Hello,
My D is a high school junior with a strong interest in neuroscience, biology, chemistry, etc, and she is looking for a research or lab-based opportunity to gain hands-on experience. I’m passionate about learning beyond the classroom and would love to assist with ongoing projects or contribute in any way she can, even in a volunteer capacity.
She is particularly interested in exploring mental health neuroscience, learning lab techniques, or understanding how data is collected and analyzed in a scientific setting.
If anyone knows of programs, internships, lab openings, or professors open to mentoring a high school student, I’d truly appreciate your guidance or connections. she is flexible, eager to learn, and open to both in-person and remote opportunities. She has complete AP Chem, AP Calc AB and currently doing AP Bio and many Bio-med related courses already completed.
No luck so far with teachers, fellow students or local hospitals. School has HOSA and they publish list of internships, there are few lab based and D applied to some but couldn’t get through
If you look online you will find some. I don’t know anything about these places but you/she can research. The NIH has/had some as well but I don’t know if they still exist.
When my daughter was in high school, she was able to secure some research positions just by cold contacting professors at local universities. It took some hustling - the VAST majority either said no or didn’t respond at all - but she did get a few solid opportunities. If you have universities nearby, start there. Expect mostly rejection and persevere.
What about working at a camp that includes kids with various disabilities? That would be a great learning experience beyond the classroom and aligns with her premed interests.
She’s underage for a number of facilities in our area.
Our children’s high school offered a popular biotech course whereby the students learned the technology, practiced with sterile lab equipment (funded by local biotech firms) and after passing a lab test on procedures, each of the students was required to find their own internship for the next two quarters.
Our eldest was in the initial class. Most facilities wanted students who were 18 or were within aging to adulthood. Those underage needed to be sponsored by the facility and an employee. Our daughter was sponsored by a local scientist whose daughter was in my scout troop and loved us.
It’s all about the networking. These kids were awesome and found placements on their own.
Keep your expectations in check. Even college students are finding research slots hard to come by given the funding cutbacks… so finding a lab which can make room for a HS kid is going to be a challenge in this environment. Maybe pivot a bit-- volunteer at an animal hospital (good place to learn the basics of cultures, lab protocols and hygiene?) or volunteer at a hospital escorting patients to various sites in the building or buildings for testing?
Why does this student want to do research? They will need to articulate that if they receive a response from anyone.
Beginning research assistants do things like feed animals, get research h equipment set up to be cleaned, run errands, etc. They are not usually doing actual research but are learning how a lab runs.
Your student will have opportunities to do research as an undergrad.
The NIH’s summer science research program for high school students is no longer being funded.
Her best opportunity will be cold emailing professors at universities nearby to ask if they are willing to take on a high school student.
She will need to develop a resumé with her academic and other competencies (like experiences in caring for animals, computer programming languages/skills, using statistical software packages, specific lab skills she learned in her science lab classes). She will also need at least 2 or 3 references who are NOT family members who can vouch for her work readiness/reliability. If she has held any sort of employment or a long term regular volunteering gig, she will be more likely to be taken seriously. Too many high schoolers do not have good workplace readiness skills.
Beside colleges and universities, if you live near a federal lab , they sometimes will post summer jobs for high school students that involve entry-level lab work. Mixing up reagent solutions, cleaning glassware, animal care, supply inventory, etc. Great way to get a foot in the door.
Cold emailing will result in a lot of ghosting, but sometimes it does yield results. One of my Ds had good success cold emailing professors–both for finding a research lab in high school and later when she was looking for job post college at a university where she had no networking contacts and knew no one. (She writes great cover letters that really showcase her skills.)
However, I will caution that right now the research environment is shrinking as federal and other funding is being canceled or withheld. I know of several research labs/groups in all sort of science fields that have shut down because their funding was cut off.
Medical clinics and hospitals will generally only consider students who are 18 and older because of HIPAA and insurance liability issues. Some hospitals may offer a summer internship program where students are introduced to a number of different healthcare jobs from dietitian to physician and everything in-between.
My SIL (who is professor) is currently mentoring a high school student and is open to take on others, but his interests and your daughters have zero overlap. Also your daughter doesn’t have enough math coursework [linear algebra at a minimum] to be considered. He’s theoretical physicist/mathematician. He’s mentored several high schoolers in the past decade and a half, one of whom he later served as a PhD thesis advisor for and with whom he still co-authors papers.
This OP is looking for something for a HS student. If research opportunities are reduced, college profs will likely reserve them for their college students, not HS students.
Many students in my area have had luck cold calling/emailing profs at the local universities. But obviously that’s not an option if you don’t live near one. Also don’t overlook community colleges.
There are also companies that offer (often remote/virtual) research opportunities for HSers, but the student pays for those (prices have a large range.) These are with companies like Polygence and all their competitors. Can a student get good experience thru those? Yes. But they might not be in everyone’s budget, although some do offer need based aid.
Big picture, if your kid wants research as a way to determine if they want to become a physician, I would strongly encourage them to prioritize patient facing experience over research.
