<p>I recently tried some research (I think - I’m not exactly sure what constitutes that) in the form of a programming project; this lasted about half a year, and I did most of it independently. However, at the end, my program wouldn’t work and I couldn’t debug it, so I contacted some of the professors at a local university, and one of them was actually kind enough to fix my code for me. Another put me in contact with a PhD student who also gave me some useful advice.</p>
<p>Although I didn’t actually work with a researcher regularly, I might see if there are any new opportunities to do so in the area. I moved recently (hence the late reply. Sorry about that)</p>
<p>I do want to fulfill the universities’ recommended academic preparation (4 years of science, etc.) although being homeschooled leaves me with almost too much spare time, anyway which I’m mostly spending on three of my favourite hobbies (creative writing, drawing, and trying to start a business) as well as programming.</p>
<p>To be honest, I think the former (working to a strict schedule academic-wise) does instil a kind of discipline that “doing my own thing” all the time can’t really give, and that’s useful for the job world as well as for college. But that’s only 15 years of experience speaking, so I’m not really sure what the “best” preparation for life is, if there is any “best”. However, I would still like to fulfill the academic requirements (not even just because the colleges recommend it, but also because I want to learn new subjects for the sake of it, and I can’t consider a career as, say, a biologist if I’ve never studied the subject in detail.)</p>
<p>P.S. Is it necessary to list all the topics covered even if I’ve just gone through the whole book and stated something like (Primary text covered: all of …)?</p>