Your daughters’ school(s) should have all manner of applications for summer internships; but also try these two websites: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (www.hhmi.org), and the Science Magazine funding page (http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding/) and see if they can give you some new avenues for funding. Good luck! Also, the HHMI used to pay for the GRE if you applied for one of their fellowships - and some other groups may pay for that exam - it’s a good way to save some of the fees you’ll be required to pay to go to Grad school.

forget about pay. Internships are coveted opportunities for work experience and recognition by companies you hope to work for. I have already gotten three kids through the process- one recently accepted to Yale based on her volunteer position and the letter of recommendation from a well respected person. Every recent college grad I know has been hired by a company they interned for. Think of it as a free course or job try out- take it very seriously- there is no better return on an investment than a great internship. Also, it is better to appeal to a researcher directly that you admire-shoot for the moon- and do it early. Internship websites are like online classifieds- there are millions of applicants, chances are nill you will succeed when there are always “friends” of someone you know. this has worked for all of mine- also if you don’t know of a researcher or doctor’s work personally, address your resume and a great letter of recommendation to a VIP in the company….they will put it into an interoffice envelope and forward it for you…you know it will get opened when it comes from one of the offices “upstairs.” this sounds a little sneaky, but the hard work comes after you get the opportunity- don’t blow it.

Paying summer job isn’t always the best option, but I always try to encourage students to intern at NIH/NCI during the summers. They’re interships are incredible, and the housing, and side trips are so memorable the experience can never be replicated. At the same time, it affords anyone in any field an opportunity to define and develop their education goals. Try one yourselves…it’s the gold star of America. I will help, of course, with some contacts, but the program will be on the www.nih.gov website. If she has a field in medicine or science research she is favoring have her contact those department chairs and express her wishes for a summer internship. It will help teach her the value of reaching out. ;-))

In reality the first place they should check are their colleges. Many colleges assist with or advertise their own summer internships. If their schools don’t check with others in the area. I know that Cornell has a program. Then of course researching the web is the next best step or writing letters to businesses they are interested in …. many have internships, mba programs etc.

Penny, you might have your daughter try local universities which do medical or scientific research. Having worked in medical research for a time, some college & university research programs often welcome (but may not pay the best) people interested in assisiting for the summer months. JMHO.

www.MentorNet.net is an E-Mentoring Network for Diversity in Engineering and Science. They pair mentors with proteges in similar fields for an 8 month online professional relationship geared toward providing support of all types for the student. Each partner completes a profile and chooses when and if to be an active participant. I am a mentor and am working with my third protege. Each protege has been quite different from the previos and has required different types of support. Finding a paying summer internship is definately an area where a mentor could help their protege.

Penny, Have you talked to your own doctor or those in offices near your home, even the local hospitals. Network local colleges and universities also. Cynthia

On the micro level: I returned to college in my mid-40’s and one of the first things I found out about internships is that you do them for the experience…not for money. Most of my fellow students started looking for internships at the beginning of the 2nd semester. I looked to unconventional resources in my area of study, wrote my own internship guidelines with my chosen mentor, and had my Dept Advisor help me get it approved by the University. It worked quite well for me and my summers were always great learning experiences.

MMount Moun MMount Sinai Hospital in New York City has medical internships. Check it out!

You may need to limit to a region of the US you are talking about to get better usable responses.

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