Can some alumni tell me how creditable this program is as well as how competitive it is and what I can do to stand out as an applicant for the summer 2020 research?
Thank You!!!
As someone who completed the Pioneer Program, I feel that I can give you some answers to the questions you have. For me, I was able to get into a great school after completing the Pioneer Program. Pioneer doesn’t reveal the name or affiliation of an instructor to school that it submits a letter of recommendation for on yourself, but you as the student know your professor and everything about them. I think it’s an interesting system because it focuses on the credibility of the program over the professors name. Credibility does not come just from advertising fancy schools. Instead, finding students who are super passionate about a subject is much more important to the program in my experience.
Just adding on to the other reply, it is always in your power to keep in touch with your professor and ask them whether you can mention their name on the cover page of your research paper, if you send the colleges your paper as a supplement. Professors who participate in the program are eager to work with students, so you can have them as mentors even after the program ends. I have completed the program two years ago, but I’m still communicating with my professor. However, it is important to highlight that the fact that you are completing a relatively long research is the actual credibility you gain; it’s not about who and from which college the professor is.
This is a second year at UC Berkeley and I did Pioneer in spring 2017. I’d like to talk about the academic part and its significance in my college app of the program.
The spring program went from end of February to end of July. There were two stages of the program, group and individual. Online group meetings were held in the first two months, one to two hours per meeting, six to seven meetings in total per group, which consists of one professor and four to six students. Students have AP and SAT tests in May and Pioneer has flexible schedule to accommodate this. There’s little task in May. Beginning from early June students started writing their individual paper, and they can schedule around six one-hour meetings with their professor in the process of writing, to get questions answered and get advice from the professor. The deadline for individual paper is decided by the professor, based on the student’s start date and their writing schedule. My paper deadline was mid June so it took me around one and a half months to finish the paper. Meanwhile my summer school started late June but it was not intensive so it was doable with the pioneer program together. I procrastinated and honestly didn’t do much before the last week from due date, and I crammed for around six hours every day in the last week to finish my paper. It’s not that bad if the workload is spread out more into the earlier weeks lol
The topic I chose was Environmental Studies, which is also my college app major. My professor is an expert of earthquake and that’s also the topic of our group meetings. He explained concepts pretty clear. And he was especially helpful in my individual paper writing meetings. My paper topic fell out of his expert field but he was still pretty supportive of my decision. He gave valuable suggestions in choosing my paper topic to make it neither too generalising nor too specific. In the process of writing he pointed out logic fallacies in my paper and patiently guided me through everything, like the flow, structure, wording, citation, etc. I’m pretty grateful for my professor. He is knowledgeable and patient, meticulous in academics and gentle with students.
The Pioneer program team also did a great job in coordinating the program. Before the program started they set up research practice workshop as well as technical troubleshooting workshop to resolve network connection and other tech issues. During the program they helped adjust and sync the meeting schedule for prof and students, update the evaluation from prof to students, and ran a Writing Center where peer mentors helped polish students’ paper. After the program they ran AO dialogue, i.e. online meetings where students can get to know college admissions officers and get questions answered.
Personally, it was my first time writing college-level academic paper in the program. From topic selection to literature review, from paper writing to style polishing, I took away a lot from the program. I learnt how to build a solid paper thesis, how to digest academic papers efficiently, how to draft a formal academic paper, how to cite and quote in a professional way, etc.
My pioneer research paper, which was published in the 2017 Pioneer Research Journal, was an important part of my college application. It’s hard to generalise the significance of the program in college app as everyone has different application package, but in general, having a solid research paper, a rec letter from a college professor, and all the research and writing technique learnt from the program only helps.
In short, the program is helpful academically and adds to the college app materials. One thing to notice before rushing into the program is that the cost is relatively high, and the schedule is easy to conflict with summer school or standardised exam, so it’s better to evaluate whether it’s doable to include the program into your schedule, and if you really want to do research or not.
Some of the information may be outdated so please refer to the official website or reach out to the program coordinators for most updated information. Other than that, good luck!
1 Like