<p>I'm a Bio major so of course I'd like to get involved in some research. However I don't know of many research opportunities around where I live, and the ones that do exist require extremely high GPA, letters of recommendations, etc. My intention is to someday go to grad school. So while I'm going to CC, should I try to get involved in some research or is it not that important at this stage in my academic career? I just don't want to end up shooting myself in the foot later on.</p>
<p>I know a bio major who interned at mcdonalds. He was working with chemists who worked on preservatives and other stuff for their food. He transferred to sd for bio-e.</p>
<p>DO they even want community college students?</p>
<p>Thats what I was thinking. I know UC Berkeley sometimes offers internships to CC students, but they’re really hard to get into. Plus the only class that I’ve taken so far that directly applies to my major is General Chem 1. I’m going to wait until I finish Gen Chem and at least got some Bio in before applying anywhere.</p>
<p>A lot of research internships have a quota of acquiring community college students. So its not as hard as you’d think. But you’d need at least a 3.0 GPA. And all research internships require at least 1 letter of rec. Just do some looking around the internet and you can find some, though most will be accepting applications at a national level. And just so you know, most summer research internships have deadlines in early-mid spring. </p>
<p>As a community college student your number one priority should be getting a high GPA since that is THE most important factor of you transferring to a good school. Your second priority as a CC student is transferring out within X amount of years and not being delayed because of extra curricular activities. For example, I would choose a summer course over an internship if it meant me transferring on time. All I’m saying is that internships are great but they’re not worth it if they affect your grades and transferring schedule. </p>
<p>As for Grad schools, internships are highly important. Everyone will have high GPAs, so you need to stand out. It doesn’t matter whether you do them now as a CC student or later on as a University student. Though it should be noted that the more internships you have, the better (of course).</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s ever a bad time for an internship. It gives you valuable experience and helps you figure out what you want to do. It also might help you make some money, depending on your field. Why not?</p>