Tell High School Students to Stop Contacting Professors

[Anonymous]

As business professor, I get tons of annoying emails from students wanting "research internships" or "mentorship". Some are graduate students, some are undergrads, and some are in high school. Some are in my county, some are in my state. Some are in India or Bangladesh.

"Dear Professor X, I am a junior at XYZ high school and am greatly impressed by your paper "" [published before this kid was born]. I would like to study under you."

One elementary school girl from across the country asked for a free sweatshirt. Obviously her teacher told her to do this. One private high school student bragged that he founded and ran a charitable investment fund. The assets under management were less than one year of tuition. Some college counselors must be telling them to get lines on their resumes. One stranger sent his resume and asked for a letter of recommendation.

This is all an annoying waste of time. I mostly teach graduate students, never lower-level undergrads. High schools don't even offer courses in my subject. Who is telling students to do this?

[Anonymous]

I think you're a parent pretending to be a professor to discourage kids from trying to get ahead.

If not, you're pretty out-of-the-loop. Many kids now have had internships/research experience by the time they apply to college. Lots get it through connections, but for those who can't, cold emailing is the alternative. It's understandable that you find it irritating, but don't expect it to stop anytime soon. Lots of professors actually do write back and try to find something the student can do.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for doing the neeful to share this this very important post here on Bangladesh Urban Moms (and Dads)

[Anonymous]

If you want them to stop, tell your colleagues to stop admitting students who send these letters.

[Anonymous]

It IS kind of funny that high school kids (and younger) think college professors should give them positions instead of giving positions to the current undergraduates.

Some have programs for HS students, but it's not the norm.

[Anonymous]

Have you read Peter Turchin’s book “End Times”? One of the things he talks about is “elite overproduction”. Basically society produces too many people in the elite segment of society, and those people are competing against each other for a limited number of positions.

So these are children from that elite element who are doing everything they can to stand out and get into prestigious colleges, believing that is the only way to remain at that elite level. This will only get worse before it gets better.

[Anonymous]

There are admission services that target kids for elite schools that suggest kids write a professor at a school they want to attend and express interest in their field or work and ask for some literature to read or to assist with research.

The idea is that the admissions officer ultimately works for professors, and professors at elite schools ultimately want smart kids who are excited about their field and its possibilities. Of course, that may be true, but I’d be pis*ed if 20-30 kids contacted me every year for this brown nose effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you're a parent pretending to be a professor to discourage kids from trying to get ahead.

If not, you're pretty out-of-the-loop. Many kids now have had internships/research experience by the time they apply to college. Lots get it through connections, but for those who can't, cold emailing is the alternative. It's understandable that you find it irritating, but don't expect it to stop anytime soon. Lots of professors actually do write back and try to find something the student can do.

Actually for those who don't, paying thousands of dollars a year to a private college counseling group that contracts the professors is the usual alternative.

And no, lots of professors do not write back and find something the student can do.

-College professor and parent who won't play these games with my kid or anyone else's

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want them to stop, tell your colleagues to stop admitting students who send these letters.

I agree with PP above. As a professor, you should try to appreciate the pressure kids are under to develop resumes and conduct research at an early age.

There's not just one source of this advice. There's no way to stop it. And cold e-mailing and calling is all that's available to unconnected kids.

Why can't you just consider this occupational junk mail and discard without reacting? That would be kindest.

If nothing else, kids are practicing their persuasive communication skills.

Have you ever seen the Leonardo DaVinci cold call letter? Career websites love to showcase it:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-leonardo-da-vincis-cover-letter-from-1482-can-help-paul-beirne-3jeac#:~:text=I%20have%20plans%20for%20very,destroying%20those%20of%20the%20enemy.

TL; DR. Chill out and have some pity for kids today!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want them to stop, tell your colleagues to stop admitting students who send these letters.

The "colleagues" in the admissions office are often former undergrads who decide to stay after graduation. No professor likes this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It IS kind of funny that high school kids (and younger) think college professors should give them positions instead of giving positions to the current undergraduates.

Some have programs for HS students, but it's not the norm.

I worked for a college professor and every summer he hosted either an undergrad or a high school student in his lab for an internship. They didn't even have to attend undergrad at our institution. The only thing he seemed to care about was that they were the same ethnicity that he was.

[Anonymous]

This is how the public schools kids do it that can’t afford to shell out Lumiere or Polygence like all the kids do at our private high school. Literally every kid that wants to get into a top 10 secretly does one of these pay to play research programs.

[Anonymous]

Yup, it’s your admissions office and every admissions office out there that makes kids think they have to be absolutely perfect to go to college, any college. Tell your admissions office to post a message on their opening page that they will not give any weight to any research or mentoring relationship a high school student may have with any professor at your school.

You are mad at the wrong people. The kids are trying to do what the colleges and the college consultants and their parents tell them they must do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yup, it’s your admissions office and every admissions office out there that makes kids think they have to be absolutely perfect to go to college, any college. Tell your admissions office to post a message on their opening page that they will not give any weight to any research or mentoring relationship a high school student may have with any professor at your school.

You are mad at the wrong people. The kids are trying to do what the colleges and the college consultants and their parents tell them they must do.

+2 They are expected to have research experience on their activity list to be competitive for top 20 schools, even for business or economics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yup, it’s your admissions office and every admissions office out there that makes kids think they have to be absolutely perfect to go to college, any college. Tell your admissions office to post a message on their opening page that they will not give any weight to any research or mentoring relationship a high school student may have with any professor at your school.

You are mad at the wrong people. The kids are trying to do what the colleges and the college consultants and their parents tell them they must do.

+1,000,000

Colleges are incentivizing this behavior and they have the gall to complain about these teenagers who are honestly trying to do their best.

As much as I hate Musk and Trump, one area where we do need DOGE type cleanup is college admissions process.