Summer Internship vs Research Opportunity

Hey CC! I was luckily accepted into a summer intern position and a research program this summer, and I’m having a very, very hard time deciding which one to attend, so I want your input. I really want to do both programs. However, there are time commitments for both programs that I will not be able to meet. In the future, I hope to major in computer science and economics.

The intern opportunity is paid, and I’m part of the first class of interns for this opportunity. It’s also a real-life job/office experience, and the companies have told us that they would actually like our input on their work and will assign us projects to do rather than make us make coffee or copies for them. I would love the opportunity to gain work experience!

On the other hand, the summer research opportunity is at a local university, and I had NO IDEA I would get in. It’s pretty prestigious, and many people who do research here end up publishing papers or winning prizes in science fair. I’ve never had research experience before, so it would be really nice to participate in this program to gain some experience.

I’m stuck right in the middle on which one I should choose, and I would really appreciate any tips y’all have! Thank you so much!