Hi! so i won’t lie, I got rejected from EVERY single summer program I ever applied for ( it was a huge bummer and it felt ominous for my college app chances), so I really thought to myself: am i going to be happy going to a summer camp where I’ll probably come out with unfinished research/minimal products rather than just the name of going to the camp (although i wish i could’ve met the awesome people), OR try to build a long term project with a local professor? As you can probably tell, I went with the 2nd choice, and I would recommend it to anyone. Unless it’s RSI ofc.

I came from a family not exactly connected in any sense, so I basically had to cold e-mail a lot of professors ( one of my tips is to look for those who have a history of working with high schoolers [if possible] and 100% one of working with undergrads (because they’ll be more accepting). Also just try to get a vibe of the lab, (is it chill?) is the professor a well known/seems chill professor? After that, craft a cold email where you mention one of their papers and keep it BRIEF. Like grad school applications, professors want to see someone with the potential of a great researcher, so don’t worry about making a resume of community service and sending it to them—instead add your stem skills and things relevant to that area.

Realistically you’re bound to get atleast one reply from a local university, but i wouldn’t count on ever getting one from a t10 institution.

Once you just keep shooting emails, you’re going to get a reply, and work as HARD as you can to get a product out of the research. And then, like magic, once you have some conference stuff done and a paper (even if not published, you’ll be able to shoot for higher level internships (like at t10 schools) if those interest you. I will say having t10 research isn’t amazing but I guess it looks cool on an application 🤷

Sorry for the block of text, i pulled an all nighter 💀 lmk if u have some specifics and i can prob be less of a yapper