<p>I also want to say thank you to originaloog for a very clear post on the realities of getting ready for graduate school. </p>
<p>For the original poster, one consideration that hasn't been brought up in the thread, but might be worth thinking about, is that if Rice and UT are equal in all other respects, but UT is farther from home, then UT might provide more opportunities for the student's social growth and spreading his own wings than even a residential experience at a college nearer home. (Disclaimer: I attended a college commuting distance from my childhood home, and lived at home the first year or so that I went there, so I didn't take this advice.)</p>
<p>Simba:
What Originaloog says about the importance of the graduate advisor is key, whatever the area of research. It may be that an undergraduate, having focused on an area of research, finds that the best person to act as advisor happens to be teaching in his/her institution. In that case, the undergraduate should apply there for graduate school.
My S, however, has talked to a number of college seniors as he was doing his college research; they told him that their undergraduate institutions encouraged them to apply elsewhere for graduate studies. I believe it may not be as true of Harvard as it is of other equivalent institutions. One MIT grad went to UIUC; one Princeton grad went to Cornell; among the Harvard graduate students at Harvard he's met, some came from U Chicago, MIT, Yale. </p>
<p>If a student wants to do a senior thesis or project, s/he would be well advised to do a lot of the research at least in the summer after the junior year. Well endowed colleges try to provide research opportunities (and funding) for their undergraduates, often during the summer. While a few may be guaranteed such opportunities, I expect that there are other sources of funding open to other undergraduates, perhaps through competitions, either internal or external. That would be something to look into. Rice has a good endowment. If your child is truly interested in attending, look further into opportunities besides the Century Scholars.</p>
<p>Simba redponeed: "originaloog: Thank you for a very informative post. Is research important only for senior year or should it start before? Our confusion arises from the fact that at Rice the Century scholars are guaranteed research opportinities for 2-4 years."</p>
<p>Before I respond directly indulge me with two annecdotes. Dr. Cliff Stoll, an astronomer(?) at Cal-Berkeley(?) hosted a forum on technology and education. A protechnology father of an apparently prodigous elem-middle schooler noted how his daughter did a research report on the evolutionary progression of amphibians on the Galapogos Islands or some such subject using internet sources . Dr Stoll's response was not one of wonder of the child's A+ report but a question of why she did not choose as a subject such as what made her pet cat purr! Second anecdote involved me. During my third(spring) quarter physics class, our professor suggested that we attend an advanced physics conference being held that weekend at the Battell Labatory located on King Avenue adjacent to the OSU campus, free of charge to his students. I attended the Saturday sessions, did not understand anything being presented, but was awestruck by the intellectual acuity of the physicists in the audience which posed seemingly off the cuff questions of the presenters and the subsequent give and take dialogue. It was then that I began to understand what it truely meant to be educated.</p>
<p>Which gets me to your question. Is a soph or junior equipped to do "research"? Probably not. There are very rare exceptions, but few students are intellectually equipped to embark on real research before senior year. Here is what I would recommend instead. Most departments with graduate programs offer seminars where grad students present the results of their research. Undergrads should be encouraged to sit in on these. In one of my son's department's at RPI(cogsci) their seminar is offered from 12-1:30 on alternate Wednesdays. The department provides a free lunch and encourages the undergrads to attend. My son has begun attending, enjoying a few of the presentations. He has also been able to get to know a few of the profs better and likes having lunch without having to trek back to the commons dining hall in Troy's cold weather. Many departments also sponsor lectures by faculty and outside speakers. Both my son's cogsci and compsci department sponsor these and the compsci lectures include either a pre or post lecture reception where students and faculty can meet. He attended all the fall cogsci lectures as a req't of his Minds and Machines class but has not attended any of the compsci lectures yet.</p>
<p>More appropriate for most sophs and juniors are independent study or readings classes where they can work one on one with a professor on a subject of their own choosing and interest. My son's interest is in AI. The decision science department offers a course in computational intelligence offered every spring. He is not taking it now but would like to take it soph or junior year. Because it is an upper level course outside his departments, I suggested that he approach the prof and ask to do a 1 or 2 credit independent study for prep next fall. He could probably fit it into a number of slots in his schedule and would get a feel for what he would be encountering in the formal class both subject wise and with the prof himself. He is not sure if the prof will agree but thought that he would give it a shot.</p>
<p>Sometimes the research opportunities offered to lower level undergrads are little more that lab assistants or techs. This is cheap labor but does not benefit the student too much. I believe that independent study, seminars and lectures can be of more benefit.</p>