Summer Internship Program vs. Staying at Campus over Summer

[movinglights1029]

Hi guys!

I had a question and I was hoping I could hear people's opinions on what would be a better choice.
So, I have two choices for what I could do this summer.
1) I recently got accepted to a summer internship program at LSUHSC School of Medicine. This is like a normal 8 week research program in the summer. I am also hoping I could find a doctor there to shadow and volunteer at the hospital during the weekends
2) Stay on campus and get a head start in a research project and if I choose this choice, I have a higher chance of graduating one semester early. (By the way, I'm a junior right now) I also have a regular doctor here that I'm shadowing and I'm also volunteering here, as well.

I'm not sure what would be a better choice for me so I'm hoping you guys can help me!

Thanks in advance!

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[elu0315]

Does either choice make money? If so, it's always good to get some extra cash. Graduating a semester early only matters in my opinion if you are trying to save on tuition.

 

[movinglights1029]

@elu0315 only the summer research program will be paying me.
for me, I don't really have a preference on graduating early or not, but I won't have any classes to take in the spring of next year so that was I was considering early graduation.

 

[eteshoe]

The summer internship sounds interesting. Graduating a semester early may not be worth the effort if you weren't going to taking courses anyhow. Might as well enjoy the last semester with no classes (aka the level of fun that college can be with no worries of class).

 

[El-Rami]

If the summer internship pays, go for it. Hands down. Graduating a semester early (or even a year early) really isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Cookiess]

I would go for the summer internship at LSUHSC School of Medicine for two reasons:
1) You may be able to get a LOR from LSUHSC SOM professor you do research with. You also may have opportunities to interact with the faculty from the medical school. This could potentially have some advantages if you apply to LSUHSC SOM in the future.
2) The research program provides a paid stipend.

When you return to school in the fall, you could always do research on a similar topic as project you worked on in the summer and that might reduce the learning curve in the research lab at your school.