NIH summer programs

[Zeloy]

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So what can you tell me about the NIH summer research programs? I'm currently a sophomore and have no research or internship experience. My GPA is good, but other than that I don't have much else. Will it be hard for me to get into something like this? Anyone know of any other research/internship possibilities over the summer? It seems like all the ones I've looked at, including NIH want you to have some experience, but how am I suppose to get any if they all want experience!

 

[MedAppGurl]

You can always do research at your school. Contact some professors whose research interests you, and ask them if you can do work in their lab. It's a convenient way of getting experience without having to relocate.
good luck

 

[BonBon Doux]

Yeah, I did work at the NIH through several of their programs...It was a good experience BUT they assume you have experience going in...at least, that was the case for me...most of the students do it the summer before their senior year of college for the Summer Internship.

You will get the same lab experience you can get at any undergrad institution...

You can PM me if you want.

BonBon

 

[Zeloy]

I just noticed, the NIH site has the same application for both high school and undergraduate students. Can they really expect high school students to have any experience? Maybe some programs want people with experience and others don't mind if you don't have any?

 

[BonBon Doux]

yes, they have a hs program...the apps are always the same for everything...but how they pick ppl is based on a search. only SOME investigators ask for hs students. in fact, the investigators i worked with each time often rolled their eyes and said "hell no, we'd never take hs students."

they don't expect hs students to know jack squat, but they also don't give them much to do.

how they pick college ppl is based on a search. so let's say you were a investigator at NCI (national cancer institute) and you want a summer intern. you pull up the application search that investigators have, and put in search words like "breast cancer" and it will give them all the applications that make mention of breast cancer. so, if you have never worked in breast cancer research, chances are your app won't get drawn up...so that's why they want experience.

does that make sense? if not, PM me and I will explain further...

BonBon

 

[ek6]

I did the NIH summer program the summer before my senior year. This is what I had on my resume when I applied:
1. worked at a hospital the summer before shadowing doctors
2. painted the summer before that...
3. played soccer and in the orchestra in school...
that's all...
Thus, the NIH internship was my first research experience! It's actually funny because at the end of the summer, my supervisor/mentor (a post-doc) mentioned she chose me because on the bottom of my resume, I indicated that I "delivered exterior paint jobs"...how hilarious is that! She wanted somebody "down to earth" and mentioned she picked me over some med students and other more qualified people who made it seem like they just wanted the job for their resume.
Anyway, I'm just telling you this because you can still get these internships without research experience (though it would be generally easier if you did). A lot of the post-docs who sift through the apps aren't as cutthroat and demanding as you think. Some of them are...well...normal and would be delighted to mentor a young, personable college student for a summer. So just put whatever you got down on the app. I thought I wasn't going to get it until I got the phonecall in May - it was definitely exciting. When I graduated, I think having those four simple words on my resume (National Institutes of Health) helped me get responses to 16 or 17 awesome research jobs (and the one I picked ended up helping me a lot on my med school app too - now research is probably one of the strongest parts of my resume). It also looks sweet on your med school app - it shows you've done actual research.
Btw, try to do a little research as an undergrad too. You're only a sophomore-that was about the time I started thinking about this kind of stuff. You're getting a good head start on things - which will pay off! Good luck.