<p>(and who lives far away from the labs) but still got accepted to the NIH research program?
If so, how?
Did you just email a bunch of investigators?
Most of the investigators seem reluctant to choose unexperienced high school students (even though the site says such students can still get a job..) over undergrad students.</p>
<p>Does 'far away' mean Michigan? How do you plan on getting over that distance problem? Everything else is trivial.</p>
<p>yea I live in Michigan, but the investigator said that the researchers like students who live closer and who can work with them all year. I am just wondering if anyone made it with all the characteristics I listed above..</p>
<p>I mean like, do you have somewhere to live in DC? (unless you want to work in some other branch of NIH)</p>
<p>My dad used to work for NIH, great place to be... near Bethesda, MD. There's a big ass pond with tons of fish there just like UPENN's Koi pond. But you know, if you live in Boston, his previous employer--Brigham & Women's Hospital (Harvard Medical School Affiliated) is hiring high school kids too. HMS also has Project Success and many other programs to get kids involved.</p>
<p>Brigham's = Right next to Boston Latin (my alma mater) on Longwood
HMS = In front of BLS</p>
<p>I'd check the websites for Harvard Medical School as well.</p>
<p>check out the research labs at your local universites. i got my first reaerch position on campus at UoM which snowballed to a research abroad program in Ireland the following summer!</p>
<p>You're going to have a tough time finding positions by emailing PI's. The response rate is very low. I was talking to someone about the IRTA Fellowship offered by the NIH to people with Bachelor's degrees and they had to email over 80 PI's before getting accepted into a lab. This is someone with a Bachelor's in biology and who was willing to devote a full year. The % of labs that are hiring is simply low.</p>
<p>No lab at the NIH is going to hire a high schooler with no research experience unless it's specifically for an internship. Your best bet would be to apply for NIH internships rather than try to secure one by emailing. If you're going to email PI's, you better bring something to the table (experience, Ivy League college, good college GPA).</p>
<p>I do agree with the advice to check out labs at local uni's. They generally have more lower level lab slave positions (beaker washer, run gels) than at the NIH.</p>
<p>You know how med school looks for research experience when accepting students? Will being in a high school internship(NIH Howard Hughes Medical Institute) help me get valuable research experience (which med schools look for) while in undergrad? </p>
<p>Or do they accept all undergrad interns without considering their previous experiences too greatly as comapred to EC and academics?</p>
<p>Can you rephrase your question? I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you talking about securing a research position at a med school or applying for admissions to med school in order to become a doctor?</p>
<p>The question has nothing to do with med school admissions, just being allowed to research during undergrad. So, my question is:</p>
<p>"How much does previous research experience factor into securing an undergrad research position? What about academics? ECs?"</p>
<p>From my experience, academics and previous research experience are key. A good undergrad GPA and science coursework will tell them that you will be able to handle research. Previous research experience isn't always necessary since they are more than willing to train you but it doesn't hurt. This is if you want to secure a research position in a med school lab or a summer internship.</p>
<p>
You're going to have a tough time finding positions by emailing PI's. The response rate is very low. I was talking to someone about the IRTA Fellowship offered by the NIH to people with Bachelor's degrees and they had to email over 80 PI's before getting accepted into a lab. This is someone with a Bachelor's in biology and who was willing to devote a full year. The % of labs that are hiring is simply low.</p>
<p>No lab at the NIH is going to hire a high schooler with no research experience unless it's specifically for an internship. Your best bet would be to apply for NIH internships rather than try to secure one by emailing. If you're going to email PI's, you better bring something to the table (experience, Ivy League college, good college GPA).
When did that someone email people? The early bird gets the worm. Early = before January. The overall acceptance rate is 20%.</p>
<p>I think you have some things confused.</p>
<p>What's the difference between hire and internship? I think we mean 'hire for the summer.' I would imagine the paperwork would be very complex for a high schooler wishing to work part-time in an NIH lab during the school year and get paid.</p>
<p>Moreover, a high schooler's only real chance of getting into an internship is emailing PIs. The online internship application, whether before or after spamming scientists, is requisite for getting hired as an intern.</p>