<p>@dbanooza: not true. anyone can start research as early as he/she desires. </p>
<p>many people even prefer the idea of an inexperienced person to train – that way, the student doesn’t come in with any bad habits or preconceived notions of how things “should” be done. and it’s sad but true, you don’t need to know very much science to be excellent at technique and give valuable data (this is how i started out in my first lab, i had nothing but AP bio under my belt). this isn’t limited to academic labs either; i met a girl who got hired at pfizer as a freshman for the same reason (decent academic record, eagerness to learn even if she didn’t have any lab courses to her name) and she’s been there ever since. if you’re a freshman, it may be difficult to land a spot in some of the big-name labs if they don’t have the resources to train you, but your class level is NOT an automatic turn-off. </p>
<p>aside from priority registration, housing, and the monetary pluses, there isn’t all that much glory that comes with being a regents student. getting a research position effectively boils down to yourself and your willingness to approach professors.</p>