When I write down research as an activity on the common app, do colleges ask for supplementary materials such as mentor rec letters, proposal papers, abstracts, etc… I have a senior honors mentorship through my local college, but I have just started and probably won’t have any of the previously mentioned materials until RD comes around. I am afraid that my early school (Yale) will ask about materials that I do not have yet. I can talk about the project in depth and show research journals and such, but I do not have any formal material written out. Should I just wait and list the research as an activity later on in the application cycle? Any tips? Thank you so much for your help!
Oh… I forgot to mention that I will complete around 50 hours a quarter for this mentorship if that changes anything.
I think you should just wait and list later because they require supplementary for research and also if you researched at the university for more than three weeks an additional letter is required from the mentor. If you think you can do these, you can definitely put it on your list
@skylover I believe you are incorrect. Where did you get this information? The part about the three weeks is particularly odd. Maybe that is a requirement that your high school has? But t has nothing to do with college applications.
@WinnerWannabe Colleges consider research to be a good EC. They require no documentation or proof, just list it on the common app as you would any other EC. The person reviewing your file at the admission office does not have the time or training to review additional supplementary research materials.
@me29034 But if I can get a proposal paper, should i send that along with a rec letter from my mentor? Or, should I just bring a proposal paper to my interview?
The admissions office is not going to read your proposal paper. An additional rec from your mentor could be helpful, but check that the admissions dept says they accept additional recs. I know some are firm on number of recs. Remember that these people are very busy. Anything extra beyond what they ask for is only going to get a quick glance, if that.
I’m not sure what your interviewer would do with your proposal paper if you brought it. Most interviews are very informal and are really done to make sure you present yourself well. Your interviewer is not going to be interested in your research unless it is by chance in the field he if she works in. What if your interviewer is a philosophy major who never took a science class?
The fact that you are doing research shows that you have a strong interest and take initiative. The details of your research aren’t important unless you’ve discovered a cure for cancer.
@me29034 I saw the requirements under Princeton supplementary and I believe most universities require rec. letter from the researchers if they did it for long time.
No, they don’t. Just list it and don’t worry about it. All you need is an “elevator pitch” – a few sentences you can say summarizing your research for a layman for interviews. But you don’t need recs, abstracts, etc.
@skylover I just looked at the Princeton application requirements and the supplementary application. There is not one word about requiring a recommendation related to research. They ask for a recommendation from a counselor plus two teachers. I couldn’t find the word “research” even mentioned anywhere on the application checklist or the Princeton supplement itself.
Regardless of whether Princeton does require it or not (I’ll admit that there could be something hidden somewhere that I didn’t see), it is quite a leap to say that most universities require it. They do not.
Edited to add: @skylover I just had a thought. Is it possible that you were accidentally looking at an application for graduate school? It would make much more sense to require that of someone applying for a PhD program.
Include the start date of the senior honors mentorship on your application so colleges will recognize that it has just begun. I see no problem including it on your application.
So MIT uses SlideRoom and I know Yale and Pomona have an application where you can upload materials fromyour research. They usually allow you to upload a couple things, in addition to filling out a questionnaire about your role in the project. My student uploaded an abstract and a rec letter that her mentor gave her.
From Yale’s website re Supplemental Materials: they do use SlideRoom. And they suggest you create a Slideroom account before you submit the CA. If I remember correctly, when you create your account, you can look to see what things you can upload and how to format them.
<<We will accept audio recordings, musical scores, art samples, writing samples, scientific research papers, film, and dance.
Please submit all supplementary materials online through the Common Application (link is external). Please note that SlideRoom, the program used by the Common Application for the submission of supplementary material, charges a fee to students.
If you are considering the possibility of submitting material, even if you have not made a final decision, it is critical that you create a Slideroom account before you submit your Common Application. Once you have submitted your application you will not be able to access the Slideroom program.>>