<p>It seems that "research" is a common place EC amongst the cc crowd of high school students and I just don't understand how it that is possible? Unless you have a parent working in a scientific field or one that has connections how do you make this happen? Yes, I understand that there are some kids out there that are so brilliant and compelling that they can just knock on a lab door and a PhD will say "come on in," but how often does that occur? Please enlighten me because it does not exist in my neck of the woods...what is all of this talk of "research", what does it really entail, and how does it come about?</p>
<p>My D’s HS partners with a very highly regarded cancer research institute that places top students in their internship program. One of this year’s students focused on something that was picked up for additional study by the scientists. It is a public HS with support from a foundation-that is how it works here.</p>
<p>I don’t buy a lot of it either. I think it signifies who-you-know and favors kids from “scientist” families who have connections. In my area, two of the largest labs are in kind of the boonies, not accessible via public transportation, requiring the student to have his / her own car – which I also think then becomes code for “wealthy kid.” </p>
<p>@sseamom
Thanks, that makes sense. It does go back to having connections then-in this case not parental connections, but school connections. And of course you have to live in an area that has scientists and research facilities to begin with-and they have to be willing to mentor high school students.</p>
<p>And I know kids who have taken two buses and then an office park shuttle to get to a research facility- with parents who have ordinary, not connected jobs. </p>
<p>I don’t think you can paint it all with the same brush. </p>
<p>I think it depends on the school.
Oldest attended a private school that had connections with the local flagship and they worked on the * Disappeared* project looking at mitochondrial DNA for a genetics class.</p>
<p>But more schools are probably like her sisters public school, which was dependent on teachers making opportunities available by designing curriculum that allows students to develop research skills.
Those opportunities are getting fewer as the district keeps lowering the bar in order in " level the playing field".</p>
<p>@blossom
Nope we certainly can’t paint it all with the same brush-we don’t have public transportation here!</p>
<p>I personally am conducting research on the optimum combination of meat and vegetables in my daily omelet. I’m sure, if I was applying to colleges, that there could be a very technical way to describe it.</p>
<p>@pizzagirl
I do believe a lot of it goes back to what you are saying, of course I am not implying that it is all that way. @sseamom’s response was very helpful-kids earn their way into that particular research and then are legitimately involved in a program.
I just object to the notion that research is accessible to all, and I also find it hard to believe that everyone that claims they are doing research is really doing anything significant.</p>
<p>It varies. Some high school have organized science research programs and have made connections with local scientists. Some students really do just make the effort. My dh had a high school student work for him a couple of years back. Amusingly, he had initially said no, because he definitely did not have time to mentor a high school student, but one of his grad students had a project that could use an extra set of hands, and he offered to make it work. I don’t think the kid made any earth shaking discoveries or did anything indedendently, but I think he got a decent look at what working in a lab is like. I’m not sure how the kid got there - I imagine he drove, because while there is public transportation, it takes forever.</p>
<p>My older son did not do research per se, but with a Dad scientist he was given various projects by his Dad or other scientists in our friend circle. (He was a whiz computer programmer and was able to help them with various modelling programs.) He did not get paid, but was acknowledged in papers.</p>
<p>@ptigers7
Amusing and truly very insightful…</p>
<p>I wanted to clarify a couple of things. This school is primarily filled with 1st gen URM students from lower-income families. The foundation and school staff work very hard to find opportunities for them to do legitimate research or other internship work. They help find and get funding for trips both in the US and overseas to again, do more than cookie-cutter “save the children” things. While we DO have a good public transportation system here, for some kids even that is a challenge to afford (public transportation is very expensive here). But again, the school steps up and works to get such kids rides or bus/light rail passes.</p>
<p>I think this is far more than the current fad, or catching up to a fad. The seniors are being wooed by multiple colleges, so I think the programs are doing a lot for kids who would normally not have the opportunities often found only in schools full of children with connections and family money.</p>
<p>There are schools like TJHSST in Virginia, Stuvyesant in NY which are tied to research programs. There are colleges ike Rice which provide short term programs in summer for a science academy near the border towns. There are many summer programs that students can apply to once they are a junior.</p>
<p>However, if a kid is not in an elite or private school providing access to such programs, it will come down to being in a city with some universities or major labs, contacts, access, persistence, not needing to work during summer or have an income etc. Many universities have requirements not to allow someone under 16 in a lab which those who are claiming to do research in a lab either have an approved program or have parents working there.</p>
