White males...how did you get a summer research opportunity?

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nctw

nctw

"Don't give up…don't ever give up."
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Most of the summer research programs I've researched (Wake Forest, Duke, UNC, John Hopkins, Georgia Institute of Technology) seem to cater only to minority students. In the photos on their websites, there were almost no Caucasians, and they explicitly state they're looking to "propagate minority education." As a white male, how did you get a summer research position?
 
nctw said:
Most of the summer research programs I've researched (Wake Forest, Duke, UNC, John Hopkins, Georgia Institute of Technology) seem to cater only to minority students. In the photos on their websites, there were almost no Caucasians, and they explicitly state they're looking to "propagate minority education." As a white male, how did you get a summer research position?
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black face, give it a shot
 
nctw said:
Most of the summer research programs I've researched (Wake Forest, Duke, UNC, John Hopkins, Georgia Institute of Technology) seem to cater only to minority students. In the photos on their websites, there were almost no Caucasians, and they explicitly state they're looking to "propagate minority education." As a white male, how did you get a summer research position?
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kcin said:
black face, give it a shot
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what the hell is going on here...
 
nctw said:
Most of the summer research programs I've researched (Wake Forest, Duke, UNC, John Hopkins, Georgia Institute of Technology) seem to cater only to minority students. In the photos on their websites, there were almost no Caucasians, and they explicitly state they're looking to "propagate minority education." As a white male, how did you get a summer research position?
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There are a ton of research labs that will hire summer interns outside of a "summer research program". Talk to professors you have a good relationship with and ask for advice about summer research. Look at the web pages for research groups at your school, and cold-email ones that are doing work you're interested in. Briefly introduce yourself, say that their research sounds fascinating, and ask if you can meet to talk about it.

You may have to do more work finding your own research gig, but it's absolutely possible. Throw out a lot of lines, and you'll probably get a few bites.
 
Doc of the Walk said:
what the hell is going on here...
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31aa89a9.png
 
dude..just ask a freakin professor at your school.
 
I had a 3.9, research experience, upper level courses completed, and I applied to 15 noncompetitive programs and got into 0 (I may have had one lukewarm lor, but still). I am under the impression that undergrad reputation is very important to these programs, as is extremely high quality research exp.

Apps are free so you mine as well apply. Odds are not good though.
 
I received a NIH summer internship at NIDA in 2009. I was uniquely qualified as all of the work involved programming of a highly mathematical nature (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_harmonics). If your field is not as specialized, you'll have to demonstrate that you are the best person for the job.
 
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sames as females and males of other ethnicities: apply
 
cheesier said:
I had a 3.9, research experience, upper level courses completed, and I applied to 15 noncompetitive programs and got into 0 (I may have had one lukewarm lor, but still). I am under the impression that undergrad reputation is very important to these programs, as is extremely high quality research exp.

Apps are free so you mine as well apply. Odds are not good though.
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That's not necessarily true. My school is known but it doesn't beat an Ivy League school and during my junior year I got accepted into Harvard BWH Summer Research Program. I could have gotten accepted to more Ivy League Programs but I withdrew my app because I won a prestigious fellowship, but yeah.
 
stop complaining.....

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4f9zR5yzY[/YOUTUBE]
 
futuredoctor328 said:
That's not necessarily true. My school is known but it doesn't beat an Ivy League school and during my junior year I got accepted into Harvard BWH Summer Research Program. I could have gotten accepted to more Ivy League Programs but I withdrew my app because I won a prestigious fellowship, but yeah.
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Based on the way you're describing your school I'm guessing it's up there in rankings. It makes sense that these programs would care a lot about undergrad rep since they have almost nothing else to go off of, and I think my failure to gain acceptance to a single program is testament that.
 
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first our med school spots and now our research opportunities?! when will the URM invasion be sated?!! haven't these people taken enough already!!!!
 
RogueUnicorn said:
first our med school spots and now our research opportunities?! when will the URM invasion be sated?!! haven't these people taken enough already!!!!
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Lol, I'm not complaining, but if you don't fit within any program's mission, it's tough. A lot of these programs are more competitive than medical schools.
 
cheesier said:
Lol, I'm not complaining, but if you don't fit within any program's mission, it's tough. A lot of these programs are more competitive than medical schools.
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That's essentially what I was asking. All of the programs I looked in to had a mission statement for minorities, so it seemed harder than normal (not saying it's impossible)
 
nctw, I have struggled with this every summer! so I feel your pain. But I would recommend asking a professor at your school. If that doesn't work out, you could email professors in colleges near where you live. You might not get paid for this sort of work, but if it is just the experience you are looking for, many professors are happy to help out students who are enthusiastic and interested in their field of work!
 
