<p>For those of you who are/have been RAs or know about the works... I am new to this so bear with me.</p>
<p>Do you have to RA for course credit, or can you do it "just because" (what other options are there)? I can see how course credit would be beneficial, but I am an upperclassmen so a >100 course wouldn't do much for me... I think.</p>
<p>Help?</p>
<p>You can be an RA for credit or not for credit, depends on the lab and your preference.</p>
<p>Doing SRP 99 is not really beneficial at all. It is the lower level research class and you just get like 2 units pass/fail, so it doesn’t really help you at all. Doing it for the 100 course gives you a letter grade, which is generally a guaranteed A, if your lab likes you. I think the program requires you to take to the 99 class 1 quarter before doing the 100 version for a letter grade. I’m not positive tho.</p>
<p>You can just do it for research opportunities. The best way is to just ask professors you are taking, or look up stuff online and send emails. Also ask friends in labs if there are any openings they know about. </p>
<p>Doing it for credit is not much help, unless you take it for a grade and use it to boost your gpa. However, I have heard of one instance where a kid decided to quit his position at a lab prematurely and they decided to give him an F for that quarter. He had to fight it, and eventually worked out a compromise of some sort, and got a Pass.</p>