Please help!! Need some advice!!

[kinkocopies3]

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I will be a senior majoring in chemical engineering applying for medical schools for the Fall of 2005. I have 2 internship offers for next summer and I am not sure which one I should do (or which one will be more beneficial in the long run for med schools).

I can either work as a process engineering intern for a corporation strictly doing tradition chemical engineering work or work on a biomedical engineering research project at a university. The PE intern position pays a LOT more, but the biomedical engineering research position is more medical related (in the area of tissue engineering), but the pay is not too great.
I just can't decide between the two!!!

I just wanted some advice on what you guys would do 🙂 Which one would look better to Admission Committees??


Thanks.

 

[dcpark74]

If you have other ECs that are medically related (ie, clinical), then go for the higher paying internship.

Unless you're thinking about MD/PhD, again go for the higher paying internship.

 

[Grumpy Bear]

I think it really depends on what you need to get out of your summer job. Neither job sounds particularly clinical, but the biomendical engineering research should give you lots to talk about in secondaries and interviews. I think you should definitely consider what your chief responsibilities would be at either job. I'd lean towards the one where you think you'll learn the most and have the most responsibility. It seems like timing-wise, next summer is probably too late to get a LOR, so you should mostly focus on something that will really interest you (this will help when you have to talk about it for interviews). Alternatively, if you really think you need the extra cash, I don't think there's anything wrong with just going for that. 🙂 Next summer is definitely still a ways off, so you have time to keep looking a bit if neither experience is really grabbing you. What are you planning on doing for the rest of your year off? Good luck!

 

[moeman]

Your premed education does not have to be structured exclusively around your future medical aspirations. That being said, assuming that you have zero past medical research, I would say the best thing to do is to take the tissue engineering route. However, only you know how badly you need the money.

 

[menemotxi]

Congrats on the two internship offers. That's really great.

What exactly do you want to base your choice on? If you're going to go by what a med school would like better, I'd probably go for the research related BME job, especially if you'd have a chance at getting published. Med schools love research related stuff. But, I am a little biased because I'm a BME maor. Tissue Engineering is cool stuff.

That being said, make your choice on what you'd enjoy the most if you don't really care what med schools will think.

With either choice though, med schools will love the fact that you're doing interesting internships. I have BME friends who are in med school now who got asked all about their internship experiences in interviews.

Good luck on everything.