How Do Research Opportunities Work?

Hi, thank you for asking your question! I agree with the responses below because they walkthrough the path to obtaining research positions such as cold-emailing, keeping organized spreadsheets of who you contact, and identifying specific areas of interest.

I will also add that you should not be disheartened if you don't hear back from many professors. Right now, because of COVID-19, a lot of universities have stricter research policies and may not be able to host high school students who need training and additional mentorship. If you can't obtain a research position, it is not the end of the world. Try to continue pursuing your interests in other activities outside of research. I would refer to our blog post linked below for more information!

https://blog.collegevine.com/how-is-coronavirus-impacting-high-school-activities/

Hope this helps!

Hi!

I was actually in your situation a couple of months ago! (I'm a sophomore) Finding research opportunities right now (because of COVID and your lack of experience/age) is very hard, but not impossible!

For a good one to two months, I was going through the staff/professors at a nearby Uni, and I ended up creating a huge spreadsheet of their emails, their names, and their area of specialty. Then, I created a resume and began emailing all the professors/staff (I did about 50). I also gave them a link to my unofficial high school transcript (you can acquire yours through your counselor). It took a long time to do all this, but I think it was worth it.

After emails upon emails of rejection, I finally got an offer to do an internship this summer! (I took it!) But if I were to give you any further advice, I would definitely say not to dwell too much on your rejections. All it takes is one yes! Out of the 50 people I emailed, I got 3 offers. (2 of them fell through) I know this is cliche, but rejection really is redirection. Best of luck to you! I hope this helped!