<p>I realize this is pretty darn late, but my family and I are going on vacation to India tommorow. I’d researched maybe doing a volunteer program there, but my parents objected saying it would take too many days out of our vacation (which altogether is only 2 weeks), and would be maybe a bit dangerous for someone my age. Anyway, I thought of other ways I could somehow turn this vacation into something, well, productive, and I’d heard I could maybe turn it into a research project. Okay, so, now I’m stumped. If I were to do research, would I have to do it under or for some organization, or can I do some independent research? And if I did, like, for my resume, would I just say I did particular research in some area while in India? I’m kind of confused. Any insight or ideas or anything would be greatly appreciated at this moment.
Thank you! (:</p>
<p>Also, I’m about to be a senior.</p>
<p>Well if you were just going to do “research” independently, there’s no reason you couldn’t just do it here in the states (or wherever you live normally). Being in a foreign country doesn’t make your research any better unless there are specific facilities in India that you require to complete your research. </p>
<p>Just because “research in India” sounds better on a resume doesn’t make it better than regular research.</p>
<p>Usually you would need a topic / area which you are interested in to formulate a good topic for a research project. This is probably the most time consuming part of any project (and for most people who did research, they did so because they already had an idea, or were simply assisting a proffesor). Since you really don’t seem to have any idea about what you want to do your project on, I would strongly recommend you simply enjoy your two weeks there. Also, two weeks is generally not enough to conduct a research project (unless you already have all the preparatory work done, and a clear action plan mapped out). As your parents said about volunteer work (which would have been the more viable option) research would take even more time out of your vacation. </p>
<p>Since that was sort of a response going in circle, what I’m trying to say is, just enjoy your vacation in India - not every moment of your summer needs to be productive. =]</p>
<p>You’re leaving in one day and now you’re panicked because you won’t be using your time to further enhance how you’ll appear to college admissions officers. My what a disaster.</p>
<p>As an alternative, your idea is to perhaps do some “research” – a declaration on the day you should be packing. Hmmmm… I wonder what the quality and depth that might be?</p>
<p>C’mon. Relax and enjoy the time.</p>
<p>Frankly, volunteering would be a lot more feasible than research. What kind of research did you have in mind? Research takes a lot more than 2 weeks, so either find volunteer opportunities there, or come up with some really inspiring (albeit cliche) college essay about how the poverty in India emotionally affected you.</p>
<p>Colleges aren’t likely to get impressed by anything like volunteering or so-called research that you do on a family vacation. They’d be more impressed if you’d line up some volunteer work or research where you already live.</p>
<p>Enjoy your vacation. Do the things you’re interested in. Don’t try to make your vacation into something that it’s not. Most colleges don’t factor things like vacation activities into admissions anyway.</p>
<p>Seriously? Just enjoy your vacation.</p>
<p>If you really want to do something…why not help the people on the streets or observe them? Kind of like a sociology project? Help them because you feel some empathy, not to look better on your college apps</p>
<p>Jump in the Ganges River and experiment if the reports about the water’s toxicity are true. </p>
<p>Just enjoy your break.</p>