NIH vs college lab during the summer

I was offered to work in a lab for 3 months at a nearby university during the summer but I was planning to apply to the NIH. I know that it’s silly to be thinking about a program that I didn’t get into, but which one should I focus on? Applying to the NIH or waiting until summer to work? Does anyone know the benefits of working at a university lab or NIH?

I did the NIH SIP this past summer, and I can say that it really is what you make of it. Some kids don’t do much there, but others do amazing projects and go on to do well in Siemens/Intel/etc. It really depends on your mentor/lab.