<p>My D is interested in research opportunities (currently thinking of neuroscience, not medical school). We recently visited a smaller college and one of the professors there mentioned that he had gone to Emory (for Phd?) and that undergrad research interns at Emory were basically ‘dish washers’, with all the actual research left to the grad students. It makes sense, that at schools with undergrad and grad students, the choice assignments/opportunities would go to the grad students. But I’d like to know what your experience has been at Emory. Do you agree with that professors assessment?</p>
<p>I did not do a science internship. But I imagine it’s the same as a corporate internship.</p>
<p>In general, the idea of a intern is to gain experience, but, at the same time, be on the bottom of the food chain. So, there’s a good chance you get assigned very mundane work that nobody else wants to do it. Also, on the really technical stuff, they might not let you do (but hopefully watch it).</p>
<p>If the person was washing dishes, surfing the internet in their spare time, AND also doing other things that were exciting, then that’s the typical internship.</p>
<p>If the person was washing dishes and surfing the internet and doing nothing else, then it was a waste of time.</p>
<p>Maybe someone else can answer more specifically, but I think/hope the former is much more common than the latter. It definitely was what happened to me, adn even with the time I wasn’t specifically working, I learned quite a bit and have been able to articulate what I did and the importance of it during my interviews. Which, obviously, has helped me reach the goals I wanted.</p>
<p>Uh…no. It depends. If the student is there for workstudy (lots of labs use these students. The Ph.d’s lab may have employed such a person), then yes, they’ll end up dishwashers, but if they want to be involved in the research project, then heck no…Most of my friends, especially those who did research in neuroscience, were quite serious and had to do actual work and collect data. They had their own project. I would maybe express interest in the research and jump on that way and then maybe ask if one can be supported by work-study funds if your child needs money. They often relegate such tasks to work-study students because they know that they are mainly just there to earn an income and not to do research. However, if you are legitimately interested in the research, that won’t happen. Also, I’m not quite sure of what you mean by “internship”. You mean UG research opp? If the latter, your child should get something out of it. If you mean something like a work-study, be careful. Are you guys trying to do this while the student is in HS? If so, there are plenty of labs that will actually allow your child to do work.</p>