<p>I've read over and over again that the key to getting into a top 5 or top 10 grad program for a field like Computer Science is prior research experience, because schools need to have confidence that you know what doing research is like before you make such a huge commitment like starting a PhD program. Hundreds of applicants with impeccable GPAs get tagged as "high-risk" and ultimately rejected from top schools because they've never done research before. But it can be difficult to find time for research if you take a challenging courseload and do other extracurriculars. Soemthing has to give. Obviously there's always the option of doing research for a year or two after you graduate, but if you know you want to pursue a PhD right out of undergrad, I'm curious to know what people think is the latest someone can start doing research and not put themselves at a disadvantage in applying to, say, a top 5 grad program in Computer Science. Is waiting until junior year too late? Or senior year? What if you do research over the summer (the NSF sponsors several 9-week and 10-week programs, for example), does that change how long you can wait before starting research during the schoolyear? Thanks for any advice!</p>
<p>I found this</a> pdf last year via Google, and I found it to be a very useful resource for my graduate school application process (even though I'm in biology).</p>
<p>Waiting until junior year is probably not too late, but I think waiting until senior year is probably pushing it considerably.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, that's a great document</p>