Ok so I’m in a bit of a dilemma. I’m in 10th grade and I want to major in physics, and I keep hearing about how doing research and interning is important, especially when aiming for top STEM schools like MIT. Also, it just generally is something I’m interested in.
So I emailed some professors at my local university. None of them got back to me except one, who said he doesn’t take high schoolers in his lab. I don’t know what to do- my school doesn’t have any programs for this kind of thing, and I have zero connections. I feel really stuck. I don’t want to have to wait until summer (although I am planning to apply to various programs for summer).
It’s ok to focus on being a high school kid right now- it really is!
You can get a normal job for the summer- camp counselor, baby-sitting, dog walking, ice cream shop (if you are old enough in your state), lawn mowing…
The world isn’t running out of physics! It is very tough to get the kind of research position you are talking about-- ask yourself “what do I bring to the table?” and the answer is “enthusiasm”. Which means a faculty member or a grad student needs to invest a TON of time in making you productive.
Relax and focus on getting a normal type of job this summer. Professors and labs aren’t going anywhere.
Thank you for the advice! In my original post, I was mostly referring to opportunities during the school year, but I’ll keep this in mind when thinking about summer programs.
Hate to say it but you likely won’t get into MIT even with finding someone to let you do research with them. Do you realize that professors get many emails like yours?
What did you say in the email? Why should they respond to you? What are you doing now in school or in your community?
You mean like start a petition? I talked to the vice principal and a couple of counselors, but they’re all pretty clueless and keep talking about “the district”, etc. It’s a veeeery mediocre public school in the middle of nowhere. I’m super open to the idea, but I have no idea how to go about it.
You’re right. I knew that it was a long shot, but I wanted to try because why not. I guess to answer your question, I live in a small town and I feel like sort of a big-fish-small-pond situation; I have great grades, very rigorous math and science dual-enrollment, and I’m involved in the science community. I really don’t have anything to offer except enthusiasm and willingness to do grunt work. I made it clear in the email that I’m happy to clean the counters, check for typos, whatever
This is where you can show some initiative and leadership. You can decide how you want to do it, start a petition, Club, etc. Show up at a school board hearing and make a presentation. Many possibilities. Only if you are up for it.
Very few professors take HS students – their priority really needs to be students at the college. Plus there could be liability issues. Your best bet would be seeking out opportunities in your HS.
And I agree – any activity you do will be considered worthwhile. Focus on what opportunities are available to you.
The truth of the matter is most high school students do not do research with college professors. Get good grades, good test scores, and find ECs that are meaningful to you.
My D went to a private STEM HS. Only one student out of 200+ did research outside of the HS and they won a county wide competition. And it was at a regional university that no one has heard of.
If you are interested in research, talk to your school’s physics teachers to see if they would be willing to mentor you. If there is a pre-engineering class, talk to that teacher about taking the class and doing a project. Does your school have a science olympiad team? If not, can you start one?
You can also explore topics you are interested in and conduct research on your own or with friends. My son who is a senior this year got together with two other friends last year and did experiments that could be done with minimal supervision from a high school chemistry teacher (basically, they asked permission from the teacher to use the lab after school, and the teacher signed off that they operated safely). They took their project to a regional science fair and were selected to go to ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair).
The only thing they had that I would truly consider to be “outside help” was a few hours use of some specialized lab equipment through a friend-of-a-friend type contact. But they had ideas of how to do their project outside of that, it just might have been more expensive or time consuming.
All that being said is. if you are curious and have a passion, you can pursue research and learn more! If you can find a high school teacher or a scientist or engineer working in your community to be a mentor, even better.
Even if you don’t get into one of the tippy top most select schools, there are sure to be plenty of opportunities in college to pursue research with professors. By having all around excellence in high school, you can get into honors programs at somewhat less-prestigious schools that will still give you excellent opportunities that will help you toward your longer-term career goals.
Three pieces of advice. First of all, relax (optionally have some ice cream). Secondly, read the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site. Thirdly, understand that there are a huge number of universities that have very good physics programs. You do not need to get your bachelor’s degree at MIT or Stanford to be very successful either in physics, or in life in general.
In high school I did whatever seemed right to me. This included things like skiing, sailing, and playing chess. This also included doing very well in math and physics classes in high school. However, I did not do this to get into MIT. Instead I just did what was right for me because that is what I wanted to do. Then I got a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at MIT. Then I got my first job at a nuclear physics research facility. Apparently physics research needs some people who are good at mathematics. This at least used to be possible with just sailing, skiing, and chess (and good grades) in high school.
I read this to mean thinking about starting a club.
While we are at it I might mention something about leadership. Leadership is not about getting your way. Leadership is about listening and being thoughtful. Talk to friends and other strong students about what might be possible in terms of starting a physics or engineering club. See if some of them have good ideas, or if your ideas get better when you talk to others about it and then go off and think for a while. Then talk to teachers who might be interested.
You might start a robotics club, or a programming club, or a math club, or ??? Maybe your could build and race little sailboats, or little cars, or little cars powered by solar power, or something else. See whether you plus other students that you know can think of some ideas.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. e_w_13 just enjoy your high school years. Chances of getting into MIT are slim to none FOR EVERYONE. Focus on your grades and test scores. Take advantage of things that your community and school DOES offer. Or better yet, start a physics enthusiasts club at your school and run it! That shows initiative and interest for any prospective schools.
You only have a short time in high school. Enjoy it and don’t fret about what you ‘hear’ other people are doing. Enjoy your high school years. You will end up at a college that you love and that is right for you.
You’re fishing for an opening so you can put “research” on your applications but as you write above you recognize you aren’t actually ready to do college-level science research. The profs know it and truth be told so do the adcoms; they realize that most kids that put “research” on their app were really cleaning counters and washing test tubes.
So here’s my advice. Forget about trying to impress adcoms and do things you actually are interested in. As someone earlier suggested, follow the advice in MITs blog Applying Sideways
OP- you know what’s really useful in a lab (any lab, no matter what the subject is)?
Programming and statistics. Being able to program/manipulate large datasets is a true, high impact, “we need you” kind of skill. R, Matlab, and similar- these are core skills. The goal for any type of research is that it be replicable by colleagues working in different places. So understanding which results are within the margin of error, what a statistical anomaly might look like vs. a statistically significant result-- these are the building blocks in addition to a solid mastery of the scientific method.
What does this mean for you? Do your homework. Ask your teachers questions. Learn how to be a competent and curious HS kid, and the rest of the skills (beyond wiping down counters) will come in due time. There is no way to leapfrog over the core knowledge of science- bio, chem and physics. There is no way to add value to a lab without doing well and UNDERSTANDING all the concepts you are being taught in math.
So be patient. You will get all this- and more- by being a HS student and following a traditional college prep curriculum.
Thank you! I do have some knowledge of that kind of thing because of classes like AP Stats, calc, CSP, etc, but I also understand that my knowledge is limited. Besides college apps, I think I could gain a lot of important knowledge by working in a lab.
