<p>So I just visited Brown this weekend and was really impressed at just how many opportunities undergrads had regarding doing research w/profs or doing research on their own. I am seriously interested in the sciences and I am 100% sure I want to start either working with a prof or doing some independent science research ASAP during my freshman year. How good are the opportunities for Harvard undergrads (esp freshmen) to do research, esp. if they have no prior experience?</p>
<p>There are a ton of opportunities to do research at Harvard. Undergrads do research with profs in FAS, the Harvard Med School, Massachusetts General Hospital, the School of Public Health, MIT, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute … the list goes on and on. You just need to go online and peruse the websites of professors and researchers associated with these institutions until you come up with a list of people doing research you’re interested in. Email them and see if they have room for someone new. Many of these profs will meet / interview you, and many will take on students with no research experience since training them will be a long-term investment, which may pay off for them in the long run.</p>
<p>Be aware, however, that most students don’t start research until freshman spring or later since they need time to adjust to their new classes / new environment etc. But, many freshman do start conducting research.</p>
<p>The opportunities are endless. And honestly, you can do undergrad research at any school.</p>
<p>PS. why did you say Brown?</p>
<p>Dolce Valse:
Harvard’s breadth and depth in research is sui generis. The
undergraduates get the most out of it since the grads tend
to have already specialized into specific niches.</p>
<p>Try [this link](<a href=“http://www.hcura.org/Research%20Areas%20(FINAL).doc”>http://www.hcura.org/Research%20Areas%20(FINAL).doc</a>) following up along the lines of kd5qdf’s post.</p>
<p>Only MIT and Caltech have comparable depth in opportunities and even then
not the breadth. Depending on your potential interests you will begin to discover
layer upon layer of opps at Harvard.</p>
<p>^^ well, last I heard, Stanford dedicated more money in a year to undergraduate research than any other US university. Given the grad student population, the top grad programs across the board, and a general culture of undergraduate research, I’d say Stanford probably offers the same breadth and depth of research for undergrads that Harvard does, if not greater (because of engineering).</p>
<p>cdz512, I just mentioned Brown because I went on this tour of their science departments and they really emphasized the opportunities for undergrad research. I visited Dartmouth as well but they didn’t have an information session on the day that I went.</p>
<p>
Stanford dedicates around 4 million dollars (college rep told me that) and Duke dedicates a lot too for undergrad including freshman. JHU is also known for having a good amount to research for undergrad (and freshman). For Duke and JHU, undergrad engineering gets a lot of funding and they help get students research and internship.</p>
<p>@dolcevalse: Ahh I get it</p>
<p>Phantasmogoric,
Any $ figure related to undergrad research could undoubtedly be
quite low. This is because Harvard functions in the usual Harvard mode
- heightened excellence in labs each allowed to dig on its own without
a centralized agenda (at least that is my take). In the last year there
has been a push for more multi-disciplinary research.</p>
<p>At an anectodal level those in my HS who matricualted at Stanford
(my year) have decidely a tougher time finding good research opps.
Apparently most of these go to beginning grads and senior undergrads.
Those who went to Brown and Penn have found only traditional opps.
MIT and Caltech have however provided fantastic opps on par with
those that I find at Harvard. Opps where I am not just counting
cells or culturing something but actually being allowed to pursue
a simple line of thought (of course under the direction of a Post-grad/
senior grad) are abundant at Harvard and apparently at MIT and Caltech.
This is not the case at Stanford from talking to my friends.</p>
<p>Engineering research opps for undergrads at Harvard is excellent on
the nano-side but is not comparable to those at MIT and Caltech
or Stanford in other engineering fields.</p>
<p>As a student at Stanford, I can say that what you’ve heard isn’t true. It’s generally known here that getting involved in research is not hard at all. This summer, for example, I’m doing research on campus, as are a whole ton of my friends (not even kidding–I can’t even count how many of them are doing research here). And that’s true throughout the year. </p>
<p>I realize, also, that the amount of undergraduate research $ isn’t the best measure–I’d say that the majority of undergraduate research at Stanford is done through professors, labs, etc. that get funding from other sources.</p>
<p>I’m not doubting the abundance of research done by undergrads at Harvard, though I think it’s a bit far to say that “Only MIT and Caltech have comparable depth in opportunities and even then not the breadth.”</p>
<p>I have to say: honestly people, it’s not that hard to find research. My friend found research at University of Michigan during his high school years. A whole bunch of my other friend found research at med school also during their high school years. I was given an opportunity to perform research at University of Michigan. It’s not that hard as an undergrad to find research. You can ask professors. There are people who will help you. I have attended science fair where nearly everyone who has the best projects did their at a university. I have seen high schoolers do their projects at Duke, UCLA, UT etc.</p>