[afreeman]

I think you should do it, with the following observations.

First, many summer jobs and paid internships function as a pathway toward a better job later on. If this is the sort of summer job that you'll be giving up, you may be better off doing that instead (even at a lower payrate) in order to build your resume. If, however, your planned summer job is something like cutting grass or flipping hamburgers, I think we can safely rule out this possibility. Poker is always available to you, but career-building options are not; make damn sure that you don't screw yourself out of any of them.

Second, at this point in your life, you probably don't have any really significant responsibilities to worry about, and thus the total risk is much lower. For instance, you probably don't have to pay rent or utilities, don't have any children to support, and likely don't have any serious financial liabilities (e.g. student loans, mortgage, etc.) In effect, you'll be following the standard advice of "don't pay poker with the rent money" by default. In fact, this is probably the last time in your life that you'll be able to act with this umbrella of security protecting you from the hard rain of going broke; you should make use of it while you can.

Finally, I think its useful to answer the question of whether you would truly want to make a living at this sooner, rather than later. In all probability, you'll make a moderate profit over the course of the summer, but learn that while you can make a living at playing poker, you can make even more money (with less hassle and risk) at something else. This will do wonders for motivating you toward better grades come fall.