<p>I have just finished up my Harvard application, but am having a predicament over whether to submit a research paper on a research experience I had.</p>
<p>Over the summer I contributed to a project at a nearby University, and was required to write a paper over the research I participated in. It was submitted for peer review to a Journal, and got back riddled with edits. I’m not sure whether to try to incorporate all the edits and send it, send it as it was, or forgo sending it at all (or maybe just send the abstract?).
If I send any of it, should I also send a brief statement in the accompanying paragraph telling how it just got back from Peer Review, and so has some changes that were quickly added on for the application?</p>
<p>Or would it be better to just submit the abstract in the additional information with the brief statement? I did that with many of my applications, since Yale asks that you do it that way for sharing research you’ve done (applied EA there).</p>
<p>Thanks ever so much, and best of luck with all your holidays/applications :)!!!</p>
<p>PS: Title I meant to put “Send if partly flawed”, not talking about the process being flawed or anything haha.</p>
<p>I read the title and thought “Hey man, I don’t know if your research was flawed!”</p>
<p>If it did get riddled with edits I would not send it in its original form. That could get you a bad rec if a prof looks at it. Depends what the edits were for? bad science, bad grammar, bad presentation. If the science was sound I would just send in the edited version. The fact that you had something get peer edited is pretty impressive in itself. If the science was bad then just the abstract and say it was peer edited.</p>
<p>I would def send the abstract, and possibly the whole thing depending on what the edits were for.</p>
<p>Hahaha I didn’t do that bad :p. The peer review did give quite a few changes, but its almost all for grammar, with a bit for the other two heheh. At least now I know partially how to write a paper for science! </p>
<p>My worry is just that a few of the changes they recommended for the science I used contradicts what my graduate student mentor told me (some of the organic chemistry went way over my head, even though I tried to cram an orgo textbook while I worked there). Hence some of my predicament…</p>
<p>I guess I’ll just stick with the abstract and explain some of this background - I wonder if I should mail that though, or just send it in the additional information section of the common app?</p>
<p>I got deferred, got my fingers crossed still. Congrats on your acceptance though!! I remember seeing you got in, mighty impressive :)!</p>
<p>Hmm I thought I saw it was the opposite way around, Yale just wanted the abstract, and Harvard wanted the entire paper…I guess either way just the abstract is safe.</p>
<p>As a second option, I could also send my research poster over the stuff I did. I know the science and everything is fine on that, and it might be a bit more unique than just sending the paper/abstract…or I could send the abstract and the poster…</p>
<p>It’s very common for peer-reviewed papers to come back from a journal with many edits, even papers from big-shot professors. So don’t worry that you messed up somehow. </p>
<p>What is the status of the paper? Did the editor say he would accept the paper if suitable edits were made? Or did he say that he would merely reconsider the paper if suitable edits were made? If the former then publication is pretty much assured. You could send the abstract with your apps and note that the full manuscript is “In press” at the specified publication. If the latter you could note that it’s status is “Submitted” at the journal - a weaker notation.</p>
<p>Sadly, its not quite as big of a deal as I’d like - the work I did while I was there went to the Journal of High School Research in the chemical sciences (a new UT high school research Journal thing), though it would be considered “in press” for it.</p>
<p>The project as a whole will also be published to the ACS Journal of Organic Chemistry, but not until a few more processes are carried out, along with extra verification of yields and other product characteristics. After I left there were no students left to finish it up; a graduate student recently took over the rest of the project, but the final submission for the ACS Journal will not be completed in time for applications.</p>
<p>I ended up mailing in my research poster and a brief summary over the research, and submitting my abstract in the additional info section on the common app, so hopefully it all turns out well :).</p>
<p>Good luck :)!! Have you thought about presenting the research you did at a local science fair? That could be fun too and you would get to see what people from other high schools have done as their research projects.</p>