How does independent research differ from summer research?

[nishi]

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I'm trying to decide which would be the best for me to do.

I'm about to start doing research at the medical school affiliated with my undergrad school and my mentor wants to know if i want to do independent research in her lab now and continue it throughout the summer. Before talking to her, I was planning on doing summer research at another school through an NIH sponsored program that has research sites like harvard, USCD, and yale.

Which do you think would be the most valuble experience? What is the difference between summer research and independence research?

I feel independent research is better, but I think if I have the opportunity to establish connections at another school I may be applying to this summer, that that would work out better. But on the flip, I was nominated by a faculty member from my school to do the NIH program. Would it be bad to tell him now that I no longer will be able to do it?

 

[QofQuimica]

My opinion is that you should based your decision on which lab's research is more interesting to you. If you're not sure or you want to try both, you can work at your undergrad this semester and do the other program in the summer. Actually, you'd have the best of both worlds that way.