<p>UGA has tons of research opportunities, especially for Honors but even more for Fellows/Ramseys. You can get involved in real lab work from the moment you step on campus- this is why UGA has had great success with the Goldwater Scholarship in the past. Sounds like from the other thread you already got a good situation set up though, so it looks like you know what you’re doing here. </p>
<p>UGA’s rep could hurt you if you don’t get any kind of “outside validation” - i.e. real conference presentations, publications, summer work elsewhere, etc. There is a distinct difference between say, the CURO conference and a national-level research conference, so make sure to focus on those and use CURO as practice. Don’t count on your recommenders from UGA to do everything- get to know professors in your area of research at other schools! UGA can probably help you get conference travel/presentation $$ too, so definitely make use of that. UGA also has had a lot of success with NSF GRFs.</p>
<p>In short, you should make sure that you get outside of UGA and show that your work is on the level of students everywhere else (if not beyond). Does that make sense? I think UGA sets you up pretty well to be able to do that, but it’s up to you to use the resources at your command to find those opportunities. </p>
<p>RE: Bernie12, UGA has fewer requirements for most students than most private schools because of the generosity of AP credit. Many Honors students enter with sophomore or junior standing and with most of the pre-reqs out of the way (and those that remain can usually be taken as honors courses, which make them much more enjoyable). Thus, I wouldn’t worry about UGA’s requirements slowing anyone down.</p>