Do I Need to Have Research Experience to Apply to These Programs?

gomdorri
Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:23:50 +0000

I’m planning to apply to MITES, SSP, Clark Scholars Program, and possibly RSI. There are cities in my state that have very good education, but both the school and city I live in both don’t have many opportunities for internships or quality education. I had applied for a hospital internship in my area (one of the only ones in my area), but I was rejected for my age (I’m an upcoming junior, but I skipped a grade in order to save money. They said I was a strong candidate, but rejected me because they didn’t want anyone too irresponsible).

I want to apply to these programs, but I’m not sure if I stand a chance against the people who’ve been USAMO/USABO qualifiers/Siemens semi-finalists/etc. I’m also Asian, and I’ve heard that this will also hurt my chances. I don’t have any experience in research or science-related subjects, unless you consider my school curriculum “experience”. Should I bother applying to these summer internships?

Here are my stats:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.4 weighted (most rigorous curriculum my school offers)
Rank: 2/150 (the reason is because the valedictorian takes several expensive online AP classes that boost his GPA)
PSAT/SAT (projected score, taking both in October): 2340
APs: AP biology, AP psychology, AP world history (5, 5, 5, bio and psych were self-study)
SAT II:
Bio E 800

Extracurriculars:
Varsity Golf (9th to present)
Advanced Band (10th to present, 1st alto sax in school and all-state band)
NJHS/NHS (9th to present, treasurer)
Charity Club (equivalent to key club at other schools 10th to present)
Club dedicated to increasing teen awareness of politics (10th to present)
Psychology Club (co-founder and president)
Music Club (founder, president)
Science Bowl (10th to present, captain)

Work Experience/Volunteering:
Volunteer at a nursing home (I used to visit it as a kid every day with my old school)
Docent/Cashier at a museum (part of a tuition assistance program)
Part-time busser at parents’ restaurant (for no pay, I just work there to help them out)
Counselor at a camp for children w/ AIDS
Volunteer worker at a playhouse for children
Managing websites for my parents’ restaurants

As you can see, I don’t really have any “experience” that others may have. I’ve never even taken the AIME (I didn’t even know APs/AIME/USABO/science bowl/Siemens/SAT etc existed until this year) and so I have close to no experience compared to other people who apply to these programs. Will my lack of experience hurt my chances of applying to these summer internships?