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Best time to find undergraduate research is before summer starts |
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Wednesday, 19 May 2010 00:00 |
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Yes, you heard that right. The best time to find an undergraduate research position is now at the end of the school academic year. Why? The reason is simple, the seniors have finished their undergraduate research. By now, many campuses will have already held their undergraduate research day in which those overachieving seniors submit their senior thesis, and present a poster and/or give an oral presentation. Many labs are looking to replace these undergrads. Â Here are some tips... <ol> <li>Go to undergrad poster session. This is the best place to learn about what research is available out there in your campus and which labs may need a new undergrad (since the poster presenter is graduating and leaving that lab).
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Be proactive. Take the opportunity to contact labs that you would like to work in and have a history of mentoring undergrads in the laboratory by looking on their website.
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Talk to your graduate student instructor. After you're done with a class, ask your graduate student instructor whether he or she knows of labs that may need an undergrad. Specify what type of lab you are looking for so they know that you are not desperate and just want any lab.
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Be sure that you can work during the summer if you commit to join in the lab. You may have a difficult time having the lab hold onto your lab position until after summer.
Happy hunting.
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Publish your undergraduate research in Journal of Young Investigators |
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 17:48 |
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Take initiative to publish your undergraduate research. Many undergraduate institution have a peer-reviewed journal that publishes the research of undergraduates. It's not the same as publishing in a science journal peer-reviewed by other scientists, but at least you have shown initiative to the medical school that you did take time to put together the data that you collected over the years into a publishable format. This is definitely a positive mark on your application and looks better than if you didn't publish in your undergraduate journal.
If you want more visibility, then you may want to consider publishing in Journal of Young Investigators (www.jyi.org). This is a journal for undergraduates around the world publishing original research in various scientific disciplines in addition to publishing feature articles. The scientific manuscripts are peer reviewed by undergraduates majoring in that discipline along with a faculty mentor who helps critic the manuscript alongside the undergraduate reviewer. I highly suggest that you look into this.
Publishing anywhere shows initiative. Especially if you are MD/PhD, try to publish and if not submit your work as a poster at a conference. |
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Apply for Undergraduate Research |
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Saturday, 10 October 2009 20:12 |
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Welcome back to school. For many, the start of the school year means finding your way around class, buying your books, and meeting new friends. However, one should start searching for research positions if you haven't already found one before the summer (when all seniors have graduated and left vacant their undergraduate research project/position).
- Visit your campus Undergraduate Research Office (URO) Your local URO will have a collection of undergraduate research opportunities on campus. Many professors will submit opening positions for undergraduates in their labs and your local URO will collect these positions. Ask your friends already working in laboratories Often times, your friends will know of labs looking for undergraduates.
- Ask your graduate student instructor (GSI) Get to know your GSI better. He or she is not just an instructor, they could be very helpful in helping you secure a research position. They know your work ethic in class and how you interact with your peers. Often times, they can be instrumental in recommending you to a professor who you are keen on working with.
- E-mail professors directly This is oftentimes the most scary avenue for undergraduates. However, if you do not find a position that is advertised, your best bet is to email the professor asking if he or she has any positions available for undergraduates in their laboratory. Read my post on how to e-mail professors. If you have anymore helpful ideas, please feel free to add your comments.
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Top Ten Reasons to Apply for Summer Undergraduate Research Program |
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Wednesday, 21 October 2009 05:36 |
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These are my Top Ten reasons for applying to summer undergraduate programs.
- You get an opportunity to learn a new technique in the lab.
- SURPs are very diverse with students from all over the country. You will get to meet a lot of new people and may even form lasting friendships that exist beyond the summer.
- You get another letter of recommendation for your application from a different institution.
- SURPs are competitive programs to get into. Some have acceptance rates as low as 2%. Therefore, getting into a competitive SURP like Cold Spring Harbor or New York University SURPs are definitely a big deal. Did you know that Nobel Laureate David Baltimore was an alumni of Cold Spring Harbor's SURP?
- You get to travel to a different city or state. This will give you an opportunity to see if you can survive a big city like New York City and thus consider potentially applying to a graduate program there.
- Some SURPs have academic enrichment programs like GRE prep course or PhD, MD/PhD application workshops.
- Some SURPs that are affiliated with the School of Medicine will provide opportunities to shadow a physician weekly. This is mainly to get those interested in MD/PhD programs.
- You get your foot in the door. If you are applying to Harvard for graduate school, then you may want to apply to a Harvard SURP. If you get in, you will know people at Harvard who will be able to help you in your application.
- You get paid to do research.
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What do professors look for in prospective undergrads? |
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Saturday, 10 October 2009 18:25 |
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All professors are not the same, therefore their selection criteria may differ. However, there are certain key criteria that most professors look for when selecting candidates.
Interest for the subject matter. You need to establish that you have a desire to work on the project you are studying. If you have an interview, it can show if you talk about recent articles published from the lab, articles in the field, and some ideas aims you hope to accomplish in the project. If you don’t have an interview, then you need to establish early on in your email communications to the professor that you have looked at several papers already on the topic. You should always ask for references to other papers the professor thinks would be of interest to you.
Good grades. Good grades say a lot. If a professor receives multiple applications for a single undergraduate research position, then often or not, the filter will be the undergrad GPA. However, I have often seen students with stellar GPA, but lack a good work ethic in the laboratory, interacted poorly with other lab members, or have an inability to just do the physical work despite having a great ability to plan an experiment.
Recommendations. The power of the recommendation is understated. Recommendations are critical when applying for extremely research competitive positions. The recommendation can come from a course you took, from another undergrad in the lab you want to join, or from a graduate or postdoc which you have gotten to know prior to applying for a research position. Recommendations go beyond your list of accomplishments. They reveal into your personal skills
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Research
