<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>So anyways…</p>
<p>I entered university two years early, and well, I found that I was really naive and immature and made some fairly stupid decisions early on (no, not with partying or drugs - none of that - but rather since I realized how narrow-minded I was during high school and never had the chance to really know myself well - and I consequently was very impressionable to small whims - so I wasted time on the Internet and on my blog :p). Anyways though - I contacted profs while I was still a HS sophomore and landed a couple of research projects in the astro dept (small, but still significant enough to merit an amount of time). So I finished one and finished project 1 with another - but I continued on with project 2. Anyways though I last met with my astro prof towards the end of my freshman year. I sent him an e-mail beginning of sophomore year - saying that I didn’t have enough time to work on the project - he was sympathetic. He also told me to come again when I had the opportunity - and I didn’t - I was too shy to meet with anyone for a while (I had to correct double standards in my belief system - and I needed some number of months to work on that - I made impulsive comments towards other profs that ruined my relations with them - so this was why i decided that I needed some time).</p>
<p>Also, he said that I would get a name on the paper. To be honest, I felt somewhat embarrassed over it - the part I took on it was so small. How significant is getting a name on the paper when I only played a small role in the project? I know that one professor put the name of his cat on the paper - and that a lot of professors are fairly liberal with putting the names of undergrads on papers (since after all - they have nothing to lose that way). Yet, elsewhere on CC I’ve read that getting a name on a paper is very significant for an undergrad. Yet, profs have different standards for putting names on papers.</p>
<p>Anyways, so this was project no. 1. I continued on with project no. 2. The problem was that I last met with the astro prof on project no. 2 last year - and now I probably forgot how to continue with project no. 2. 
I don’t know if I should attain closure or not - maybe he’ll allow me to work on something else. In fact - research opportunities for undergrads are abundant - but the problem is that I want to work with a prof who is willing to acknowledge not only research, but self-study.</p>
<p>And the other problem is that I don’t know if I want to continue with the project (for reasons explained below - I found a professor who’s willing to work with me). How common is it for an undergrad to quit in the middle of a project? I still like astronomy - sure - but I’m not quite sure if I really want to stay in astronomy - since there are other fields I also like (especially applied math). I’d also like to maximize my options for academic fields - and math and applied math students can use their analytical skills on a lot of other fields. </p>
<p>The other problem is that I don’t want to be construed as promiscuous. I talked with another professor in the atmospheric sciences dept my sophomore year - and he’s perfectly willing to land me a research position. Not only that, but he was supportive enough of me to actually help me self-study the atmospheric science textbook - and more than that - he’s willing to let me pursue an independent study curriculum (with graduate level atmospheric science textbooks). Herein lies the problem - are such professors rare? And… I want to maximize my options later on - astronomy and atmospheric sciences are narrow fields - and now having read about theoretical biology - I’m really interested in that. The other point is that both atmospheric sciences and theoretical biology are based on applied math. So is it possible to go from one to the other? (as long as my primary concentration is applied math/math?) I don’t intend to pursue a PhD in those fields - I’d just like to primarily take courses and major in those fields since quite frankly - the undergrad courses in the applied sciences at a state university are not rigorous at all. </p>
<p>The problem with the astronomy prof is that he seems to be dealing with more students than the atmospheric sciences prof - and that he doesn’t seem as interested in me as the atmospheric sciences prof is (as in, allowing me to do an “independent study” curriculum). </p>
<p>3rd point - I don’t know if I have much time for research. I have to self-study a lot of math right now. I’m not quite sure how long it will take before I will be comfortable enough with my math abilities to then have time for research. Also - I prefer modeling or theory whenever possible.</p>
<p>Also - both profs are assistant profs.</p>