Last few questions about research before I email profs

Applying to College
1

<li><p>Should I only email profs in the field of science I’m currently enrolled in? I’m in AP Chem right now and I haven’t taken bio since freshman year. I’d be interested in doing bio research if possible but my concern is that I’ve forgotten most of bio. </p></li>
<li><p>How do I narrow down the list of professors I could email? Searching the faculty database, there are 49 results for chemistry! ([UC</a> Irvine - Faculty Profile System](<a href=“http://www.faculty.uci.edu/]UC”>http://www.faculty.uci.edu/)) I don’t think I will be emailing them all.</p></li>
<li><p>Anyone affiliated with UCI (student, prof, etc.) know of professors who are especially receptive to HS students doing research?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>^^i have the same problem too~~~</p>

3

<p>Researching professors basically at random isn't going to help you because you're asking them to use their time to supervise you -- a high school student who has little knowledge of the field and whom they wouldn't get any compensation for teaching (which is what they would be doing).</p>

<p>If you have done any research -- such as having done a significant paper for class or a science fair research project -- that is in their exact field of expertise (by this, I don't mean "biology" since that's too broad. I mean something far more specific), then you give them information about this when you e-mail them.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I think the possibilities are slim that anyone is going to respond positively to your request. </p>

<p>If you want to do research, you can do research on your own over the summer by reading on a subject that interests you and then designing experiments related to that subject.</p>

4

<p>^^huh....gur....so the professors dont like high school students?? :(</p>

5

<p>TBH I've never had to write a paper for a science class nor had I heard of HS science fairs (Intel, Siemens, etc.) until the end of last year. Just because I lack experience means I'm SOL?</p>

<p>This wouldn't be a part time job. I figured maybe once or twice a week during the summer, a few hours a day. I would think that some professor who's already doing work wouldn't mind a HS student helping out. It's not like I would say "Stop what you're doing, I want you to teach me this and I want to do this experiment."</p>

6

<p>The problem is that having an inexperienced high school student help out is very time consuming because the professor would still have to teach you how to "help out." More than likely, there are more experienced and knowledgeable college students who would be happy to help out, and who may even do such work as work study or as part of class requirements.</p>

<p>That you lack a specific interest or background in some specific aspect of biology reduces the odds that a professor would be willing to spend so much time with you. You come across more as someone who's interested in decorating their resume or college application than someone who really has a passion about biology.</p>

<p>While you're offering to help, your lack of skills and experience means that there's a good chance that by the time the prof teaches you how to help, the prof could have done the work himself/herself. Supervising a novice is very time consuming. </p>

<p>This is why you'd be better off spending the summer doing research on your own -- or in a community college class - and then asking professors for guidance -- after you've already developed some background and documented interest in a specific area of science. It's not too early to start on science fair projects either.</p>

<p>It's not that professors don't like high school students. Professors are busy, and get paid for doing research and teaching college students. Due to budget cuts at universities across the country, professors are being expected to teach more college students while having fewer teaching assistants -- the graduate students paid to help them. Consequently, it's going to be hard to find a professor who's willing to take on more work -- supervising and mentoring you -- when the prof probably already is overworked.</p>

<p>If you use Google, though, you can find summer university research opportunities that you pay to participate in. That may be something for you to consider doing.</p>

7

<p>Some summer science programs for high school students:</p>

<p>LHS</a> | Residential Summer Camps</p>

<p>Summer:</a> Community Resource Guide
Summer</a> Opportunities - High School and College Programs</p>

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<p>Thanks for the information. But any "away" type camp is out because I have XC training the entire summer.</p>

<p>
[quote]

That you lack a specific interest or background in some specific aspect of biology reduces the odds that a professor would be willing to spend so much time with you. You come across more as someone who's interested in decorating their resume or college application than someone who really has a passion about biology.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I was actually planning on asking about chem research (chem being the subject I'm more knowledgeable about). And yes, I realize I come off as a app padder. But what am I to do? I come from a sports-oriented school whose only remotely science related activity is the environmentalist club (and that got scrapped my freshman year). I'm just trying to create opportunities for myself.</p>

9

<p>Start another club at your school. Take a community college class. See if there are any nearby nonresidential programs that you could pay to attend. Use your vacation time to spend a week or 2 at a residential research program that you'd pay for (I assume that you don't have to be present every week during the summer for XC training). </p>

<p>Do research on your own this summer. Wanting to do "chemistry research" is just as vague as wanting to do "biology research" , and it isn't likely to open doors for you. But sure, go ahead and e-mail professors. Maybe you'll get lucky especially if you ask your GC and science teachers if they have suggestions about professors. Maybe they know a prof who would be happy to have you work with them. My guess is that most high school kids who get the kind of opps that you're looking for do the research with family friends.</p>

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<p>I would definitely e-mail profs if you're genuinely interested. I'm a senior who didn't have many "hooks" when I emailed professors. I had insignificant participation in science fair and lab volunteering at the University. The only thing going for me was the fact that I had taken linear algebra, calc 3, and an upper division environmental engineering course through dual-enrollment. </p>

