<p>I recently went on a Brown interview and mentioned that I had been doing research independently this past year. I have some mentor guidance from my research teacher at school, and a postdoc at a local lab, but not “a mentor” from a specific program. The Brown interviewer was slightly more impressed by the fact that I took the intiative to do something that I was interested in, rather than in enroll in a program.</p>
<p>I’m not insulting those programs, because by all means, if you get in, that’s a fabulous opportunity.</p>
<p>I’m just making the point that you don’t need a specific program for it to “look good”. Just by doing the research, and applying to those competitions like INTEL and Siemens, looks “good”. </p>
<p>And that’s my $.02.</p>