<p>i got into nj gov school for engineering/technology and also snagged a paid internship at the princeton plasma physics laboratory. i have to choose between them, so which one would be best to do (look the best)? it is not precisely a question of what would be the most fun to do because i know both will be very fun, although in different ways.</p>
<p>would interning at pppl be a nice shiny thing to talk about when i'm applying to princeton next year?</p>
<p>Wow a tough decision - I would say go with PPPL. They are paying you and it was probably as selective.</p>
<p>PPPL you get paid and plus its a huge leg-up for admissions while the NJ Governor’s school is good, the PPPL seems more selective and not as easy a thing to come by.</p>
<p>i have no idea how selective the internship is, but i know that gov school chooses 50 kids from new jersey</p>
<p>yeah, I know people who did the plasma physics lab… but they PAID to do it. i.e. they were not paid. and they didn’t get into any special schools, it didn’t seem like a leg up whatsoever.</p>
<p>I would definitely do Governor’s School. it’s such a good opportunity if you’re admitted. I know it may not make sense because all you have on your mind is the name “Princeton” but I think an internship only counts for so much these days. I know someone had an engineering internship at Columbia, and it got her nowhere lol. NJ Gov’s school is HUGE!</p>
<p>hm the website ([Princeton</a> Plasma Physics Laboratory](<a href=“Science Education at PPPL”>Science Education at PPPL)) specifies that “a limited number of paid internships are available in the summer”</p>
<p>how good are internships in general in terms of admissions?</p>
<p>On a second thought, go with NJ gov school. </p>
<p>Most people I know turn to internships after they’ve been rejected from gov school</p>
<p>It feels like I really can’t go wrong with either choice, but I’m really wondering whether an internship at PPPL would be especially good for princeton admissions</p>
<p>apparently a couple people who did research at PPPL got their names on published papers too</p>
<p>I know of three people who did the program. One is at UPenn, another at MIT, and another I don’t know but he went to my school. You are likely to get a recommendation from PPPL that will go a long way.</p>
<p>I guess I’ll go with PPPL, then. Gov school seems a bit like it would be fun for three weeks and not much help afterwards, while I could start next year with a rec and a published paper with PPPL. Thanks for the help!</p>
<p>meh this sucks, I already submitted my commitment letter to gov school on the 17th 
they were due for the sciences then and I didn’t want to miss that and end up having nothing to do this summer if I got rejected from this…
I don’t really know if it’s a good idea to just drop out now since if my counselor finds out (and I’m required to tell them about gov school -.-) I’ll probably get a ****ty recommendation…</p>
<p>Has anyone done the school year internship before? I think I may end up doing that next year instead, seeing as I don’t really have anything to do at my school anyway. What times is it at?</p>
<p>I don’t suppose it’s possible to do both this summer… gov school runs from July 12th to August 1st so that leaves ~4 weeks after and ~2 weeks before…</p>
<p>Um, Gov School is HUGE. Trust me.</p>
<p>Gov School may be easier to get into and may not be as challenging, but it seems select a group of students that do very well in college admissions. That or it provides a significant leg up. </p>
<p>Of my NJGSS class, here are the matriculation numbers:
Princeton 11
Yale 9
Harvard 9
Cornell 6
Penn 6
Columbia 5
Rutgers 5
Drew 4 (Drew promised us lofty scholarships)
Caltech 3
TCNJ 3
MIT 2
Swarthmore 2
JHU 2
Brown 2
Duke 2
NYU
Dartmouth
BU
Stockton/Kansas State University
Villanova
Catholic University
Harvey Mudd
Bryn Mawr
UCLA
Stevens
Georgetown
Pitt
Rice
McGill</p>
<p>There were a significant number of cross-admits and as it was science, a significant number chose direct med-school programs. I attended govschool after junior year, thinking it was a step down from the program I attended the summer before (SSP) in terms of both academic challenge and the success of my peers. The college admissions numbers kind of contradict that. </p>
<p>All in all. Take that for what it’s worth. Summer is a time when you should be having fun and pursuing interests that you can’t during the school year. Both PPPL and govschool are wonderful programs with very very different things to offer. You will do very different things at each program. I’m sure both look good on an application, and that really shouldn’t be your deciding factor.</p>