I’m thinking about applying to this program because I have thought about graduate school and I think it would be awesome experience to figure out where I want to go with my degree. I’m currently pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. I want to go into aerospace, but I’m not sure yet because that’s quite glamorous. I have about two years left until I get my BS. It sounds like this’ program will be a lot of work, but I’ll go through it if it’s legit. Is it really going to give me the upper hand when applying to grad school? Is it serious bragging rights on a resume? Do employers care about whether I’ve done research? Is industry fond of people who go into research? Has anyone been in this program and felt like it was a good use of time/ waste of time? I have so many questions! I’ll take answers to any of these questions; the application is due ASAP.
Thanks!
YES. It’s a super legit program. I know a lot of people who were in McNair in undergrad (and I was in a very similar program in undergrad) and they largely went to great grad programs. It makes a big difference when applying to grad school. Most graduate program professors are familiar with the McNair program and regard it very highly. You get research experience, mentorship and a lot of structured support in applying to graduate school. You also might get some support in unexpected ways - for example, my program helped pay for me to visit graduate schools in the spring of my senior year, when I wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise.
Even if you are going to work, having the research experience could still be really nice. Some employers are going to be familiar with McNair and be impressed. Some of them won’t know about McNair but will still value the research experience, especially if it’s applied work.
Does anyone know that percentage of people that get accepted to McNair Scholars, and how many people apply? I couldn’t dig up any stats.
Individual McNair programs at the 151 colleges and universities with a program handle the admission, so it probably varies by school and each program probably maintains their own stats on that.
But quite frankly, why does it matter? The admissions percentage of the program isn’t necessarily a good judge of the program’s quality; that is also determined by a whole lot of other factors.