<p>i literally just completed my first semester.
what's some advice you graduate students have for someone [kind of] starting out?</p>
<p>get involved in research, research schools early, etc.</p>
<p>i know i have three more years but for the amount college costs, i'm trying to maximize the most out of my undergraduate experience so i can get into a great grad school.</p>
<p>Do research and get it published. When you talk to profs about working with them somehow mention that you would like to work on projects where you can get publications. Start early so you can have enough time to get your work published, research is very unpredictable unlike coursework.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about it so soon.</p>
<p>Get involved in research, sure, but it will be difficult finding anyone your freshman year. Don’t be discouraged if you get rejected or ignored by profs, and don’t expect to get into any summer programs; those are mainly for upperclassmen. Sophomore year is a good time to start looking for a lab; be sure to read the prof’s papers and state exactly what you want to work on.</p>
<p>For now just concentrate on a) making good grades and b) getting an idea of what you want to do/study.</p>
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<p>This probably isn’t a good idea. Professors want undergrads interested in the research, not publications. Obviously everyone wants publications, but don’t make a point of it.</p>
<p>Otherwise, yes, just get involved in interesting projects with interesting people/professors as soon as possible.</p>
<p>My advice? I think it’s good you’re thinking about graduate school at the freshman level, so don’t let anyone think that you’re too early. Yes, it’s too early to make specific choices but it’s never too early to begin doing research and building your record.</p>
<p>Depending on where you are, starting research in your freshman year might not be difficult. A lot of LACs will take students on earlier than large universities. I started research in my sophomore year; here at my PhD university students typically don’t start before their junior year. I agree with sarbrius that you need to seem interested in the research. Very few undergraduates get any publications before they graduate; while having one is a big plus, having none is not a huge minus on your application. Most people don’t have any.</p>
<p>I also wouldn’t refrain from applying to summer programs. Most of them are aimed at rising juniors and seniors; however, it’s not unheard of for a rising sophomore to do a summer research program. If you find one that seems really interesting, I would apply and see what happens. At one of the summer programs I went to as a rising senior, there were a few people who had just finished their freshman year.</p>
<p>This may seem counterintuitive but I think good preparation is also exploring other career options and getting experience in several different areas. Maybe you realize that you hate research. What then? Getting some experience in several different areas may enhance your understanding about what you want to do. You’re also a little too early for this, but consider taking 2-3 years off between college and graduate school. I went straight to a PhD program from undergraduate and the burn-out really gets to you after 2+ years in a program (I’m in my 3rd year now, with at least 2.5 more years to go). Working not only helps you make sure that this is what you want to do with your life, but also allows you a ‘break’ from working so intensely.</p>
<p>I think a prof wouldn’t mind a prospective undergrad student researcher asking “Do you think your proposed project has potential for publication?” or “What results do you expect to come out of this project? Do you think it can lead to publications?”.</p>
<p>It is important to avoid projects with no promise of publications and to somehow bring the issue of publications up early is the only way to make sure you are not headed down that road. I have asked this of profs, CTOs at internship interviews, scientists at government labs, etc. and it never bothers them.</p>
<p>I don’t see why one should even mention publications. If the research is good, publications will result; HOWEVER, at the undergraduate level there is no requirement to publish. Believe me… I was accepted to the top ranked PhD programs in my field and have zero publications to my name as does most of my cohort. That said, we all had interesting and (somewhat) extensive undergraduate research histories. </p>
<p>Just do something you like. Own it. Impress people with your ability to master the subject. Everything else is superficial pap. </p>
<p>Also, apply to cool internships/REUs. I did RISE with DAAD… it was an awesome experience, and it certainly helped me get into some great programs.</p>
<p>Unless you are an undergraduate with very good GPA in an elitist school then yeah you can get into a top tiers without research, otherwise you need research in your portfolio if you wanna get into top 4, at least in engineering it’s like this.</p>
<p>Also, many undergraduate projects can have zero potential for publications. Not all senior thesis projects end up in publications do they? Many profs take advantage of the fact that undergrads don’t really need publications in their research and so assign them the “speed up the code” or “find good designs and simulate them” projects.</p>
<p>Doing something you like and mastering it will get into good graduate schools, but if you wanna get into top elite ones, whose degrees will later make a HUGE difference in getting academic jobs/positions for you, you must pay attention to what factors play in their admission criteria. Published research in many cases can be what makes it or breaks it.</p>