I’m going to be a junior in high school next year, and something I’d really love to do throughout the school year is to assist a professor in research, if any were willing to take me on. I’m not just doing to pad my college resume (I just put this in the college admissions forum because I couldn’t think of any other forum that it would fit in!), I genuinely would love to learn more about a field I’m interested in. The brain has always really intrigued me so it would be a dream come true if a professor allowed me to help them in that field.
A university close to me is UT Dallas. There are many good programs for research at this university for high school students, but most of them are for URM and students who would be first generation college graduates, and I don’t fit into that category. So I am planning on emailing professors in their School of Behavior and Brain Sciences to see if any would be willing to give me any opportunity. They have many research opportunities: http://bbs.utdallas.edu/research/ but most are for undergraduate and grad students, obviously. Would they be annoyed if I emailed them? I really want to make it clear that I’m not just doing this to look good on my resume, but because I’m really interested in this field. What should I put in my email to get that across? I’m sure a lot of professors get annoyed by high school students asking for opportunities since a lot of them are doing it for science fair or for their resumes.
Any advice would be really appreciated… Thank you so much!
Professors receive lots of unsolicited e-mails and rarely respond. Their first responsibility is to their own grad students. then their undergraduates, then to friends of the University then to the kids of their personal friends. You are way at the bottom of the heap. Do not send e-mails telling them how genuinely interested you are and whether they willing to “help you out.” Craft an e-mail that clearly, concretely and concisely demonstrates your knowledge of the professor’s research and how you can help advance it. Then set your expectations for a reply at very low.
Thank you for your reply! One thing I’m not sure about is this: “how you can help advance it.” Because, honestly, I don’t know how I would help a professor. Obviously a grad or undergraduate student would provide much more help, and I’ve heard from quite a few people that professors tend to get turned off when students of my age make it sound like they’re doing the professor a favor, even though it’s actually the other way around. How would I word that without sounding arrogant/entitled? Thank you for your advice
I actually read that before, but it seemed a little more directed towards students who already have a project/proposal in mind and want to go to a professor with that. I’m on the other side, I don’t have anything specific in mind because my school is much more humanities oriented and we never have any kind of science project that would require me reaching out to someone outside of school. That’s why I’m trying to see if there’s any professors who are already doing research (nothing groundbreaking of course) and would appreciate any kind of extra, unpaid help, no matter how basic my help may be. Hopefully this made sense…
Email the professor and ask if you can make an appt to come in and discuss the dept and his research. Bring it up in person. Be prepared for a no and thrilled if it is a yes.
I know someone who successfully rec’d 3 offers to assist in research as a HS student. He and a friend spent the summer between Soph and Jr year, reading journal articles by profs of the nearby research unis in areas where they had interest. They narrowed down those of greatest interest and then contacted them specifically, citing their articles and why they might be a good fit.
Their project led to a Siemens finalist position. I interviewed him as an EA applicant to my alma mater (accepted). But he turned us down for another Ivy (I was disappointed). We’ve actually maintained contact – he is an excellent young man.
Email them – but show that you’re a cut above the rest. Try the successful strategy of the student I mentioned
