Welcome to College Confidential!

The leading college-bound community on the web

Sign Up For Free

Join for FREE, and start talking with other members, weighing in on community discussions, and more.

Also, by registering and logging in you'll see fewer ads and pesky welcome messages (like this one!)

As a CC member, you can:

  • Reply to threads, and start your own.
  • Post reviews of your campus visits.
  • Find hundreds of pages of informative articles.
  • Search from over 3 million scholarships.
Home / /
New Discussion

Should I do this research thing over the summer?

soontobecollegersoontobecolleger Registered User Posts: 588 Member
in College Life
So originally my summer plan was to continue at the summer job I had last year and save up money for tuition, and I also wanted to learn to drive (my mother and her bf would help me with that).

Today the professor of my independent study in Linguistics emailed me, asking if I wanted to apply for a $3000 grant to do unpaid research with him over the summer. This seems like a good way to get started doing research and I am interested in the readings we have been discussing. But I wouldn't be able to do the driving or money saving, and I wouldn't get to go home for the summer, which I was kind of looking forward to (living at home and doing a job I'm already used to seems like a real vacation, as opposed to having a completely new experience, which would inevitably be stressful for me.) Also, I have been thinking about an inter-school transfer to study Communication Sciences and Disorders, so I don't know that Linguistics research will be that useful for me in grad school admissions or in the field in general.

I registered for my independent study with this professor with the intention of doing Linguistics research, before thinking about the transfer, so I'd feel weird saying no, and I think it could be a good experience, but there are still the drawbacks I mentioned above. I don't have a whole lot of time to make a decision because there is a deadline for the grant application. Any ideas? Should I make an appointment with my college advisor?

BTW I am a freshman, if that makes a difference.
· Reply · Share on Facebook

Replies to: Should I do this research thing over the summer?

  • MandalorianMandalorian Registered User Posts: 1,754 Senior Member
    Why not apply for the grant and see what happens. If you don't get it, then work.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • collegemom3717collegemom3717 Registered User Posts: 6,073 Senior Member
    $3000 is not unpaid research! the 'pay' is provided by the grant, but is just as real $$. For a first year, that's pretty goo going.

    Summer research is useful for grad school (unless you are completely changing fields), and the first one- even if not 100% your area of interest- can be parlayed into a second one next summer.

    This is where you start to choose paths: it is hard to give up the idea of 'summer vacation'!

    But- check your dates, you are likely to have several weeks at one / both ends of the summer.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • soontobecollegersoontobecolleger Registered User Posts: 588 Member
    edited February 2018
    @collegemom3717 it is unpaid. The grant is for living expenses.

    Also it is not a program with certain dates. I’d just be doing research with him throughout the summer
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • soontobecollegersoontobecolleger Registered User Posts: 588 Member
    To clarify, the grant is specifically for living expenses for unpaid research/internships. I will not have money left over at the end of the summer. It looks like I’ll probably end up applying and kinda hoping I don’t get it, even though they are not competitive from what I’ve heard.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • collegemom3717collegemom3717 Registered User Posts: 6,073 Senior Member
    Fair enough- thanks for the clarification. In which case, if you get it, you will want to clarify things like dates with the prof before you commit.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • soontobecollegersoontobecolleger Registered User Posts: 588 Member
    @collegemom3717 Yeah he hasn’t been very plan-oriented with the independent study but hopefully the summer would be more focused
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
  • bopperbopper Forum Champion CWRU Posts: 13,327 Forum Champion
    Doing research would at least help you find out if you like doing research which is important for grad school.
    · Reply · Share on Facebook
This discussion has been closed.