<p>Which do you think grad schools prefer as far as research -- random research by contacting professors, or structure research programs (NSF REU, NIH SIP, NSERC, etc.)?</p>
<p>bump..... :)</p>
<p>Either as long as its good research. Note that you will have better chances in getting a research assignment if you apply to structured research programs rather than randomly contacting professors.</p>