Research

Applying to College
1

Hi everyone,

I am a current 10th grader and have seen so many people on forums like these talk about how they get research positions at their local universities. After poking around for a while, the consensus (from what I’ve seen) is you figure out a field you like look up professors who work in that field at one of your local university read up on some of their work and send them an email asking to work with them as an assistant/help work on their project/ ask them to mentor you for a project/ if you can help/do work with them. This is one part of the process I’m still a little hazy on and hoping someone can clear up, Isn’t it kind of pretentious to ask as a high school student to work on their research/ask them to mentor you on a project/work in their lab given the vast gap of knowledge you would have as a high school student compared to a grad student? If you want them to mentor you should you be coming to them with a project idea already in mind? I still can’t fathom how people even get ideas for their research projects while in high school, do you just read a bunch about the subject and hope inspiration strikes? Are the people in high school doing research actually doing anything or are they just passing off their professor’s work as their own?

TL:DR Send professors emails asking to work on their projects/mentor you on a separate but related project?

2

Oh my goodness. Punctuation is your friend. Use it.

High school students will not be credited for helping a professor with research. And my understanding is more that a high schooler serves as a gopher than anything else.

3

Unfortunately, your understanding is incorrect in many cases. HS students are capable of high level research depending on how much effort they are willing to put into their work. I personally know many kids who did college and graduate level research. Obviously, a lot depends on who the mentor is and how much time they are willing to invest in the student. A lot of times, grad students perform this function.