<p>What I basically did was select 15 professors. (You could narrow down the list by seeing if his/her lab has undergrad students. Usually they're more inclined to take high schoolers if they have undergrads.) Then I planned to email 5 per week, sending each an individual email. </p>

<p>Here's my cover letter (I also attached a resume):</p>

<p>"Professor [X],</p>

<p>My name is [me]. I am a senior at [my high school] and a
dual-enrollment student at the University of Minnesota. Currently, I am
exploring summer research and internship opportunities. In particular, I am
interested in working at your lab because of the focus on the [research topic]. I do not expect to be compensated; I
simply want to gain research experience before I pursue an environmental
engineering degree in college this fall.</p>

<p>I've had experiences working in a lab. Specifically, I've volunteered at an
immunology lab at the U of M. During that time, I completed basic lab
safety training, learned general lab procedures, and applied them to
experiments. In subsequent years, I returned to the lab to conduct my own
experiments for the district science fair. Additionally, I've successfully
completed many advanced math and science courses, including ones at the U
of M.</p>

<p>Attached is my r</p>

11

<p>Modulation,
That info was very helpful and interesting.
How'd you get your first lab experience, the one you referred to here? How many hours a week was it, and what were you researching?</p>

<p>"Specifically, I've volunteered at an
immunology lab at the U of M. During that time, I completed basic lab
safety training, learned general lab procedures, and applied them to
experiments. In subsequent years, I returned to the lab to conduct my own
experiments for the district science fair. "</p>

12

<p>Oh, it was more just getting used to a lab. I got connections through my parents and volunteered at a lab. I wasn't really doing research, just... shadowing and doing little things for two weeks. I told my professors that when I talked to them in person and they were okay with it my relative lack of experience.</p>

13

<p>Thanks, MOdulation for answering my question.
From that info and what I've seen, the OP's best chance of getting the kind of internship the wants probably would be going through personal connections -- GC, science teacher, parents of friends, etc. Since a university is nearby, there's a good chance that someone he knows can hook him up with a bio or chemistry prof.</p>

14

<p>The same argument could be used for any undergraduate students. Undergraduate students, believe it or not, do not start out being all that helpful in research labs. They can do routine tasks at best in the beginning, but a freshman or a sophomore doesn't generally have a whole lot of experience in the field to the point that they can be terribly useful, especially in a natural science lab with complicated equipment.</p>

<p>Professors understand that the number one reason a student volunteers for a lab placement in high school and in college is because they want to <em>learn</em>. And there are many professors out there, even at big research universities, who are interested in teaching high school students and undergraduates the basics of research. I have met many at my particular institution who are very interested in getting the local high school kids more involved with research. (Then you create a direct feeder line into the school, which = money.)</p>

<p>It's also not generally true that professors are being expected to teach more students with less assistants. Actually what's true is tenure lines are being held vacant and more adjunct/part-time professors are being hired, professors who are NOT paid to do research nor have very much time to, but teach a couple of classes at an agreed-upon rate. Professors are very busy people, but many of them enjoy the generative aspect of mentoring high school students and undergrads</p>

<p>There have been many high school students and undergraduates who have done excellent work and published during these years, and it was the early exposure to science that got them interested in research for later on. Doing "research on your own by designing your own experiments" over the summer, you would still need a mentor or advisor who will guide you, even if it's remotely by e-mail or phone calls.</p>

<p>Modulation's approach works -- it's the way undergraduates find lab mentors, too. Sometimes a cold call is what you have to do is if you have no connections. Select researchers who are doing research that is interesting to you, and ask them if you could work in their lab. You'd be surprised -- professors are often flattered that someone else is interested in their work, and even if they don't have anything for you to do they may refer you to other professors who do need lab assistants or have more time, and can become a resource for you.</p>

<p>Also, if the graduate students in a lab are listed, you can e-mail them and ask them if you can work with them. Graduate students are often conducting independent experiments, especially advanced graduate students, and at some schools (like one of my departments) undergrads work directly with graduate students, not professors.</p>

15

<p>"t's also not generally true that professors are being expected to teach more students with less assistants. Actually what's true is tenure lines are being held vacant and more adjunct/part-time professors are being hired, professors who are NOT paid to do research nor have very much time to, but teach a couple of classes at an agreed-upon rate. Professors are very busy people, but many of them enjoy the generative aspect of mentoring high school students and undergrads"</p>

<p>I used to be a professor, am married to a professor, and have lots of friends who are profs.</p>

<p>Everyone I know is now being expected to do more with less -- including not getting the TAs they would have had if their school had been able to provide more financial support to graduate students.</p>

<p>The profs -- and even graduate assistants -- are being forced to do more with less. In my state, there even is talk about cutting the salaries of all state employees -- and that would include profs and other employees at public universities.</p>

<p>Probably --as is typically the case -- the OP's best chance of getting to do volunteer research would be to use any personal connections s/he has with college professors. Having that kind of focused approach likely will raise the OP's chances of getting to do some research this summer.</p>