Better to do an official research program (e.g. REU) or paid research individually with professor?

[deleteaccount]

I emailed a professor who works in a field I'm pretty interested in asking if they had any opportunities for the summer. They ended up offering me a funded position for the summer. My question is whether it would be better to go with this or continue applying to REU programs for the summer (as I had planned to until I got the confirmation). My qualms are that this professor works at the same university that I worked at last summer (though in a different lab), so I'm afraid of not gaining enough diversity in my research experiences and having two letters of recommendations from the same school. This school is one of the (or the) top schools in the field though, so I can't tell whether that would mitigate this (possible) problem. Additionally, would an REU be a better experience and/or look better to a graduate school? Maybe I'm just having commitment-phobia, but should I just go through with this offer or consider other options?

[TakeruK]

The source of the research position doesn't really matter. You should choose the research opportunity that is more interesting to you and/or will provide the skills that are more useful to you in the future. I also would not be worried about going to the same school(s) for research positions. At this level, I think the experience themselves are much more important than where they are or what program they're part of (or not part of).

[bposadas]

Congrats on the offer!

I agree that either research opportunity would be great for your application. Plus, it sounds like you haven't heard back from any REUs yet, so you might have a "counting your chickens before they hatch" situation here. 

If I were you, I would go with the offer, stop applying to REUs, and have one less thing to worry about this semester.

 

 

[rising_star]

Are you guaranteed to get into a REU? Will there be other paid summer students on campus who you could live or socialize with? The real advantage, imo, to doing something like a REU is the extras outside the research--the field trips, professional development, grad school application advice sessions, etc. But, if you need to decide now, go with the old adage "a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush".

[deleteaccount]

Thanks for responding! No, I'm not guaranteed on getting into an REU, and I totally understand how competitive they are. Since you brought it up and reminded me, one of my concerns was that because this internship isn't part of a program, I would miss out on having that group environment and program benefits an REU would provide. It's been kind of vague when I'd have to decide by, and I'm still waiting to hear back from them about funding details. Since I don't have anything confirmed yet (I mean, I've been offered the position, but I haven't gotten specific details and forms or anything), I wasn't sure whether it'd be in my best interest to continue applying. Although, now that I have something in a field I'm interested in, I would only apply to around 3 summer programss.

However, another thing to consider is that the professor I talked told me that he would like me to work for about 12 weeks and that his goal would be for me to publish. I know that publishing success varies within REUs, so this excited me. And he works at one of my top choices (or possibly my top choice) for grad school. Maybe I am commitment-phobic... And I think part of me's afraid of not having that group environment and being on my own for the whole summer as opposed to being surrounded by other undergraduate researchers. But I guess that's a personal problem! 

[bposadas]

There are some benefits to doing an internship outside of a formal program. During my undergrad, I did an internship at a company which was a position they made just for me. I was the only younger person at the site and learn a lot about what the work environment was like there; I couldn't escape into a bubble of other students closer to my age. I'm guessing that you will be applying soon, so you are probably closer in age to the grad students now, and I am sure they will socialize with you and be friendly.

Also, you can still get the other benefits of a REU at this internship. I am sure that the grad students in the lab would be happy to answer your questions and give advice. And the possibility of getting a publication would be extremely good for your application!

[deleteaccount]

Thanks for your responses! I do have a quick question! How helpful is it to have two research experiences (and *hopefully*, consequently, two letters of recommendations) from a university when I'm applying to that school for a PhD? I'm just curious as this university is currently my top choice, and I wanted to know how helpful it would be.

[TakeruK]

Having at least one from the university is good. I'm not sure if two is better (but it certainly won't be any worse than another school, all else being equal). I would say that on average, 1 out of 3 students admitted to my current graduate program has worked as an undergrad researcher at least once in my department in prior years. I am at a top 10 school for my field and the applicants are all very competitive. Everyone looks great on paper so having demonstrated that you will be a good researcher in the past helps a lot.

When considering a second summer research experience, I would not put any special weight on the fact that it's another summer experience at the same school. Instead, pick the opportunity that is more interesting to you and more likely to be productive.

[deleteaccount]

Thanks. I am really interested in the work I'd be doing this summer, and he said his goal would be for me to publish, which really excites me. I guess I was more curious just in general about my chances with that factored in since I will be applying in the fall this year. Not excited for the waiting period next year.