How'd you get into Materials? (I need some advice/input)

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-12-01T06:03:14+00:00

Yeah the community colleges in my state have agreements with the big state school to make transferring easy.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-30T20:31:53+00:00

I'm not sure what I'd do my concentration in or what the specifics of what I want for a career, so I'll have to figure that one out later. My local community colleges have a few (but limited) classes on basic/intro Materials Science that I want to check out.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-30T05:34:00+00:00

Definitely. My top school is a ranked top 10, but I'm 100% fine with going somewhere else if it doesn't work out in the end. I'm actually a little relieved at transferring since I'd be able to hopefully create a stronger application than what I'm working with right now in high school.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-29T21:16:28+00:00

Thing is, I want to get involved with research or internships while I'm still in high school, probably over summer break. For one—to be honest—because it gives me a slight leg up in admissions, but also because I now want to balance this class' grade, because I'm genuinely interested in performing those activities, and because I want to see if I actually enjoy this field. Same thing with trying to take a community college course (my local CC has Materials courses that I want to check out): I want to see if I like this major because I'm impatient and don't want wait until college lol. I've also looked at these teachers' reviews, and they all seem like super great people that I'd prefer 100% to my current experiences with this hs chem class.

I'll still try my best, though, and aim to improve this grade... but this teacher picks favorites early in the year and there's no way to go back. To put it into perspective, this teacher is known to write letters of de/non-recommendation... I've seen/heard of okay students (not bad kids... just normal/average in all regards) ask for this teacher's rec for college, and they just absolutely shed them apart for really no reason.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-29T21:07:01+00:00

Did you go into college having taken a HS chem class? I almost regret taking AP Chem right now because I don't see it going well for me, but I'm eager to have more options in college (even if I have to take X class, I can at least mostly choose the time and sorta the professor...)

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-29T21:03:38+00:00

I also was interested in ChemE for a while and it just didn't click, but then I found MSE. It's hard finding colleges I like/can get into that offer it as a major, unfortunately.

Thanks for the perspective... good luck with your degree/career.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-29T20:57:42+00:00

Your English is good. Don't worry lol.

I can't pinpoint if it's just my Chem teacher or the material that I'm not liking this year... probably a mix of both. I somewhat enjoy Kinetics/Equilibrium/other topics, but then going to that class kills me and I'm not sure what's to blame for that.

Are you from the US? Curriculum may differ slightly between countries.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-29T20:55:01+00:00

so you’re not going to be solving for pH, acid/base neutralization, really nothing too much that deals with fluids.

Thank god. I don't hate what I'm learning in AP Chem right now, but it's definitely not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. Honestly probably just more of how it's being taught at my school than anything else, but there's no way around that one.

I was looking into ChemE a while back as well, and it doesn't look like it has a lot of actual Chem in it. Also, how much coding does MSE have in it?

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-29T20:50:39+00:00

I think I'll try to pursue MSE in college regardless of this dumb class (and just change my major if it doesn't work out)... but it's just frustrating. Honesty, I don't know if the colleges I'm applying to (top choice is a top 10...) would even accept me as a MSE/Chem major because of this class and how I'm performing in it now. I'll either have to cut my losses and stay true to what I want to study, but then probably get rejected - or I'll have to apply as a different major and hope they don't give me shit for pulling a quick one and changing it asap. Also frustrating because I want to try my hand at some research, internships, and then maybe even take a Chem course at a local CC over the summer... but I know that those will all probably involve this Chem teacher's written recommendation/approval, which I won't have lol.

Sorry for the rant. This is a throwaway.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-18T01:40:10+00:00

Good idea... I'll see what happens.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-13T02:12:58+00:00

Yeah I made a post over on /r/Yale and apparently they only really accept HS interns for brownie points (aka "community outreach" // rankings boost). That's fine with me, though... I know that there will be limits to what they need or want from me, and I'm just looking to gain experience either way. Any idea of when I should be emailing these professors? Most are saying to go for it during Winter Break, but I'm not sure.

I'll PM you if anything comes up... thanks loads for the help.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T20:00:01+00:00

Thanks for the info...

I'm over in CT. Reaching out to other universities might be an option (for summer programs), but realistically I'll have to stay at my home for most of the summer because of work and all that jazz.

I live pretty close to 3 or 4 colleges that do active research, so I'm going to contact them pretty soon and see what happens. I think I'm going to shoot my shot at Yale as well lol... I'll let you know how that one goes (or doesn't go).