I love how white men think their lives are so hard.
 
cheesier said:
Based on the way you're describing your school I'm guessing it's up there in rankings. It makes sense that these programs would care a lot about undergrad rep since they have almost nothing else to go off of, and I think my failure to gain acceptance to a single program is testament that.
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Nope not necessarily because I don't go to a PWI at all. I mean not a lot of research programs, in my opinion, are catered to minorities. There are some programs you can apply to 😀. Just be positive 👍
 
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futuredoctor328 said:
Are you serious? I don't know if I should be insulted or laugh at this stupidity. 😡

Dang, they make it seem like URM have a lot of opportunities and it's easy to get into competitive schools and programs.
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I give this horrible movie a bit of a pass only because he first got admitted into Harvard as a white student and then the movie revolves around him taking advantage of a scholarship.
 
TriagePreMed said:
I give this horrible movie a bit of a pass only because he first got admitted into Harvard as a white student and then the movie revolves around him taking advantage of a scholarship.
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👍 ok I agree with you on that, lol He got in first as being white but took advantage of the system for a scholarship, 😡
Always trying to work the system. Look at all these threads trying to claim disadvantage or socioeconomic or minority race status 😡 just to get a leg up in medical school.
 
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Narmerguy said:
i%20like%20were%20this%20thread%20is%20going.jpg
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lol funny one Narmerguy

I am watching the movie Soul Man and he looks more Indian than Black though, lol. Also it shows the prejudice he went through. It is similar to the movies White Chicks

And everyone is obsessed with Harvard in some way, shape or form. 😛
 
I take extreme offense to this thread, pfft, and you guys plan on being the worlds future doctors, stop complaining.
 
BlackHouse said:
I take extreme offense to this thread, pfft, and you guys plan on being the worlds future doctors, stop complaining.
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No offense was meant. I genuinely asked the question to understand the process, not to pose a racist question. Equally, however, I think you'd be complaining if there were a program that was only for white students, but that's neither here nor there 🙂
 
I'm not white so this might not be applicable - but i used email
 
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nctw said:
No offense was meant. I genuinely asked the question to understand the process, not to pose a racist question. Equally, however, I think you'd be complaining if there were a program that was only for white students, but that's neither here nor there 🙂
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This comment makes it sound like there are programs only for URMs. This is not true AT ALL. In fact it is illegal for there to be such a program. Check the photos of past participants in summer research programs the majority of them will be caucasian. Even in the summer programs geared towards minorities the caucasians will be the group with the highest number of participants.

A word of advice stop being so jaded.
 
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Wait, so you're saying that white males now have to work just as hard as every other race to succeed at something instead of just having it handed to them? 😱 This is awesome.
 
RoseInTheMud said:
Wait, so you're saying that white males now have to work just as hard as every other race to succeed at something instead of just having it handed to them? 😱 This is awesome.
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What a stupid thing to say. That statement is just as bad as those from the other side of the argument. People can come from disadvantaged backgrounds as a member of any race or ethnicity. I understand the point you are making in that all races should now work the same amount for deserved outcomes but to not realize that URM ARE given some additional consideration you have to be pretty naive.
 
The kid is asking an honest question, leave him alone.

To answer the OP, it seems unfortunate that the only research programs you have been looking at are ones that prefer minorities. The good news is that there are just as many that do not take ethnicity into consideration - you just need to find them. Also, it can never hurt to simply email professors at your school or a local school about helping them research. Make sure you tell them your work will be for free (if this is what you intend), and that you will be an asset to their project.

And to address the Michigan Med tweet, I'd like to say that they may not have thought the thread subject itself was stupid, but the bigotry of your responses. Also, it was incredibly unprofessional of them to post that - I expected better from Michigan.
 
As a URM myself, I didn't take any offense to the OP. In fact, it's normal to feel this frustration because the majority of white male applicants have grown up in an environment where racism is subtle to non-existent. The attempts to recruit minorities now are to alleviate the disparity of the past; a past that these white male applicants didn't live through or cause.

OP - I suggest you go up to any professor that you have or know is doing research and ask them for an opportunity. I see it happening all the time.
 
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