Is it a Good Idea to Contact Researchers for Internship at National Lab?

[brentd49]

Hi, I am going to apply for an internship this summer at one of the national labs. I am wondering if anyone else from here has been accepted, so that I know how difficult is the competetion. Because I'd really like the internship, and I don't have a backup plan.

They didn't give any details on the website. Though they did mention that you should be aware of and interested in the research (which I am) at the national lab you are apply for. But they also mentioned that it is alright to contact the people working there. But is it really a good idea to start contacting researchers? If I put that in the application, it might seem as though I'm singling out individuals and that I wouldn't work with other people.

Comments? I want as close to certainty as possible that I'll get the internship.

 

[ZapperZ]

We are usually given a pool of applicants that may be suitable for the area that we work in. I guess it depends on the researcher really, if he/she want to be contacted by the student. The problem that I see on your end is to know who to contact, and when. If you contacted somebody too far up in the "food-chain", you may not get an answer. Besides, these are not the people you will be working with, and may not even be the people who decide who to pick. The people who will do the selection and the people you will work with are people like me, who are in the trenches doing stuff.

So unless you know for sure who you are targetting for, you may want to hold off on contacting specific individuals.

Zz.