When and how did you get a research position?

[Not.a.Doc]

So during what year of your undergrad did you get the opportunity to do research?
Did you ask for it or were you offered one? Was it in your university or somewhere else?

Thanks. 👍

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[Lannister]

You're likely not going to be offered a position, most people email 10-20 professors and ask until someone responds. I personally didn't do research until the summer after my junior year, but many people start freshman year.


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[Not.a.Doc]

You're likely not going to be offered a position, most people email 10-20 professors and ask until someone responds. I personally didn't do research until the summer after my junior year, but many people start freshman year.


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So did you take a gap year? Or did you mention it on your application?

 

[WedgeDawg]

1st research position a week after starting freshman year: went to professor's office, said I was interested in his research, he gave me a spot

2nd research position summer after freshman year: applied to NIH summer program and emailed ~50 PIs until one accepted me

3rd research position beginning of sophomore year: emailed a PI saying I was interested in research, got referred to another PI who said he didn't have room, went back to referring PI who ended up giving me a spot - worked in this lab until graduation

 

[Goro]

The UG students I've dealt with in the past came into the lab with a SURF (summer undergrad research fellowship) from thier home school. I have a friend on faculty at another school who takes in CC students from a program the CC has set up with my friend's school.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I've been involved in a number of projects. I got involved in all of them by asking professors who were doing stuff I thought was interesting. Two of them, I joined their labs and helped out (one was a phys chem lab where I mostly pipetted and ran MS, and the other was a neuroscience lab where I did little operations on mice to prep them for the study, and then executed the study--that one was pretty cool). The other one was an independent project. I approached a prof that was involved in something in the same field and asked if he'd be an advisor. Easy day.

 

[Lannister]

So did you take a gap year? Or did you mention it on your application?

I didn't take a gap year. I had already started my research when I submitted my application, so I was able to include it. Later I sent updates to a few schools to tell them how many hours I ended up completing, but I already knew from the beginning that I would get a poster out of it so I just included that on AMCAS.

 

[aldol16]

There are specific summer programs if you belong to certain categories as well as general summer programs. REUs, SURPs, SURFs, Amgen, etc. are all included in this mix. There is also research going on at your university if you attend a research university. This latter option gives you the best chance to become a good researcher in a particular discipline and produce meaningful work since it's a longitudinal commitment.

 

[quarky]

I decided to use my freshman year to explore clubs (and I already had research experience in high school) so I didn't start until my sophomore year. I looked at different professors' research descriptions and sent emails to those that interested me the most. One of the professors asked me to come in to talk to him for a bit (not really an interview, but to explain how being an undergraduate researcher works and to talk about my interests) and then I was welcomed to the lab. I've heard from undergraduates from other schools that it's harder to get research positions at larger schools, but it should be easier if you go to a smaller research university.

In high school, I applied to a summer research program and I know many similar programs exist for college students (though if you land a position at your own university, the scientists will generally be happy to have you around during the summer).

 

[ScaryName]

I'm a freshman with no previous research experience. I checked my college's website for research opportunities and graduate projects and emailed the first person I saw. If you look on the biology page of your university's website, you may find something.

 

[applesaucey]

I started second semester of freshman year and stayed with one lab for 3 1/2 years. I went to the database of PIs on my school's website and typed in keywords of what I was interested in and emailed a few who popped up.

 

[moggat]

1st position: Sophomore year emailed a prof in my dept asking if she had any room for an undergrad because I thought it sounded interesting.
2nd position: submitted my application to the NIH IRTA program and my (current) PI contacted me asking me to come down for an interview.

Cold emailing PI's at your home university is really the best way to do it. (Affiliated medical research institutions are also an option, but often a lot harder to get anyone to respond to you)

 

[valenceoctet]

I wandered into my intro professor's office halfway through my first semester of undergrad and was like "this is neat can I help" and then I stayed there for four years

 

[idontwatchgreysanatomy]

First: freshman year, approached a faculty member about a research proposal of mine, asked them to be the PI.

Second: freshman year, randomly met a post-doc who was working on something in my area of interest, asked me to join

Third: sophomore year, applied to about 20 Summer research fellowships, got accepted into one at the NIH

Fourth: sophomore year, applied to a fully funded 2-year research program at my school, got it, was matched with lab at my state medical school.

Fifth: junior year, PI from second experience asked if I wanted to lead a clinical project with a couple MDs. Using for honors thesis.

 

[mistafab]

Just to chime in - after successfully nailing down a position and working in a lab for a few months, do not be afraid to ask for money during the summer to continue working on the project. PIs have no problem telling you yes or no depending on if they have the money for it.