<p>Right now I'm a high school junior looking to go into some type of science or math based profession (possibly engineering...still unsure). I take tough courses, have good grades, EC, etc but I know that to get into some of the better science schoools, you need to demonstrate a "profound" interest in science or math. This summer I plan on interning at the NYBG (New York Botannical Gardens) to work with some research people in labs but I wanted to know if there are any other courses, camps, research opportunities, etc that I could join or participate in that would show that I truly am interested in pursuing science as a career. Note, I don't want to merely get into a great science school but I'm also looking for areas in society where I could get a feel for different scientific fields. Any advice is helpful. Thanks</p>
<p>If you were a soph I would recommend MIT's summer program, which I hear is rather prestigious (MIT, duh...) however the app process for this year closed a few weeks ago. You could always e-mail a professor at a local university or even community college and ask if they wouldn't mind you helping out or possibly helping them with research. Warning on this though, usually at a big university, science research is way above the average high school student's head. I looked into e-mailing a GA Tech Physics professor about helping them, but after seeing what they were all researching, I realized I was way out of my league. Other than colleges, also contacting local scientific businesses/hospitals could pay dividends.</p>
<p>The best way IMO to show a profound interest in science/math is to start doing science/math. So find something/anything that interests you in science or math or engineering or technology and start studying / building / doing it right away. Don't worry if you don't necessarily understand exactly what you are doing. Even real scientists aren't 100% sure what they are doing. But it's important to get used to working with uncertainties. </p>
<p>Whatever you end up doing, periodically ask yourself if you are fooling yourself. Just because a summer program is labeled as a great way to get into science/math doesn't mean it's little more than an educational daycare, and just because someone sits at home with lots of textbooks claiming to self-study doesn't mean they are actually grasping a subject.</p>
<p>Also a profound interest in science/math is easy to test. All an interviewer has to do is say, what are you interested in? And you say XYZ. And they say tell me more about XYZ. And then tell me some more, and tell me some more. If you are truly interested in something, you will be able to talk extensively and in depth about it, conveying an excitement that's hard to fake. I've seen kids talk for hours and hours on one particular narrow technical field. They don't have all the answers, but they have a lot of intelligent interesting questions.</p>