<p>I know a girl who got really into her science fair project and wanted more depth. Her Bio teacher hooked her up with a professor at Penn and the girl dove head long into some sort of cancer research. I don’t know the details because my daughter hears the words “science fair” and runs in the opposite direction as fast as she can. :)</p>
<p>And not all research is in a lab. My local hospital has an affiliation with a major teaching hospital/med school. It isn’t a big time, big name hospital, but it has several community- medicine type research trials going on at any given time. So a kid won’t be doing bench science or high end R&D; but a kid with a strong math background can get an internship helping to design questionnaires, a kid who can program can easily get staffed on a research team, and especially in demand- kids with foreign language skills (especially bilingual) who can work with the researchers and translate/troubleshoot with the research subjects.</p>
<p>Costs $1 in bus fare to get from the local HS, or take the free school bus which serves that neighborhood and get dropped off in front. Kid can’t be too picky- he or she may want to work on something related to infection/bacterial transmission and discover that the high need project is on drug interactions for diabetic cancer patients. Or kid wants something in cancer, and gets staffed on a project studying obesity in toddlers. And a kid who spends every afternoon after school taking care of younger siblings or working at a pizza joint to help pay the rent is out of luck.</p>
<p>And the age is 15, plus a recent TB test, and all vaccinations up to date (pity the child of the anti-vaxxers who wants a job doing research in my local hospital).</p>
<p>Our community (college town of 60k) is fortunate enough to have a summer internship program for HS soph & jr students interested in science & engineering. There’s an extensive application process (general application, essays for specific projects/mentors, and interview), which was a great experience for future jobs, college, etc. Interns work full time for 8 weeks under a mentor at the university or local tech company and give oral and poster presentations about their project at the end of the summer. Students generally receive a 1k stipend and some get their names on subsequent research papers.</p>
<p>Both of my Ds took advantage of this program. D2 ended up also working the summer after sr year for her mentor, who has written LORs for her which have helped her to gain a WS job doing research during the school year as well as summer REUs.</p>
<p>My D worked very hard to get some research experience in a physics lab at some our local universities. She took it upon herself to get profs names and email addresses and sent messages requesting the opportunity to assist in any way. She received word back from a prof and met with that prof. a few times. He was wonderful, kind and encouraging. Ultimately, as a HS student, she needed a grad student to take her under their wing, and that did not happen. We are not “connected” so I applauded her efforts and her initiative but ultimately it did not amount to anything much. Nothing to include on a college app. She did, however, determine that she did not want to be a physics researcher, so that was helpful!</p>
<p>In my area, there is a group that runs enrichment programs (after school, weekends, summers). They are also the clearing house for summer internships for the local STEM community.</p>
<p>They have about 200 positions each year- many are research oriented…like at actual research labs (some animal research for medical purposes even, one was at a local nuclear reactor).</p>
<p>I think they had just under 1000 applicants from the tri-county area this year. It is likely not all made the initial cut of getting their application materials in on time.</p>
<p>The fee for applying is $25. That fee is waived for kids on free/reduced lunch. The kids must bike, drive or take public transit- and all facilities are within reach of any of the modes.</p>
<p>Pay is minimum $1000, I think slightly more if a kid is on free/reduced lunch.</p>
<p>These programs are out there. </p>
<p>We’ve talked about this at our house. Our daughter is a great kid and she’s very interested in a medical research career. BUT at this point in her life, I don’t think she’s ready to be a productive member of a research team. She’s busy with homework and dance and editing the yearbook. She has achievement tests to take and driving hours to get under her belt. She might be able to fit in another 3-4 hours a week to be a part of a research study, which would probably require at least an hour commute each way. Even the three or four weeks she has free over summer vacation isn’t long enough (IMO) to rationalize the amount of time that training and familiarizing her with the study would require from a research team. I know that she will be ready, willing, and able to contribute in a meaningful way to scientific research as an undergrad, but before then not so much. </p>
<p>(I didn’t realize I was so adamant about this until I started writing! My background is in social science research, and it was only when I put on my research coordinator hat that I started to see how big a stretch this would be for all but the most committed high school students. And social science research is probably less of a stretch than something in the “hard” sciences.)</p>
<p>The HS I teach at and my D’s HS both have formal science research programs. They start in soph year and the students work closely with researchers at local universities and hospitals. Many are preparing for the Intel contest and we have had a few winners. Some continue working at the research labs in the summers.</p>