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when i call professors for the first time (my intention is to start my own project), should i ask them to help me with my research or ask them if they know anyone who is interested in the same field of research and would be interested in helping me?
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<p>Hm - okay - starting your own project. Not something I'm experienced in (how do you get the inspiration for starting your own project? Do you read research papers for fun or something?)</p>
<p>Anyways - don't be vague. If you ask them "can you help me??" - that sounds vague. Instead - tell them your research ideas - and ask the professors about papers that may be relevant to your research. Do meet the professors in person and then if the professor doesn't seem to know about the papers relevant to your area - ask the professor if they know other professors who know about your area. Some professors will personally introduce you to another professor in that department.</p>
<p>Also - once you do get into an e-mail communication with your professor - look at the professor's webpage and try to get a gist of what the professor is doing. The more you know about the professor's interests - the more motivated you seem - the better</p>
<p>Like I said, ask each individual what he/she knows first. They might defer you or take you on. Professors are smart, so make them feel smart.</p>
<p>lol i don't really read research papers for fun. i'm hoping to branch off on what the professor is working on. i have some ideas but i really have a very limited amount of knowledge on the subject.</p>
<p>Another suggestion:</p>
<p>Post a question at <a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/proceedings/viewforum.php?f=1%5B/url%5D">http://www.phdcomics.com/proceedings/viewforum.php?f=1</a> . They know A LOT about academia, and they're the grad students who are very familiar with research.</p>
<p>oh cool, thanks a lot, i think i will post there</p>
<p><a href="http://www.phdcomics.com/proceedings/viewforum.php?f=3%5B/url%5D">http://www.phdcomics.com/proceedings/viewforum.php?f=3</a> is the forum on academics (I originally linked to the phdcomics chit-chat forum)</p>
<p>phdcomics.com is MUCH more helpful than collegeconfidential. I got some of the best replies I could get anywhere from there</p>
<p>yea lol but i found my way there anyway</p>
<p>thanks for the link though</p>
<p>How do you find a professor to contact?
Do you just look at college websites in the area and look at the different professors or what?
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>that's what i did. i went to the department i was interested in and then looked at the research the professors were doing. now i just have to contact the professors.</p>
<p>does anyone know how much of a difference in the admissions process it makes if you have research listed in your resume versus if you don't do research at all?</p>
<p>It's not going to make or break you, but certainly a potential science major with research experience will get the nod over a potential science major without it, Ceteris paribus. If you're not going to major in a science or math, it might help but it's quite irrelevant. </p>
<p>There's also a difference between doing research and cleaning up equipment for a professor, which many students fail to realize. Research is actual labwork/proofs, not being a little helper for a time being.</p>
<p>my old school(residential) has a mentorship program that brings the students to different campuses. So, I'm kind of lost on how I could do this from my current school where the universities(UChicago, NW) are 30 minutes away, I don't drive and I'm not sure how often/when researchers actually umm research??? Let alone getting there since I don't drive</p>
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You need to research your topic before you start, and you should have at least a bachelor's degree knowledge of the specific topic. For example, if you are researching the uses of receptor proteins, you should know as much as a graduate knows about receptor proteins. This does not mean you need to know everything about molecular biology. Just receptor proteins.
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<p>Thanks! However, one problem is that I don't know how to get the resources to achieve the level of a person with a bachelor's in the field. What are some good resources?</p>
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I've done research before, though not with an experienced mentor. At a recent symposium I attended, I found that your project is the most credible when you do most of the work. The mentor should be just that: a mentor. Many students make the mistake of having a professor do their work for them, and it makes your research worthless. Be original.
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<p>I thought that it was like that, but some people had said that you would most likely work on an existing research interest of a professor. Wouldn't that imply that it wouldn't really be your research (if you did)?</p>
<p><a href="how%20do%20you%20get%20the%20inspiration%20for%20starting%20your%20own%20project?%20Do%20you%20read%20research%20papers%20for%20fun%20or%20something?">QUOTE</a>
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<p>Yes. But I have no real inspiration for my own project. The previous idea about endosymbiosis sounds pretty interesting.</p>
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that's what i did. i went to the department i was interested in and then looked at the research the professors were doing. now i just have to contact the professors.
