<p>Does anyone know about the accessibility of research opportunity for math or physics majors?</p>
<p>I don’t know specifically by major, but I was on a tour yesterday, and both the admissions counselor and the tour guide said that most people will be involved in some kind of research by second semester freshman year, and if not, definitely the beginning of sophomore year. They’re really committed to hands-on learning.</p>
<p>My D has not found that to be the case. It probably depends on your program. She is finishing her sophomore year - she just transferred this year - and she still isn’t sure how to get involved in research (she is not math/science). She plans to email some profs to ask about it for next year, though — maybe it’s there if you know how to ask for it.</p>
<p>Quoted from previous thread. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vanderbilt-university/679385-info-sciences-vandy.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/vanderbilt-university/679385-info-sciences-vandy.html</a> Feel free to PM me for more details or just ask here. The following is pretty geared towards the MCB major, but the research advice is pretty universal.</p>
<p>"The most critical part of the MCB major, IMO, is finding a lab that you will join. You will not be able to get full research credit if you join a lab in the medical center. So finding a mentor in the BSCI department is critical. There are several considerations one should take when joining a lab (in no particular order):
- Size of the lab. Some labs are so big that the students are lost as they are “farmed” to grad students. Other labs are so small that there isn’t enough room for growth or guidance. Finding a size that fits your intellectual ability is important.</p>
<p>2) Don’t worry about the topic. Clearly there is a difference between a structural biology lab and a lab focused on ecology, however when you are picking between two labs of a similar discipline the subject matter should NOT matter. What does matter is how much intellectual freedom you will have to work on the project, and how productive each lab is. You should find something that interests you, however this isn’t terminal, this is training for either future grad work, or med school.</p>
<p>3) Comfort with PI (principle investigator). This will be the person you will be writing your primary LOR. You want to make sure you are comfortable with this person, and can work with them for the long haul.</p>
<p>As for the program being overly crowded. Well, as I have always said, you need to look early for a lab otherwise you will definitely see the crowding effect. The major itself is not “crowded” per se in terms of class size. Professors are usually not over ran with students looking for help, so one on one interaction is still very possible and easy. However, the major is VERY competitive. Upper level bio classes have averages on tests in the high 80’s low 90’s. Not because these tests are easy, rather that many students focus that hard. The intro level classes tend to have lower averages, and bright students should do just fine thanks to a generous curve."</p>
<p>"If you are interested in joining a research lab you NEED to contact professors about a month into the semester BEFORE you want to join. I.e. You want to join a lab in fall of sophomore year, contact professors in February or March.</p>
<p><strong><em>On doing summer research. If you are interested in doing summer research, either at vandy or elsewhere, you NEED to look for spots in January. Most deadlines are Feb 1.</em></strong>"</p>
<p>Bottom line is, if you want to do research you NEED to be active in contacting professors. Anyone who is active enough in contacting professors will have no problem getting in a lab. Doing your research on professors before contacting them will narrow down those who want you to do meaningful research, and those who want you to do data analysis.</p>
<p>And most people do not start research until Sophomore year. Many professors are weary of taking freshman. The required coursework is just not there yet.</p>
<p>Based only the experience of my son, I agree with two of the statements above: it probably depends on the program (some are more research intensive than others), and it probably is a lot easier for freshmen if they arrive on campus with relatively advanced coursework already in hand.</p>
<p>Since my son is in a research intensive field, and he had already taken some university courses in relevant fields (while in high school), he has been involved in research since very early in his freshman year. </p>
<p>However, even given those factors, if he had waited around for someone to approach him and offer him something, he would still be waiting. He liked what one professor was doing, so he made an appointment and asked if there was any way he could get involved. </p>
<p>It is important to be pro-active.</p>
<p>I have noticed that Vanderbilt does pretty well with the Goldwater awards. This is a national scholarship competition for students in math, science and engineering and is based very largely on research performed during undergraduate years. Students are nominated and apply halfway through either sophomore or junior year. I know several sophomores have won this scholarship the last couple of years. One was a math major, one chemistry (I think), a couple engineering majors. I think as many as half have been sophomores, rather than juniors. That means they must have started research during freshman year, or at latest, during the summer after freshman year.</p>