<p>Is any one else tired of always perfecting their app? Don't we all have enough to deal with SATs and ACTs and GPA, ec, clubs, sports, LIFE, to not have to worry about what else will impress adcoms? Don't get me wrong I'm all for furthuring my education but it makes me mad that there always seems to be one more thing that you could do to improve your application. I know its foolish to fight a system that'll never change, so I made as well ask the question of how in the world do you get an oppurtunity to do research? I was hoping that sort of thing would come in college, but apparently high school students do it all the time, and it looks great to colleges. In all honesty, I really don't want to start doing research, I'd rather stick to my volunteering which is a much more rewarding experience for me, but I guess if I'm going to stand a decent chance at a good med program I'm going to have to start working harder. So for all of you that have done research, how do you get started finding an internship or resarch opp? Sorry if I've offended anyone who does research, that wasn't my intent at all. I'm just frustrated that doing good things never seem good enough.
Well now that I've gotten that off my chest. I live in a subarb of Chicago, and I don't where to even begin looking for oppurtunities to do research, should I contact some local colleges in my area or what? Any advice would be great.</p>
<p>There should be a science research program at your school. If not, look up a topic that interests you and get in touch with someone who is working in that field to basically ask if they will be your mentor.</p>
<p>ahh dude, nothin u do now will have too much of an impact on ur admissions, its too late lol they are gonna see its a last ditch effort.</p>
<p>Unless u come up with sumthing that rivals the works of albert einstein and newton in the next 3 months...</p>
<p>Hey, anythings possible with you CC kids!</p>
<p>I was thinking about the same question u just asked cause i spend most of my time volunteering. And i decided that you know what, im gonna be working my tail off for the next 10 years of my life...let me enjoy my senior year. And that is what im gonna do. I love volunteering and I love everything else i currently do, im not adding anything. Just my thoughts tho.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your advice. I honestly don't think my school has anything of the sort, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to check. I'm interested in pediatrics and psychiatry, but is there anything I could work in those fields? I'm no genius, definetly nothing here to rival einstein or newton! Lol. Anyways I'm not going to stress about it anymore. I only have so much free time, and I might as well use that to find a job, that seems like a more realistic use of my time. Thanks for responding though.</p>
<p>I believe psychiatry deals with a lot of chemistry. They give chemicals to patience to balance their problem, etc. So I guess try to find a research in chemistry or something?</p>
<p>when you say chemistry, what does that entail? What exactly would I be doing or researching? Would I do lab experiments or study composition of medicines? Wouldn't all of that come later with more experience and knowledge?</p>
<p>Asbstar, the actual purpose of you doing research is for you to think at the level of the scientists in the field. You must read journal papers in the field and design your own experiment, which you will then conduct under the guidance of your mentor (essentially propose a problem and come up with a way to test it...etc etc.).</p>
<p>I would have to respectfully disagree with Doogie311. I believe there is still time for you to conduct a meaningful and worthwhile experiment. It will only look like a last ditch effort if your research doesn't involve a high level of critical thinking. If it does, your mentor's letter and the fact that you will do good in science competitions will be enough to cancel that idea out of the adcoms mind.</p>
<p>But since time is short, particularly for early decision you should stick with a smaller experiment that is conducted after a thorough researching of the problem.</p>
<p>And since it is hard to match your interests with what other scientists in your area are doing (in order to find a mentor), try to use the 'back-door' method; look up what the scientists in your area are doing and manipulate your interests based on that.</p>
<p>And by the way, never ever even think of slacking. Those adcoms will definitely take a look at your senior schedule if you want to go someplace competitive.</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>i stand by what i say...i have many friends who work in labs doing research, they can only do it during the summer because of time. Idk bout u but here school starts in 2 weeks...you try doin research in a lab after school senior year with applications.</p>
<p>thanks, for both of your advice. I'll definetly look into all the options, and see if I can design an experiment in my spare time. I think the hardest part will be finding an area to conduct an experiment in, not actually doing the experiment. By the way, what type of journal papers would have this kind of information? Where can I find them?</p>
<p>You should check out some science websites for current science news (ex: Biocompare, Discovery, etc.) and find a topic of info. For journal articles, you will most likely need to go to a university library unless you can access them online because you have a relative/friend who works there. Dont buy a journal for an article because they are ridiculously expensive. Try a google search (google has something new called google scholar). You might be able to snag some papers in a topic that interests you.</p>
<p>I'm a rising senior and I just started in a lab. I can tell you right away that doing research is one of the most time consuming activities to get involved in. Once you find a lab to work in (either by e-mailing profs or by connections), it'll take you a long time to understand the research topic (by reading scientific articles). This is also not easy for high school students as scientific articles are written for scientists and can be difficult to comprehend. You can't just walk into a lab and start doing experiments. Even when you have a pretty good understanding of the topic it still takes time to learn lab techniques.</p>
<p>Unless you are willing to devote a significant amount of time and energy to it, I'd wait until college. It sounds like you don't even want to do research, and doing it just for colleges is foolish. I have plenty of friends that got into top schools like Harvard and MIT (bio major) that had no research experience.</p>
<p>ya i agree, you cant just be doing this for your application. You gain nothing from that. And people see that too</p>
<p>thanks, i've decided that research is definetly not for me. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I'm not a scientist. I'm going into medicine because I have a passion for the field, and because I've always been able to keep my cool in emergencies and I love the feeling of knowing that I set a fracture or cleaned a wound. Hopefully, my interest will be enough, because I have absolutely no desire to do research. Thanks, I'm definetely reassured that people can get into Ivies w/o doing everything under the sun!</p>