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<p>That's what I did. Even though there is advice here to go to a fourth-tier public, U of M is very helpful in displaying the professors' specific research areas. However, because of that advice, I'll probably go to Wayne State or EMU. Wayne State is huge on research, I know that much.</p>
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So, I'm kind of lost on how I could do this from my current school where the universities(UChicago, NW) are 30 minutes away, I don't drive and I'm not sure how often/when researchers actually umm research??? Let alone getting there since I don't drive
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<p>Yes, that's a good point. I realize that this would be a rather large commitment, but does research take massive amounts of time? In other words, would it consume my life?</p>
<p>Is it too late now to ask around for a research project (in terms of how late into summer it is already)?</p>
<p>If you want to get a decent project, then yes, it is too late. Research projects oftentimes take entire summers and more; if you are able to find a willing professor to take you in this summer, perhaps you can shadow him and help him out. But your chances of getting a good project are slim to none.</p>
<p>^ what if you want to work on a project starting around this time during the summer through the school year and into next summer?</p>
<p>Oh, then you certainly have time. I thought you just wanted a project for the duration of summer. </p>
<p>If you plan on doing that, then it's definitely a good idea.</p>
<p>Ok so I just read the past 4 pages and I wanted to give my perspective on finding research because I see a lot of problems with what some people are asking so I am going to give some of my own tips. Just a little background- in my junior year I wanted to spend the entire school year doing cancer research (specifically on the enzyme telomerase which fascinated me) so I emailed a lot of labs proposing my idea. Unfortunately I was only accepted at one lab at nearby local college (Oakland University... it's in Michigan). I spent my whole school year there and I produced a project for the local science fair and I got as far as ISEF but I couldn't go to ISEF for personal reasons. Then in the summer I wanted to do more cancer research so I contacted a big cancer center in detroit (Karmanos) and I was accepted at every lab. I ended up being paired with a postdoc and completing a somewhat individualized project. Finally, this summer before I go off to Brown, I decided to do another lab to gain more research experience and all the labs I applied to I was accepted to and this time one of the labs offered me a job (which I declined because it was way too stifling in terms of original research). </p>
<p>So here are some of my tips that I came up with:
- First email the professors, writing them a courteous letter explaining your intentions and your passion for research. The labs I was accepted to all complimented my letters to them so if you want to see mine PM me.
- Try to play down things like ISEF and Siemens or potential rec letters because those are clear indicators that you are not sincere and you are in it for the wrong reasons.
- Email a lot of professors!
- If no one responds to your emails start calling. For my 11th grade summer internship at Karmanos I really wanted to work in one PI's lab but he was not answering his emails (he was away in China) so I called the lab and set everything up.
- Don't expect to get paid. People at lab's are cheap and they will not pay a high schooler. If you do somehow find a paid position you won't be doing much original research.</p>
<p>Now if you get a lab that wants you:
- Go in and interview. Dress nicely, it will leave a good first impression.
- Try to learn a little about the professor's research. Contrary to what people have been saying in this forum you don't need to know the same amount as a grad student to stay afloat. Take it slow starting with basic material (textbooks) and move up to the lab's scientific journals.
- Ask to be shown around the lab so you can meet the lab members and see the facilities. Watch out for labs that are too small that won't be able to facilitate a student. Also as bad as this sounds try to get a mentor who speaks decent english (I was in a lab where many of the members were recent immigrants from China and had I had a mentor who could speak English I would have learned much more that summer).
-Don't request your own separate project that interests you. If you want a project it will be something that is related to your lab's research. So far my projects have been extremely related to my mentor's project.</p>
<p>Some other tips:
- Realize you will have to be trained in all the protocols. This means that your research might take a while to really take off.
- Learning the technique is your first priority in doing the research and can be very helpful in securing future lab positions. (For example with biochemistry-based labs if you have experience with cell culture and the different blots then you become very attractive to labs because the training period will become much shorter).</p>
<p>In my own personal experience, I would say if you have a choice pick the lab where the people there seem excited to help you and seem like good teachers. This is especially why a lab at a university is great because they are used to the hustle and bustle of clumsy undergrads. With research institution labs (like Karmanos) the people there are 100% researchers and can sometimes be AWFUL teachers. So keep that in mind.</p>
<p>This may sound stupid (and may have been posted cause I only read the first and last pages), but could someone who has done research post a sample e-mail, I don't want to e-mail a prof blindly without first seeing format, etc.</p>