Research: with a professor or at a summer program?

hebegebe
Thu, 16 Feb 2023 17:29:53 +0000

blossom:

Correlation is NOT causation. Kids getting in to a research program who then get into top research U’s does not mean that “doing research” is better/worse than other EC’s

This might be useful discussion for the parent forum, but the OP is not asking about which EC to pursue. They are specifically asking about research, and which path within research is considered better.

I had a good deal of visibility into how much impact research can make, as my son won one of top research prizes a few years ago based in large part on the research paper he wrote. In terms of admission impact, every one of the dozen plus students who had applied to Columbia and had won a similar prize received a likely letter from Columbia a few weeks later. That is not random. I don’t remember the exact count, but a large number also received a likely letter to Yale. Again, not random. The average number of HYPSM admittances for this group was over 3.

I also have visibility into a pretty well known research program he attended during a prior summer (a couple of notches below RSI level). About half of those students got into an Ivy+ college. In those cases, the well-known research program simply complemented an otherwise strong profile.