Need Help with App for Research

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I need some advice. I have the chance to apply for a research position on at my university and one of the requirements is a paragraph or so about your interest in the position. I have no clue on how to start. I know somewhere in there I will make mention on how learning about different disabilities/illness can affect your basic movement functions will help me with further goal of working with the elderly population in some affect whether it be Occupation therapy, physical therapy, or public health. Honestly, I still have no clue which I will want to pursue after graduation. I looked at the other research assistants interests and short bio on the website and they vary so much. There is only one student with the same major who is pursuing physical therapy afterwards the rest are mostly engineering, or an unrelated major.</p>

<p>Any ideas? Right now my gpa isn't a 3.0 (its a 2.94 for this school only, although the cum is a 3.3) so if I don't get this position I should be able to actually go through the research office for undergrads next semester. I just know I would the love the chance to see this sub field of my major in action. To see if it is something I will actually want to pursue for Masters.</p>

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<p>Well, without knowing your field or what the research position is in - just be honest. If you don’t have a clue where to start, perhaps that’s a sign that you’re not ready for the position? I mean, why do you want to be a research assistant in the first place? Obviously you want some sort of research experience; you say that you want to work in the health field. So work backwards from there. What do you hope to gain from the research experience, aside from a line on your resume.</p>

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<p>Thanks! I went with the fact that I know I want to work with the elderly population and how the knowledge from the lab would help me serve the elderly population better. The position was with the university’s bio-mechanics lab and there was the chance to work on several projects within it. I was applying for the one that was working on hand grip after strokes but I can work with other graduate students. I was only concerned because I have not take bio-mechanics yet. I will either be taking it in the summer, or fall I haven’t decided. It eased my mine to see another sophomore who has the same major that may have possibly not taken the course yet either.</p>