Research Experiences for High School Students

For high school students seeking a mentor for a research experience during summer or the school year:

 

0. The advice below is general. It also applies if you are interested in working with me specifically, but keep in mind that I get tens of such requests per year and I take on a high school intern only once every 4 to 5 years. I am aware that high school research experiences can be very impactful for the student (they were for me) and that high school students can accomplish remarkable things. But for me there is an opportunity cost: my Ph.D. students, postdocs and I can work with other exceptional Stanford Ph.D. students and remarkable undergrads from Stanford and elsewhere. Those normally take precedence. Since the same applies for many potential mentors, you might consider an organized summer program to learn more about science and research and build some skills. Many universities and some research-intensive companies offer such programs, some free of charge or even with a stipend, some fee-based. The website of Stanford's office of Education & STEM Outreach maintains a list of programs offered on campus. Also see Stanford's pre-collegiate summer institutes; many of these programs are structured as classes more than research. More broadly, Google is your friend for finding such programs! At the bottom of this page, I list some programs I curated when asked to advise friends and family.

 

1. If you've decided to try to arrange your own internship, explain in your note why you are reaching out to the particular person you're emailing. Show substantial familiarity with their work, beyond just a skim of their website; this will probably take 1-2 hours for every email you send out. This will lead you to focus on fewer leads, but with greater likelihood of success, though still low probability for each note. Also, consider reaching out to people at institutions other than internationally-renowned research universities, for example community colleges and national labs -- they may have less access to students to work with, so this could be more of an opportunity for them. And you could end up getting more attention and a better learning experience. Using a clear subject line like "Prospective Summer Student" can help avoid having your email missed or ignored. Still, don't be surprised or offended if you don't get a reply -- including from me, if you write to me. I wish I could respond to each request, but there are simply too many.

 

2. Say what you have to offer. What is special about you? What are you passionate about? Do you have any special skills? If you are a strong student and/or taking advanced classes, say so, since that is an indication of your ability to focus and to process complex ideas (even though someone can be an excellent scientist or engineer and not get good grades). Activities that you have pursued for years and have reached a high level also show focus and dedication. The key is your short email "cover letter", but consider attaching a one-page PDF CV if you have more to say.

 

3. If you've accomplished things despite challenges or people's assumptions about what you can do, you may want to work such info into your narrative, for at least two reasons: a. Overcoming challenges is promising for your future prospects. b. Many scientists feel strongly about expanding opportunities in science to a diverse population.  

 

4. How long and how intensively do you want to engage in an internship? One or more summers? Time during the school year? 8 hours per week? 40 hours per week? What kinds of activities are you open to (computer simulation, building apparatus, starting by doing whatever technical contribution would be most useful for your mentor, etc.)?

 

5. What are your goals for the experience?

 

6. Try to stay local (or someplace you could visit over the summer, if your finances and family logistics allow for that). It's possible to be mentored by phone/email/Zoom/Discord but it's harder on both sides, especially if you want to do experimental work rather than theory or computer simulation.

 

Below is a list of summer STEM programs I've curated. I have not organized/sorted them, and I will not take the time to keep this list and its links updated, but I include it in the hopes that someone may find it useful anyway:

 

A. Some STEM programs I identified when I was searching for possibilities for summer between 11th and 12th grade. The specific dates are from years ago. All the ones listed here are good, though there are many other good programs. The ones I've listed range from very competitive to ludicrously competitive to get into. Don't let that discourage you from trying, but don't apply to one or even four of them and count on getting in.

 

0. Research Science Institute. https://www.cee.org/research-science-institute The most competitive for admission, probably more competitive than a top-tier college. I'd guess 1000 US applicants for 60 spots, and those applicants are already self-selected. 6 week program, pairing each student with an academic or industrial mentor for a research project.

1. Summer Science Program https://summerscience.org/ 6 week program observing asteroids/minor planets and tracking their trajectories (Colorado). Other topics in other locations. June 23-July 31

2. COSMOS https://cosmos-ucop.ucdavis.edu/app/main/page/campuses-and-clusters

4 week program in any of many (41!) topic areas located at 4 University of California campuses. Look at the topic area (cluster) titles at the 4 campuses, and click on the ones that are potentially interesting to you:

3. Perimeter Institute International Summer School for Young Physicists https://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/outreach/students/programs/international-summer-school-young-physicists 2 weeks. July 14-27

4. Carleton Summer Computer Science Institute (Carleton also has other topics)

3 weeks July 14 - August 2

5. Carnegie Mellon AI Program 3 weeks, June 29-July 19

 

Some STEM programs I identified when I was searching for possibilities for summer between 9th and 10th grade. The first four offer many possible topics.