<p>Dad<em>of</em>3,</p>
<p>If I were your D, I’d budget more than 10hr/week even if that’s what on the paper. 10hrs/week probably won’t give you enough time to achieve something. It’s only two afternoons if you think about it and I personally can’t really do much in such time-span. Though you are not expected to write a thesis, you also don’t want to give the prof the impression that you are just doing the bare minimum. </p>
<p>The fact that Northwestern students have outperformed others in [Chicago</a> Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS)](<a href=“http://caurs.com/awards.html]Chicago”>http://caurs.com/awards.html) suggests that NU students are pretty active in undergrad research. It’s no surprise that profs are turned off if you can only commit just 10 hrs when it seems like many others can commit significantly more.</p>
<p>FYI, NU also has its own undergrad research symposium every year: [Undergraduate</a> Research Symposium, Info for Students, Office of the Provost, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.northwestern.edu/provost/students/research_symposium/]Undergraduate”>http://www.northwestern.edu/provost/students/research_symposium/)</p>