how did you get hooked up with an internship?! I want one so badly but there are none out there, or at least none that will take a newbie like me. Did you have an internship your freshman year? I have pretty much no lab experience outside the classroom, and I'm getting worried that the longer I wait the harder it will be to land a research job and get into med school :( HELP ME K
Dear Anonymous,
I didn't have an internship my freshman year; i got started my second year. Don't worry about not having any experience- the girl I work with at lab started this year without any previous experience (she's a third year). You just need to look in the right places :) I got my internship by sending out mass emails to various institutions (I'm talking about 5-10 from every place you're considering for research- it just gives you a better chance)- don't limit yourself to Berkeley, LBNL, and/or UCSF- make sure to branch out; there are a ton of places around the bay and SF that do research. If you don't want to go through URAP, i would suggest doing what I did and contact researchers and ask if they have any positions available and see if they would be willing to take you on as a volunteer so you can gain experience. They're most likely going to ask for a resume and/or CV so make sure you have that ready- and if you get past that, they'll want you to come in for an interview. When you send out the emails, make sure to include every lab experience you have- even if they're just the ones from class- it can't hurt right? Also, make sure the emails you send aren't generic- make each one unique to the specific research they're conducting. Oh, and send the emails a good 2-3 months before the semester you're planning to start, since most of the students are going to be emailing the researchers closer to the end of the semesters (when the panic usually sets in ;).
If you come across any problems and/or questions, don't hesitate to ask! Hope it works out! :)
-K
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