Internship/Competition Conflict

[FutureCadet12]

I am interested in participating in the SEAP program in order to experience working at naval laboratories, since that is one goal of mine. However, this conflicts with a National Competition I participate in every year. SEAP requires participants to work for 8 weeks continuously.. Last year, I applied to SEAP and was rejected, so I did not have to worry about scheduling conflicts.

What is your opinion? Should I apply to SEAP anyways and see what happens?

 

[Old Navy BGO]

First, I suspect that it makes very little difference from the perspective of making yourself competitive for Admissions..You don't say what the National Competititon is, or whether you are competitive and have a shot at winning, but either way both are just one more thing on your Activities Record and /or something to write about in your personal statement. You say you have already competed in the National Competition, what does competing another year add to your record ?

Second, it sounds like your issue is not ripe for decision yet. You haven't even applied and been accepted to SEAP, and don't say whether you have qualified for the National Competition. Can't hurt to apply/compete, and then make the tough decision when the conflict arises. (On the other hand, if your National Competition involves teammates, you owe it them to be up front about your intentions).

 

[time2]

^^ I agree, we can only provide advice based on the information provided. Participating in a 'National Competition' is different from WINNING at the national level, etc. regardless of how many times you were involved. From prior posts it sounds like you are currently a high school sophomore, so both of those activities are likely activities you do during your summer vacation.

Eventually, you are going to ask 'which activity means the most to my application?' and the answer is no on here can tell you that.

 

[FutureCadet12]

First, I suspect that it makes very little difference from the perspective of making yourself competitive for Admissions..You don't say what the National Competititon is, or whether you are competitive and have a shot at winning, but either way both are just one more thing on your Activities Record and /or something to write about in your personal statement. You say you have already competed in the National Competition, what does competing another year add to your record ?

Second, it sounds like your issue is not ripe for decision yet. You haven't even applied and been accepted to SEAP, and don't say whether you have qualified for the National Competition. Can't hurt to apply/compete, and then make the tough decision when the conflict arises. (On the other hand, if your National Competition involves teammates, you owe it them to be up front about your intentions).

National History Day (NHD) is the competition. In the past, I won 3rd place nationally, and I am working hard this year to hopefully be competitive. It is a lot of work, which is part of the reason why I am hesitant about applying for SEAP. On one hand, I don't want to inconvenience the SEAP admissions committee by turning down the internship. On the other hand, NHD is very time-consuming and I would not want to do all this work, simply to stop at the State level. Plus, SEAP specifically states on their website that those admitted must be able to attend.

I am mainly interested in this opportunity for the experience of being in a naval environment - I realize this may be very different from the environment at USNA or other SA's, but at least it is something.