Hey guys, so I’m currently a rising senior, and I recently got the opportunity to work with a professor on research that directly relates to my intended major(CS), through a university’s lab. We’ll be doing the research over the summer, but I feel like given the timeline it’s improbable that we’ll actually get published before college applications.
In this case, would it still be worth it for me to engage in the research? The professor did tell me he would write me a supplemental rec if the research went well, so there’s that. Could I submit an abstract of the work we did in the Additional Information section(Common App)? Would colleges(T20s) value this?
The alternative to doing this, would be me trying to find a tech-based company internship, so I’m curious as to whether conducting the research would be worth it.
An unpaid lab research project in your field is fine. The work doesn’t have to be published. You would list it as an activity, and can write about what you gained from the experience as one of your essays.
Unless you already have someone (parent/relative/close family friend) who can hand you a company internship today, you should stick with the research project. There is no need to drop it on the off chance that you can come up with something different.
If you have formally agreed to work with a professor on research, and that person is depending on you to be a committed part of the team, please honor your word and do that with your whole self.
What is/will be valuable to you, to the person you are, is your exposure to the work, and participation as a valued member of the team doing real research.
As @happymomof1 has said, all that you learn may become the basis of a great essay for your college application.
You are right that it is unlikely to be published in time. However you can create a paper and post it on Arxiv.org and talk about it in your application. Try to carve out something for which you can be a sole author, and you can submit that to the Regeneron competition this fall.