Camp Counselor vs. Biomedical Internship

[HRwind]

Hi All,

I'm a freshman and am coming up on my summer deadlines. It's coming down to either...

a) Working at a summer camp. I would be a counselor, in charge of two sets of 15 kids for two 1 month sessions, taking them to activities, etc. It's not volunteer, it's not for people of disabilities, just a classic summer camp.
Pros:
-I would love it, I've spent 9 out of my last 10 summers there, so would definitely have more genuine/passionate things to say/write about it, which I've heard is important.
-Could make me unique(ish) to application committees. Everyone does undergrad research, but not everyone works at a summer camp.
-Would pick up lots of marketable skills (leadership, teamwork, communication, responsibility, etc.) to use (see Pro #1)
Cons:
-Not a "real" job.
-Opportunity will be here every summer
b) My school has a great opportunity for bioengineering majors (which I happen to be) where you can do a full-time bioengineering (often biomedical engineering) research internship after your first year. Some are at the university, some are at other institutions and even med school/research universities. You do 10 weeks of research in a lab, then present it to various people/groups.
Pros:
-Med schools expect research, or at least everyone else has it, so I need it too.
-Could probably do a little other pre-med activity(s) on the side, like EMT training, shadowing, volunteering, etc.
-Only available this first summer.
Cons:
-I'm not really going to be interested in it, and I'll just be doing it to check off a box.
-I'm going to do at least one other research experience during undergrad (required undergrad honors thesis)
I'm doing fine on EC. Volunteering w/ Red Cross, local hospital, food bank, and a physical development mentorship with disabled children, and part of various non pre-medical clubs and activities. 4.00 GPA.
If the internship wasn't on the table, I would pick the summer camp. But I feel like getting a prestigious and relevant research experience this early in my undergrad could look pretty good, and would likely open the doors to even better pre-med opportunities down the road.
Sorry if there are other threads like this one, I couldn't find any.


What should I do? Please answer as pragmatically as possible (meaning, don't take into account which I'll enjoy more. I only mentioned that because, like I said, it might be noticeable in my writing/interviews)
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P.S. I'm sure there's not a cut-and-dry answer, but approximately how much research is the norm? Because I'm in the honors college, I have to research and write a thesis during my undergrad anyway. Should I be looking for a lot of research opportunities? Or once I have one, would it be better to focus on rounding out the rest of my app, ie: work once at a summer camp and once in research, rather than twice in research?



TL;DR Should I work as a summer camp counselor (which I'll enjoy, and be able to write passionately about) or at a summer biomedical research internship (which I won't care much for, but will be a necessary box on my app)?

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[freedoctor17]

Have you ever done research before? You might actually enjoy it more than you think. I honestly got involved in my lab like you say as just another thing I needed to check off(I also needed it for my major as well for research credit) but it turned out to be something I really liked.

Camp counselor sounds super fun but like you said you can do it any summer right?

 

[tiramisucheese]

Camp counselor sounds super fun but like you said you can do it any summer right?

Not exactly. When you've been a camper at an overnight camp for so many years, you have an extremely deep-seated connection to the place. Working as a counselor is really only accessible to you for the first year or two after college. After that, your peers start dropping off and the mystical fun of camp starts to ebb away.

OP, you're only a freshman, so I think it's fine to take this one last summer to be a camp counselor. I was never a camper at this type of camp, but I was a counselor at one for 5 summers. This is essentially your last opportunity to do this, so go for it! Research will always be there.

 

[tiramisucheese]

I think you should do the research opportunity. I don't think being a camp counselor is going to help you too much when you're applying to medical school. At one of my interviews, my interviewer had two interviews back to back, and I was the second person. My interviewer told me the first person he interviewed only played tennis, and how she had no relevant experience with health care or research (unprofessional, but w/e). I think the research opportunity will help you much more. I know you have to do research later on, but realistically, med schools expect you to do research for most of undergrad anyway

I don't think your analogy is quite the same. OP already has a lot of health care experience and will acquire research at a later date. It's not like his application would be unbalanced.

 

[CaptainWEMT]

As someone who left my overnight camp after 9 years (6 as a camper, 1 on a camp trip, 1 CIT, and 1 counselor) to spend my summer working as an EMT to get clinical experience I would recommend that you go with the camp. It sounds like you will be able to get plenty of research opportunities during the course of your studies, but you will not have many more opportunities to hang out with your camp friends and enjoy the community of your camp. If you really want to spend time at camp and also work towards medical school see if they need an Assistant nurse to help out in the health center or see if you could shadow the camp doctor (if they have one) or the health center staff.

 

[JonathanHusky]

I think you should do the research opportunity. I don't think being a camp counselor is going to help you too much when you're applying to medical school. At one of my interviews, my interviewer had two interviews back to back, and I was the second person. My interviewer told me the first person he interviewed only played tennis, and how she had no relevant experience with health care or research (unprofessional, but w/e). I think the research opportunity will help you much more. I know you have to do research later on, but realistically, med schools expect you to do research for most of undergrad anyway

that's not true... it definitely doesn't hurt your chances but if you're working in a lab for most of undergrad just cause you think med schools expect you to do it, it's not going to be a meaningful experience... I had very little research experience and was accepted, sure some schools will value research more than others, especially the top tier ones but it's not something every medical school expects from you... side note: I've been involved with a summer camp for kids with serious illnesses since 2015 and it greatly helped my application

if this is only your freshman year OP you can do research this summer and work at the camp the next summer, or vice versa.. just because you do one this summer doesn't mean the other won't be available down the road

 

[HRwind]

Have you ever done research before? You might actually enjoy it more than you think.

That's a good point

 

[HRwind]

Thanks for your answers, guys! @JonathanHusky @bigbite @CaptainWEMT @tiramisucheese

 

[Trollest]

Take the research opportunity. It' more valuable especially as a freshman

 

[DokterMom]

They're both good opportunities but in different ways. You will want to show research and understanding of the scientific method. But you will also want to show human skills such as leadership, compassion, teamwork, etc. You need them both, and so far, it seems like you're making good progress on both fronts.

While you want to make sure you "get all your boxes checked" as an applicant (medical exposure, numbers, altruism, research, leadership) it's also important not to come across as "check boxy" -- as that kid who read and followed the recipe with fairly good (but not outstanding) results -- especially if you're an ORM. You want to have some 'sizzle' in addition to a serviceable steak. But that said, if there's one aspect of your application that is allowed to be a bit check-boxy, that would be research. You don't even really have to like it, and are allowed to say so, just so long as you're tried it. But if it's your human service/altruism that comes off as "going through the motions" -- well that is far more likely to be fatal.

Between working as a counselor at the regular camp where you were a camper just last year and working at a camp for children with serious illnesses or disabilities -- hands down, the latter would be the better activity. I see that you have some experience working with disabled children. Would that be enough to get your foot in the door at a special camp? (Call now and ask!) If you can do that, do that.

But between working as a counselor at the regular camp where you were a camper just last year and doing the BME research project -- Since you note that this is a one-time opportunity and that it's fairly prestigious, I'd do that this year. (But call your camp and keep your foot in the door, just in case.)

One other point on activities -- In general, you're not supposed to include activities from high school unless they are continued into college. If some of the activities you listed were started before college and can be carried through (or resumed very soon!) do that. Nothing shows commitment and sincerity quite like continuation of service.