<p>I was interested in pursuing some research opportunities over the summer, particularly in physics. I have not done any prestigious competitions such as Intel or Siemens, but I am also inclined to submit something into a competition next year (it is too late this year, and I wanted to do it with a few other people, but they bailed out on me and it ended up being too late to start anything). Currently, I am a junior in high school, and although I do not have any awards from competitions or such, I did participate in JHU's CTY program (took the SATs in 7th grade and get a 650 on the math), and I have pursued computer programming at a young age as well (I started selling games that I would make in 6th grade and continued to do so, not as much now as back then though). If it helps any, I did take physics early in my school (I had a 104 average and beat out all of the juniors taking physics) and I self taught myself calculus and I am going to teach myself linear algebra or multivariable calculus soon.</p>
<p>So back to my point, I would like to do some research in physics over the summer, and I am sure that I would not be qualified enough per se for a program such as RSI, which is fine with me. However, I would like to find either a program or professor that could supply me with some research opportunities and help me along the way. I was just reading about some high schoolers' research experiences (it was another thread on this forum) and how, for the most part, their research was somewhat open ended and original (partially). I live in the Boston area and do not want to travel too far (I'd like to stay in New England if at all possible), and I don't want to enroll in a program where I am just someone's lab assistant (I like the open ended mindset a bit better, and I think those would be generally better programs for people truly interested in pursuing the sciences in college). Are there any good programs out there that I could apply for or any professors who are willing to mentor high school students? Like I said, I have no prior research experience, but I did teach myself programming and calculus, and I do have all three sciences under my belt.</p>
<p>Same here! except Bio not physics and I don't live in Boston. I have like less than 0% probability of getting into RSI.</p>
<p>Yeah, sadly I never became involved in competitions before this time, and most of the work that I have done was basically hobbyist type stuff. So I can say without doubt that I have slim to null chance of getting into RSI.</p>
<p>One list of places offering research opportunities for HS students is here:
Science</a> Training Programs</p>
<p>The other option is to look for a mentor on your own. In the Boston area there should be lots of people you could contact. Go on the Physics dept websites for BC, BU, Tufts, Brandeis etc. Look up each of the faculty members. Many of them will have their own web pages where they will list paper's they've written and will describe their current research. </p>
<p>(It would probably be more difficult to get a position at Harvard and MIT, since they both have "formal" programs for HS students, but, you could still try making a connection with a prof. at one of those schools if they're working on something you're really interested in.)
Here's how one Intel finalist from a couple of years ago did it:
Adam</a> Solomon: A Young Astrophysicist Studies Old Dwarfs: Scientific American</p>
<p>Thanks for the information (I enjoyed the article). I'll probably search around during the spring/late winter for people that are doing research in areas that I am interested in. I understand what you are saying about the profs at MIT and Harvard, they are preoccupied. Actually, that article was quite encouraging; it is nice to see that you don't have to have a ton of experience beforehand to jump into these competitions, passion will do.</p>
<p>I'm looking for research opportunities too. I'm basically in the same situation as you. I've entered a few national competitions with a group, except I think the competition was very "middle school" and we only got honorable mention... I don't know, I've read about programs like KEI's Precollege Research in Russia, except I don't know how good they are or how interesting they are. I also know several UC's have research programs...</p>
<p>I hope more people post with summer research opportunities, and preferably ones that are relatively prestigious and engaging.</p>
<p>The Young Scholars Program (YSP) at UC Davis was ... amazing to say the least. It costs a little bit, but the price is certainly worth it. I had a really cool project and the people I met (the director accepts 40 people) are some of the smartest and fun people I've ever met. And I still talk to my professor and mentor. I might go back to my lab this summer again ahaha. (ysp.ucdavis.edu)</p>
<p>there is also CCIS/SIMR at stanford (ccis.stanford.edu)
andd some other programs. look for a list here on CC.. it's somewhere.</p>
<p>GOOD LUCK :)</p>