I was accepted into UROP at UMICH for my freshman year, but i now don’t know what to do. I would do some kind of research I’m social sciences. It sounds like a great opportunity, but I would have to drop a class and am worried about the time commitment. Researching something I’m truly interested in sounds like an invaluable experience, but public speaking is far from my strong suit and it sounds like it may require a bit of that. I don’t fully understand the range of what UROP entails, so if anyone has any insight of experience I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
I went to a high-powered high school where kids did research at NIH, University of Maryland, Smithsonian, NIST, with the DOD etc. These kids definitely had a leg up on internship opportunities and into the academic world. Two of the kids at my school were Intel finalists and I know that many kids’ research got them into prestigious schools. I never had the chance to do research in HS and now that I’m in UROP I literally can’t wait until I actually get to do some research and learn how it all works/start networking. I’ll be doing life sciences research I think. Personally I just think UROP will be a great introduction into potential jobs and people that I would never pass up. But like you’re saying it does seem to require a bit of a time commitment and all that. Since I haven’t actually done UROP yet, maybe wait until other people comment with their experiences, but I personally would not drop it.
Public speaking is important. Being able to communicate your ideas is essential to interviewing well and being successful at work. My daughter did UROP and loved it. It helped her get a summer job at a lab, and helped her to make some important professional contacts. If you think you might want to go to grad school…having a background that includes research will make you a better candidate in your grad school applications. Another benefit of UROP, according to my daughter…was that it gave her a chance to talk to people who were actually working jobs in her field, and helped her to figure out her best major and plans for the future.
In case you’re interested in specifics… The way my daughter explains it, when you do UROP, every two weeks you go to a UROP seminar for an hour and a half. Once a month you meet with a UROP adviser to talk about your project. Your research mentor will help you sort the details of when and how you do your actual research. My daughter worked on her research about 10 hours a week. Lab/department meeting may or may not be required and may or may not count as hours. At the end of the year, you make a really cool research poster and present your findings. Was pretty neat. The people from my daughter’s lab came to see her present, and asked to hang her poster in their lab building. She is working for them again this year (as an employee) ten hours a week with a flexible schedule. It’s a nice arrangement. UROP helped open some doors for her, for sure.
I’m a grad student who has mentored more than one UROP student. I’ve never heard them say anything bad about it but I can only speak to what my students have conveyed to me.