in their research at that time and did not indicate that I was going to apply to the SIP). Right now I am really giving up hope because I feel like the clinical groups/labs are filling up. It also does not help that I am a nursing student.

Does anybody have any tips? PLEASE!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!

Also, what are my chances of getting an offer? I am a sophomore nursing student with a 4.0 and is working on both clinical and lab research currently. I have also volunteered at a local hospital many years. I really want to at least get an offer especially since I have been working on this whole process since the beginning of September 2014. Any tips are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

2

As a participant of the program last summer, I think the only reason I got in was because of the quantity of emails I sent out. I literally blocked out time every day to send 10 emails until one finally contacted me two weeks after I began. Don’t get me wrong, I am/was certainly qualified, but the NIH program is more about being in the right place at the right time than being a good “fit.”

3

Thanks! I recently found out that I got in! :smiley: I will in Bethesda, Maryland and need to find reasonably priced housing. Any suggestions?

4

Also, how was your experience? I am really excited to research at the clinical center!! Any tips would be great as well.