<p>Did anyone here take the ACT today?</p>
<p>Do any of you guys have experience with contacting a professor at a local college and asking them to be your research mentor or asking for an opportunity to do research? It seems like many students who apply to cosmos and other science programs have done research since their freshmen year.</p>
<p>@MomentumA7 I had to do that this year for a social issues paper in English. I think you can just email them (find their email on the college website). I contacted probably about 15+ professors until I found one that was willing to help. Many of them don’t: have time, specialize in that sort of research, etc etc. So, it may take some time to find someone. Persistence and patience are the keys! If you try long enough, you should be able to find a professor who will agree to be a mentor of some sort. :]</p>
<p>@missiris
I don’t live close to UCD, UCB, etc. because they are all 1-3 hours away. The only local college is a community college, which does not have any professors who do research. Should I still try to contact some UC professors? They won’t reject me because I live far away, right?</p>
<p>@MomentumA7 If you’re willing to go the distance, I don’t see any problem with that!</p>
<p>wow…contacting a professor for research, that sounds like a great idea!</p>
<p>Or an internship 
that’s my goal!</p>
<p>lol do any of you live close to a university? like walking distance or driving less than 10 min? I wish my parents bought a house close to uc berkely, uc davis, or stanford in the first place. hehe it would be so much easier.</p>
<p>@MomentumA7 My school is right across the street from Cal State Fullerton… :P</p>
<p>haha waaay too late for me to move now XD</p>
<p>UCSD KIDS!!
So, I know last year people got there acceptances on the 19th…I’m not trying to get excited but I hope it comes out that day!</p>
<p>@afourally
but isn’t COSMOS getting more competitive each year due to an increase in the number of applicants? if the adcoms need to review more apps, I think we would receive their letters later…like closer to May 1</p>
<p>@MomentumA7 - I live about 20-30 minutes driving distance to UCI…not super close but fairly close. </p>
<p>I really want to get an internship in a lab somewhere but they’re all really competitive, plus you usually have to be 18 or at least 16.</p>
<p>@ MomentumA7
I live like walking distance from UCB about 15 min walk</p>
<p>@vivng6991
I know right. Even hospitals have strict age requirements. Almost all of them require volunteers to be at least 16–not one day younger!</p>
<p>Right now, I feel as though I don’t want the cosmos results to come out anymore, or earlier than May 1. I am way too scared :[</p>
<p>I live about 20 minutes from UCD, 45 minutes from UCB, and an hour from Stanford. (:</p>
<p>Yeah, this year I’d assume more applicants are getting accepted/rejected on May 1st…</p>
<p>Something I don’t understand, there’s people who already have 50+ hours volunteering at a hospital, have done research at prestigious universities, and participated in summer programs. First off, why don’t they have a problem with age restrictions? And how do they fit all that in?? I barely get home around 6 as it is!!</p>
<p>Also, I’m really scared that even if I do happen to get into some kind of research program, I’m going to be completely unprepared and make a fool of myself. 
</p>
<p>But there’s a musicians volunteer program at the UCI Medical center and I might apply for that because it seems like a pretty light-hearted way to put yourself in a good environment for more science-y things</p>
<p>One time I found a hospital that set its age requirement at 15, so I was ecstatic to know that I didn’t need to wait one more year. Unfortunately, the volunteer coordinator informed me that the website was inaccurate when I called the hospital. ):
still waiting to meet the age requirement…</p>
<p>If any of you live in the OC like I do, go and talk to the people at CHOC or St. Jude’s. Since it’s a children’s hospital, they’re much more lenient with the age requirements and will let you hang out with some of the kids if that’s your thing. It’s really fun and in my opinion a lot more fun than volunteering at a regular hospital because you get to play with little kids! And the smiles they have are adorable. :]</p>