Which summer internship should I accept?

[whizzpoppers]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Brief background first-
I already have two summers of internships under my belt. One was in molecular bio at my home uni, and I'm also going to do my senior thesis on that research. The other was a clinical psych internship at a hospital in Germany, and I may get a publication based on my work before I apply for med school admission for fall 2016. I have a 3.6 GPA, I'm currently a junior and I plan on taking a gap year after graduation to do either volunteering or research, haven't decided yet.

My dilemma-
For this summer, I'm trying to decide between two offers. One is a cancer bio internship at Harvard Medical School. The other is a clinical neuro research internship at the UCLA hospital that also comes with shadowing opportunities. I don't have any clinical experience yet, apart from some hospice volunteering I'll be doing starting this September to next May, but I do have a bit of research experience already. An internship at Harvard Med is pretty awesome (imo!), I get a $4000 stipend, and would probably look impressive to adcoms, but it's pure research, no clinical exp or shadowing at all. On the other hand, the UCLA hospital internship would give me clinical exp, basic research, and shadowing, all in one, but it's unpaid, basically volunteer work.

I'm torn, because pros and cons aside, I'm equally excited about both. Which internship should I choose in order to best strengthen my application?

 

[prettyNURSEtoMD]

Here's my 2 cents, FWIW.. I think you should take the internship at Harvard. You said that you were going to take a gap year anyways after graduation to do some select things. If it were me I would take the paid stipend internship, one because it's Harvard, and two, it's paid, you can save that and use it for your application cycle, traveling expenses etc. If you are definitely going to take the gap year, use that to find some clinical experience, and no more research, and I think you'll be okay.

 

[iniquus]

Assuming both are equivalent in terms of chance for publication, go for the Harvard paid one. Clinical shadowing is easy to obtain once you're in the medical environment, just send a few emails out.

 

[Say]

Harvard gonna Harvard.
1. Send some emails once at Harvard
2. Acquire clinical volunteer hours at Mass Gen
3. ????
4. Accepted to medical school and profit

 

[quicheduty]

Agreed with all, definitely the paid internship. Congrats!

 

[Lya]

Agree with all of the above. Go to Harvard and have clinical experience during the upcoming academic year.

You may or may not get the clinical experience in HMS affiliates, but clincal experiences are something you can address at your home institution. Focus on hospice volunteering 1-3 hrs a week and add some shadowing here and there, and you should be good to go.

Congrats! Well done.