<p>We have the dilemma of DS really needing to make money this summer to fund his sophomore year commitments with his need to volunteer in a medical capacity. I have set him to task with finding an opportunity to volunteer (even if at the local health center) for med school. He will have opportunities to do psychology and chemistry internships this and next summer, but I am not sure the stipend is large enough if we have to pay for housing. He is applying for a few research opportunities that do have housing and stipend, but they are very competitive. I don’t think another year of cutting grass and volunteering at the hospital will kill him, however.</p>
<p>OHmom- hoping all turns out well for your son…</p>
<p>OldFort- so sorry to hear about your D having wallet stolen, from experiance I know it is a hassle.</p>
<p>I have to say it’s great to have D home but this summer she will have to find a job or something or I will go nuts… The sleeping late and lack of helping around the house is starting to wear thin on me.</p>
<p>S has worked in a local restaurant since the summer between junior and senior year of high school. On this break he was put right back on the schedule. Depending on the outcome of his meeting Friday, he may or may not return :)</p>
<p>He has worked in his field - sound engineering/tech - and will again this summer but it’s not usually enough to earn real money at on its own, it’s a weekend here, a show there, all live music. There are fulltime opportunities but I suppose he’ll be focusing on school work this semester, if he returns.</p>
<p>My D interned (for a stipend) at a PR firm in NYC this summer. After that internship, she was able to land one this fall in PR dept. at a large retailer. She’ll start her third internship (for a high-end fashion label, also working in PR) next week. </p>
<p>She has applied to be a summer RA and plans to work another internship at that time. While in high school, she also worked at Panera and Lucky Jeans and interned for a friend of ours who was a freelancer for some local magazines. Based on her experience, I’d say it is never too early to start. </p>
<p>My son, who is a sophomore in high school, worked at an AMC theater this summer. I think for many employers, the demonstration of work ethic–particularly at a young age–is very appealing.</p>
<p>S is enjoying his time off immensely. He has a really eclectic group of friends who are artsy types to his math mind. I don’t think I’ve seen him up before noon yet. I think today is his first night home for dinner since Christmas! They are really great friends, good people and I see most of these friendships lasting a lifetime. Not to mention the girlfriend is here too.</p>
<p>As for the summer - he and two of his friends are starting a company to make a video game. I was shocked to hear him tell my friend that they have a plan and goals and deadlines. He’s realistic about it all and understands that even if it’s never made the experience will be valuable. Each three are bringing something unique to the table. </p>
<p>And this kid is telling me he doesn’t intend on settling in our state when his roots are so deep here.</p>
<p>I think my D1’s first choice would be to repeat her summer’s internship (paid minimum wage) at NASA JPL. The official internship program has been discontinued, but last summer D was grandfathered in and maybe they can do that again. However, with all the roiling over the federal budget and sequestration, JPL probably won’t know their funding situation for some months. </p>
<p>Her next best option may be a summer job or internship in Silicon Valley. Berkeley SWE seems to post lots of offerings. That’s how she found the (minimally paid) internship she is doing this January. Maybe that company will like her well enough to offer her a summer job. My brother has offered to take her resume in to his company. Ditto his hacker friends. They all seem pretty gleeful about “fresh meat.” :eek:</p>
<p>There’s always the option of staying at Berkeley, taking one or two classes, and finding a part-time job or working in a research lab. Taking the next math class over the summer would help with sequencing of engineering pre-reqs, making it easier for her to finish in 4 years.</p>
<p>I think she’s more likely to find something up in No.CA than here at home. Especially if she doesn’t look here at home. </p>
<p>My D2 (HS2015) will spend her summer volunteering as a Jr. Naturalist at summer camp, working on her GS Gold Award, and (hopefully) doing some test prep.</p>
<p>I foresee car-sharing angst here, too, after D2 gets her driver’s license this March. D1 doesn’t need or want a car at Berkeley, but she will almost certainly need our second car for JPL or working in Silicon Valley. When she took the car last summer, DH and I shared and it worked fine. But it’ll be trickier with D2 in the mix. </p>
<p>Someone oughtta start a college-kid-needing/not-using-their-car-for-summer car-sharing bulletin board!</p>
<p>Good idea texaspg! My D meets eligibility reqs. She just shot off an email to her last-year internship advisor to see if they could piggy-back on SURF funding. Maybe other possible projects, too.</p>
<p>How would a student get three letters of recommendation with two being in the area of research? Given that our students are freshmen, it makes it more challenging. Do they only accept letters from the current school? Also, they say there’s almost no funding for non Caltech students so can we assume that Caltech students are much more likely to get the positions than non Caltech students? There’s one particular area that looks really interesting to my son but I’m not sure how he could get letters of rec since only one of his classes this semester was even somewhat related and next semester’s classes won’t have been going very long so it might be hard to have a prof know you well enough to recommend you.</p>
<p>sbj - MIT has their own surf (or whatever they call it). I am sure your son can make it within school if he chooses. However, as a math major doing advanced level classes, he should consider internships. He should talk to some of his profs to get into some of the internships. D is applying for a few research programs and she has the same problem, getting recommendations from college professors.</p>
<p>So, do you think he should just try to do a UROP (that’s MIT’s Undergrad Research Opportunity)? The Caltech thing looked interesting as there is one particular mentor and research topic that is very much what my son is into. He will be applying for internships, as well. Should he only apply for internships and not for something like SURF or do students do both? (I am 100% clueless) I just thought since Caltech was close to home, it might be nice to see him! He plans to apply for internships in NYC but I don’t know how that works with living costs.</p>
<p>I’m glad he’s not the only one that will have a hard time getting LORs. I was thinking he could still use his physics prof from the local state univ. What do you think?</p>
<p>Internships tend to pay the most if one can get them since companies tend to pay lot more than universities when they call them interns. There was a parent on CC not too long ago boasting that his kid from MIT was making 20k during summer over a 3 month period and that is the reason one should go to MIT. :p</p>
<p>University research programs tend to help those who want to continue right away into a graduate program. If one intends to work after graduation, internships help build contacts. The catch 22 is it is harder to find internships after 1st year unless you are in advanced classes.</p>
<p>That’s an interesting distinction, texas. At this point, my son doesn’t see himself getting a PhD, so he might not continue into grad school right away. (But honestly, he has no clue what he wants to do; it’s so early in the game for him) In that case, an internship might be better than a research position.</p>
<p>Well, I guess I’ll sit back and see what transpires. (Or doesn’t…)</p>
<p>D’s grades are finally all in and she did better than she thought in the class she wasn’t sure she would pass. All in all, the final GPA is solidly over a 3.0 and I think that’s fine. She ended up in two classes that she probably shouldn’t have taken in the first place and they really challenged her. Her confidence was shaken in the first month of school but I think this will help. For a perfectionist who got upset when she received an A- in high school, I think she has grown a lot and learned a lot about herself when faced with the possibility of failure.</p>
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