<p>I'm not quite sure exactly how this works... but this is my drift of it:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Go online to find professors/lab researches... elaborate? I don't understand how we can just go on a university's website and just find random people...</p></li>
<li><p>Send email expressing why you want to research in their lab and deal with that they're involved with. include resume.</p></li>
<li><p>Wait for results/responses...</p></li>
<li><p>Just do a lab on your own? What?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>you got it right 
it seems weird just emailing professors you don’t know, but honestly, you have to do it. I attached my CV with the email, to give them more info if they were interested. </p>
<p>Really, go to the department you are most interested in, and find professors from there. I emailed about 50 professors last spring, and about 15 replied. Some said their labs were full, but it narrowed down to 3 interviews, and then I chose a lab. It was an extremely rewarding and educational experience. </p>
<p>Also, I think (from my experience) that basic science labs are more likely to take students than clinical researchers…</p>
<p>How much experience do you need – should you look for research internships in a field you know really well, or one that you’re interested in learning?</p>
<p>This is a good thread… I’ve been wondering about some of the same things… especially the research part. Also, how early would it be good to start emailing for the summer?</p>
<p>bumping to see if anyone with HS research experience can give insight.</p>
<p>is getting a science research internship for a HS senior a possibility? How does one do that? Contact a professor somewhere? Are there particular forums or sites, to find interested professors? When should this start (realistically)?</p>
<p>I interned at a biology lab at UNC during the summer before my junior year in high school. I emailed a bunch (~30) professors (after a while, the emails become identical except for the 1-3 sentences where you talk about their lab specifically…so just create a sort of template email). About 7 responded, 2 of whom actually offered to let me join (the rest said they were full or were out of town). I just picked the one that seemed more interesting.</p>
<p>I sent the emails out around early April. Don’t send them quite yet. Professors often hire undergraduates into their lab on a semester-by-semester basis, so right now they’re much more concerned with spring semester. Mid- to late- spring would be a good time.</p>
<p>Some tips:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>In your email, don’t try to stress your qualifications too much. At this point, there’s very little chance that you have enough background knowledge in the subject to fully understand the research topic, and they’ll understand that; they won’t expect you to contribute to any data analysis (at least to any substantial degree). Instead, focus on showing your enthusiasm for science, research, and the subject. Don’t talk about how you’ll enrich the lab, but rather how the research experience will enrich you. You can send them your resume, but I didn’t. I just talked in my email about things that I was involved in (like Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, different science classes that I was taking/had taken). You’re not competing with anyone for the job, and you don’t want to come across as if you are competing; make give just enough information about your background to show that 1) you’re genuinely interested in science, and 2) that you have a broad enough knowledge base to understand the gist of what their research is about.</p></li>
<li><p>You’ll probably have more success with smaller labs. “Professors” and “Associate Professors” are typically much more busy, so you’ll have a bigger chance eliciting responses from “Assistant Professors.” Being in a smaller lab also lets you actually get to know the professor. In larger labs (and even in many small labs), the bulk of the work is carried out by grad students. Also, I feel as though public colleges are more open to inviting high schoolers.</p></li>
<li><p>Stick with basic science. Neuroscience sounds cool, as does organic chemistry. But advanced techniques require advanced training. Molecular biology (genetics) is usually a relatively easy subject to get involved in…your procedures will just be basic DNA extraction, PCR, and gel electrophoresis (which they’ll teach you how to do if you haven’t taken AP Bio).</p></li>
<li><p>Unless it’s a specific paid internship program (like Duke’s Summer on the Edge), they won’t pay you to work in their lab. Remember, this experience is solely for your benefit. In fact, having you in their lab most likely detracts from their progress. But in your emails, you don’t have to mention that you don’t expect financial compensation; it’s already implied.</p></li>
<li><p>State from the beginning whether or not you’re planning on doing a research project (like Siemens Westinghouse or Intel). If you are, the experience will be different. If you do a research project, you’ll be doing your independent project while the professor serves as your mentor. Otherwise, you’ll just be helping the lab out with their current research.</p></li>
</ul>