<p>I emailed a professor for a potential research internship. I waited a week. I then sent a follow up email. No reply. What should I do? Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>Try sending it through a different email address and with a different subject line. It might have been sent to their spam box.</p>
<p>A phone call wouldn’t hurt either.</p>
<p>i think I’m going to pay a visit</p>
<p>Good idea…</p>
<p>Honestly, professors are very busy and have a lot going on. Inquiries, particularly from undergraduates, asking for them to do more work (e.g. setting up an internship, even unpaid) often go unanswered. If you’ve already sent two e-mails, I don’t think I’d bother that professor again–find someone else. And if you’re in high school, that’s probably why you didn’t get a response–what skills would a high school bring? There might be liability risks and other concerns. </p>
<p>Students normally have to put a lot of feelers and contacts out there before they find anything… not just contact one professor.</p>
<p>^Professors will almost always tell you they are not interested, instead of ignoring your email. You shouldn’t risk the chance of passing up an internship/research opportunity due to your email getting flagged as spam.</p>
<p>@terenc- Thanks for your advice. I think that the professor I’ve contacted is either on vacation or is occupied with some important research (he regularly publishes in top-tier journals).</p>
<p>When I was looking for an internship, 80% of my emails received no reply. </p>
<p>…Yes, I do need to use a percentage since I sent out roughly 100 emails.</p>
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<p>Based on what evidence? I had an experience more similar to wilsun007–and that was when bringing up a research-relevant issue, not asking for an internship. Professors get those kind of e-mails all the time. If you want a shot at getting a response, make sure you include a small amount about what skills you have and how that ties into their research. And, OP, are you a high-school student or in college? That makes a big difference.</p>
<p>UPDATE: I called the professor today. He said that he has sent an email to the university to make sure that there are no regulations against bringing in a high school intern. I once again stated my interest in his research by referencing a paper of his that I had read. Lastly, the professor said that he will let me know of any developments. Do you guys think I have a good chance of being accepted, given that the university will allow him to bring in an intern?</p>
<p>Yes. I don’t think a professor would bother to email the university if he doesn’t plan on at least considering you.</p>
<p>I emailed around 20 professors for a research internship position at Rice and waited for 1-3 weeks and only 1 accepted (he was the only one who replied too lol). So I suggest emailing other profs in the department you’re interested in. You gotta give them time.</p>
<p>I guess a more applicable question, given that the prof wants to bring me into his lab, do you all think that the university will allow an intern in?</p>
<p>I think it depends on the type of work you’d be doing, your age (for liability issues), and the willingness of a grad student to work with you.</p>
<p>I’m aware of hs kids who did get U intern-type opportnities, usually in science or lab work. It depends on the work being done, the help needed, your potential value, and whether they have someone available to mentor you (prof or grad student.) Ie, not just because you want this experience. Chances are better if you don’t expect to be paid and can be very flexible about hours and the number of weeks. And, willing to do what they want, even if it’s low level.</p>
<p>should I let the prof know through an email that I don’t want to be paid?</p>
<p>Only you know the nature of the conversation and how encouraging he was (or not.) This may be a case where you can send a follow-up email thanking him for the time and explaining a few relevant things. Not to long, not too short.</p>
<p>Don’t just title this one “internship” or such. I’d think about “Follow up to 10Jul conversation.” That sort of thing. Give him an instant sense of what’s up. Good luck.</p>
<p>If this doesn’t work out, in the end, ask him if you may contact him again, for the following year or summer.</p>
<p>I don’t recall ever having a high school student in our lab that was paid, so I imagine the assumption is that you won’t be.</p>
<p>@lookingforward- should I give him a call if he doesn’t reply by about mid-next week? ( I actually did speak with him on July 10th!)</p>