NIH high school summer internship program (HS-SIP) status and fairness

[Anonymous]

Back in high school, I found a neighbor who managed some labs at NIH, and asked to volunteer there (unpaid) for a summer. Then the following year, I got the paid internship with the same lab where I had volunteered.

[Anonymous]

Every mentor has the prerogative to choose, usually from a preselected list by the lab/section lead. How to get on that preselected list remains to be known. I have definitely picked out minority students who had zero connections to anyone at NIH.

Signed, NIH summer student mentor

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness. I am a researcher (at a university, not this program) and I will be honest - taking high school students, even the best ones, is a huge pain.

Volunteer. Ask. And yes, connections will probably come in handy. If you can use them do.

Sorry, I wish I could take even 20% of the kids who ask to work with me. I try to prioritize those who clearly don’t have connections and would really value the opportunity. There are not enough hours in the day. And no money obviously. Try not to get conspiratorial. Please, tell me how much you would like training 8 summer students at your highly technical, fast paced job working with clients and needing to give them and “educational experience” they can write a meaningful report about while still doing your job.

[Anonymous]

Sadly I think it’s true. The only kid I knew to get one had parents who openly admitted to using a connection. She was not taking a remotely rigorous courseload compared to other kids at our HS so I believe the parents that the connection made the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know or hear anything from the 2020 NIH HS-SIP? My child’s application was completed several weeks ago, but we have not heard anything. I heard people saying that if you do not have connections, your child will not get in. They also say a lot of NIH employees’s kids get in with lower credentials. Is this true? I know a lot of FEDs are here, including NIH. Please share your insights. TIA.

Someone I know at NIH said the internship is mostly filled with kids who have connections. NIH frowns upon people using connections but there is a lot of back door and side door stuff happening. Unfortunate but true

[Anonymous]

I used to work in an NIH lab and nearly all the high school kids selected for programs were familiar to us through various types of connections. Like the PP said it’s a huge time commitment having inexperienced students in the lab though many of us mentor them as a way to give back for all those who did the same for us.

[Anonymous]

In 2000s and 2010s still based on connections. many of these high school positions are unpaid / volunteer based. Parents ask around their co authors and friends to take their kid for a summer. No funding comes out of the budget, so it’s just nice to do. They give you a few projects to do that summer and mostly helping out with the post docs projects. A lot of time to learn and read medical literature if you were interested. Everyone was so nice. I had a great time when I volunteered (2 summers during HS) and learned a ton.