I'm Looking for a Summer Physics Research Internship

[michaelkorn]

The difficulty is that I am graduating from high school this year and most internships are either for undergraduates or high school students. I am not really sure which I am considered and I prefer to be in a program in which I am neither underqualified nor overqualified.
I am a prospective physics major. Specific areas I would like to pursue include:
nuclear physics
astrophysics
quantum mechanics
high energy
particle.
I have excelled in every physics course at my school. I captain the physics olympiad team and we have won competitions.

Do you know of any internships (preferably paid) that fit my criteria? My research has brought me to very few options.

 

[eri]

You are not overqualified for anything. You're probably not really eligible for any specific programs, so you're going to have to try to get something either at the college you're going to attend, or ask them for recommendations. Or try a local college. Remember that you're not going to be useful - even grad students often are not useful. You're going to require far more training than you'll ever produce in work, so you're asking a researcher to give up a lot of their time and energy for no gain on their part. You're asking for a huge favor, so treat it that way - be professional about it, don't bug them, and be prepared to put in a ton of time and work if you're given the opportunity. You can't be picky about what you get; you'll be lucky to find anyone wiling to take you on. Do not expect to get paid.