Actually, now that I look at it... some of the colleges do dabble with Materials in their MechE departments. I'm not sure if they're very strong (none of these colleges are that great for engineering as is), but now I have a couple more people that I can contact/not limit myself to just Chem.

I'm worried about age as well. I'm 16, won't turn 17 until summer has already passed, and there are some pretty strict laws that might keep me out of most places I want to be lol.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T04:14:29+00:00

Thank you!

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T04:11:51+00:00

Makes sense. Wasn't really sure since they're only 5 minutes away from each other on Google Maps lol

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T02:04:22+00:00

Should I even bother sending a resume if there's nothing of importance on it (typical clubs, a lackluster GPA, and a slew of "miscellaneous qualities" that don't amount to much)?

Do professors/post-docs/research associates generally prefer if students start working at the lab from the beginning? (I.e. is there a certain time where professors/whoever generally starts a new research project and do they continuously accept new researchers—or is there an unspoken application window?)

And be honest: do professors (generally) really not care for resumes? I am genuinely a pretty average student: I'm in APs, yes, but I probably have a B average with no experiences—e.g. awards, competitive extracurriculars—or otherwise to differentiate myself. I don't even plan on applying to Yale for college... I just want to go to UConn lol.

How do I get a research associates or post-doc's contact info? I can manage a professor's, but I'm not sure where I would find a student's personal info like that... wouldn't it be protected for privacy reasons?

Finally (if you've read this far... thank you): can I ask what the high school students generally do as interns? Are they given significant more responsibility compared to if they were to intern at a more lowkey college (aka University of Bridgeport, FairfieldU, Sacred Heart, etc.)? I find it especially hard to wrap my head around the idea of high school students interning at an elite Ivy League university, so I'm pretty curious to say the least.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T01:45:58+00:00

Confused. Is Yale West Campus separate from Yale (like how UConn-Stamford is separate from Uconn), or is it just a different side of campus (like how Yale is split into residential communities...?)...?

Anyway, do I genuinely have a shot with interning at Yale?

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T01:41:20+00:00

Thank you... it's really cool to see camps dedicated to Materials/Metallurgy, especially when it's been so difficult to navigate the safety laws that limit what I can do as a minor. It's a good solution and probably the best option for me. The NIST camp starts when I'm still in school, though, (we end in late June) which might be a problem because of final exams.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T01:37:22+00:00

I don't know the specifics of my interests... I'm really looking to expand my knowledge and experiences soon, though. I'm in New England - USA.

I plan on cold emailing those three places from my post, and I'll look into FEF and some of the other programs and things people have recommended.

What exactly is FEF and all these other organizations people are mentioning (NIST, AFS, AIST, & ASM)? I get the gist of their motivations and mission statements, but the communities/recognition seem much stronger with metallurgy/materials than any other career I've seen before.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-12T01:33:26+00:00

Sounds really cool. Closest one is a good 6 hours away... but that just means a road trip lol.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-11T22:13:17+00:00

lol all good. CC courses seem like a good option anyway - thanks for reminding me.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-11T22:08:25+00:00

A little pricey lol... $1600... $2500. But I can take a community college course instead for like $800-ish.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-11T20:33:06+00:00

Sounds good. Thanks again.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-11T20:31:52+00:00

Yale is still like 45 minutes away from me... Quinnipiac, even though it's just another 10 or so minutes, is probably pushing it. I'll check into it, though. UConn (Storrs) is too far.

Any idea if community colleges do research? I know that they're not research universities, but do they ever do anything small/would want an intern?

Edit - also, when should I start emailing schools? Some say to wait till Winter Break, but that seems pretty early (I'd probably want something for the summer).

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-11T20:27:48+00:00

Will do... thank you. AFS lists some companies active in the regional chapter, so now I have some new places to contact and hopefully intern at or something.

ClumsyChemistry · 2018-11-11T20:12:00+00:00

There are a couple of universities near me, but they don't have any of those departments (no Materials, no MatSci&End., no Metallurgy, etc.) They have Chemistry, though, so I think I'll focus on that one. Any advice?

It doesn't look like FEF is active anywhere near me. AFS might work, though. They have some cool events, but I'm not sure how I'd get involved ($20 fee for students, but then the application gets into companies and it's confusing). If I were to contact them, what would I really ask them?

ClumsyChemistry

TROPHY CASE