A former summer student has written to me seeking advice with respect to the situation described below. Since many readers of this blog are engineers pursuing research, I would truly appreciate some feedback on this matter:
I was recently offered an internship in Country X. It is sponsored by the Indian Government and only very few students have been selected from all over the country. I am in a great predicament. I realise that this a wonderful opportunity but feel that the quality of research is much better in India. I have decided to do an MS after my B.Tech. So I want to do a good internship which can help in getting an admit to a good university [1].
I am speaking to people and trying to get their opinion on the same. I am confident of getting a good internship in India (results aren't yet out). I am unaware of how much foreign exposure will matter in getting admission to a good MS programme. The university where I have been offered the internship isn't very well known. I have always wanted to do an internship in the area in which I am planning to pursue my higher studies. I am definitely not going to take up the topic in which I have been offered this internship for my higher studies. I mainly want to know the criteria on which I should be selecting an internship and things that will matter in getting an admission offer from a university.
[1]: She is probably referring to universities in USA.
I was recently offered an internship in Country X. It is sponsored by the Indian Government and only very few students have been selected from all over the country. I am in a great predicament. I realise that this a wonderful opportunity but feel that the quality of research is much better in India. I have decided to do an MS after my B.Tech. So I want to do a good internship which can help in getting an admit to a good university [1].
I am speaking to people and trying to get their opinion on the same. I am confident of getting a good internship in India (results aren't yet out). I am unaware of how much foreign exposure will matter in getting admission to a good MS programme. The university where I have been offered the internship isn't very well known. I have always wanted to do an internship in the area in which I am planning to pursue my higher studies. I am definitely not going to take up the topic in which I have been offered this internship for my higher studies. I mainly want to know the criteria on which I should be selecting an internship and things that will matter in getting an admission offer from a university.
[1]: She is probably referring to universities in USA.
5 comments:
The following are some statements from some profs when I (an Engg. PhD now) was looking for a prospective grad school abroad:
* [a Prof. at Princeton] CGPA and GRE scores + Reference letters matter and NOTHING ELSE
* [a Prof. at UIUC] a bad publication would hamper an admit as much as a good publication helps
* [a Prof. at UCB] a "good" background in research helps; CGPA does not matter "much" (need to be careful in interpreting this; much means above 9.5 out of 10, say)
and none of them referred to internship. But, I guess, internship will help if that place is your dream grad school.
If you do your internship at IISc, you "may" get a "good recco" which would help. But, as an UG student, I wonder how much you could learn at IISc as an intern! Not sure of IITs though.
The most important thing in getting into a grad school is to establish contacts with your prospective adviser.
Best wishes
[Addressing to the student]:
Ok, so here's the thing: firstly, research group matters as much the same (or sometimes even more) than the university's overall fame. You need to look up the profile of the professor under whom you'd be doing internship, and see how many publications he has, what kind of journal he publishes in, etc. (You can seek suggestions about these from some grad student in your field whom you know).
Secondly, although your field of MS would differ from the one where you'd do internship, it still does matter often times. For example, suppose you wanna pursue MS in organic solar cell, then nobody expects you to design and fabricate a solar cell in your undergrad. If you've excelled in an undergrad intern in another area such as VLSI design or image processing and can get a strong reco from the intern-advisor, it would still demonstrate your ability & motivation to do research, which is what is expected !
Hope it helps a little..
thanks
digbijoy
(ps. if you're planning to seek an MS/PhD admit in USA, and if your intern is also in USA, then I strongly suggest taking it up. Because, I've found that a reco from a professor in a US university helps a lot in getting an admit in USA for MS/PhD).
Obvious advice really, but I guess one of the more important factors the student here is who will recommending this student and how strongly this person is likely to word their letter.
I realize it's hard to evaluate this criterion unless there are concrete offers.
Assuming you have a well-articulated application, reasonable grades, GRE scores, and good letters from those who know you well (and write well), you will get admission to a good graduate school. An internship is an opportunity to broaden the mind and have fun. Go to a fun or new kind of place and have a good time. It will change you as a person and tells others more about you than an internship chosen solely to pad your CV.
Cheers
Thanks to everyone for their feedback. Your comments have been conveyed to the student. She has declined this internship offer, but has taken up another one in a different country to work on a project, which, though not directly related to her future plans, is of interest to her.
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