Rant: Tell Kids to Stop Bugging Professors for Internships

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A common myth over on reddit is that teens need "research" experience to get admitted to highly selective colleges. I don't know where the myth started.

some selective colleges (eg Amherst) have questions on their application form about how much research you’ve done, and where. I think you’re supposed to get your research internship through bugging daddy rather than your professors though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a professor and regularly get emails from high school students who ask for research internships. They haven't finished high school, much less basic undergraduate courses in my field. I don't know who encourages this, but obviously those kids didn't think up this idea independently.

"Dear Professor X:

I am very interested in your work after reading [one of my obscure papers from a web search]. I would like to help you with research because I want to have a career [making a lot of money by doing something I know nothing about]."

This is insulting to their high school teachers, who have a lot to teach them.

Blame the college admissions process fella! Talk to your peers/co-workers and have them change their stupid process. Colleges have questions along the lines of "Why XXX college?" and guess what, kids make up crap like "I love Crystal Meth Biology, love the work Professor Impatient is doing and would love to work in his lab. After lab, I want to grab late night pizza at Local Italianao's". Your idiot colleagues think the kid is genuine because he used a real prof's name and a real pizza place that is open late nights, and that the kid is really into your college. The kid does that for every college he applies to. Why are you now upset if the kid just follows the same playbook and contacts one of y'all in real life? You trained him after all..

Preach!

Professor, drop by your admissions office and show them that email and ask them who encourages this.

This! I hate every thread blaming students who are doing what any person in their position would do to be competitive. It's not their fault. Blame the system that set this up that YOU, OP, are much more a part of than any high school kid.

+1. First, my kid went to TJ, and plenty of kids there actually did secure substantive research internships at competitive colleges and places like NIH after junior year. That resulted in publication and even patents in the kids name, regeneron awards, etc. I mean, not my kid, who was very middle of the pack by TJ standards. But, several of his friends.

Second, knocking on your office door, handing you a resume and inviting themselves in crosses the line. I think we can all agree on that. But an email? Seriously? What’s the issue? Just draft and save a standard letter like:

Dear (insert name here)— thank you for your interest in interning in my lab. I’m always excited to see bright young students interested in the field of goat yoga (or whatever). Unfortunately, I cannot offer you a position because my policy is to only hire students who have taken my goat yoga, the deep dive class/ have completed at least four semesters at Goat U/ insert your hiring criteria here. However, I hope that if you attend Goat U and remain interested in Goat yoga, you will take my Goat studies class and apply for an internship at that point. Go Giats! Sincerely, me.

Insert kids name, cut and paste into your letter and you have dealt with the email in a polite and professional manner in 30 seconds. Done. If you really can’t manage that, you have bigger issues than HS student emails.

Plus, as the parent of two college kids (one of whom is in his third year of research with his advisor), I find the OP incredibly frustrating. College professors love to gripe about helicopter parents and kids who come to college unable to do things like, say, prepare a resume and appropriately and professionally ask for internships. And that’s fair. 18-22 year old college kids should not need mom and dad to help them apply for internships. But they have to learn how to complete a resume and job application and interview etiquette somewhere. It doesn’t happen by magic. If you want the kids in your college classes to be able to appropriately and professionally discuss internship opportunities with you— without parents being involved— AND you don’t want to hear from high school kids, when and how do you expect them to learn these skills? Securing a research position and getting a summer job at Chic Fil A are not the same thing.

And lastly, at least some of these kids are genuinely interested in your research and want to learn more. If you are an educator, why would you discourage that?

PS— high school teachers do have a lot to offer. But very rarely are they completing innovative research in high school chem labs or working with students outside of remedial classes during the summer. That’s just not part of the job.

Suck it up. Create a form rejection letter, hit reply and paste and move on. You would be able to do this for every HS kid who applies over a several year period in the amount of time you will spend whining on this thread about OMG! Why won’t HS kids stop taking initiative? Especially since a professor who would write the OP is the type who is simultaneously complaining that this generation of kids won’t take initiative and can’t do anything without a parent holding their hand.

— signed, a parent in tech who is contacted by HS kids looking for summer internships. I’ve hired one who was already known to me through TJ (and they were better than most college interns). I’ve also never seen it as a bad thing or had an issue sending out polite, professional rejections.

Here, Here!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A common myth over on reddit is that teens need "research" experience to get admitted to highly selective colleges. I don't know where the myth started.

some selective colleges (eg Amherst) have questions on their application form about how much research you’ve done, and where. I think you’re supposed to get your research internship through bugging daddy rather than your professors though.

My uncle went to Amherst in the 70s and I’m pretty sure there was no such requirement at that time.

Why now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A common myth over on reddit is that teens need "research" experience to get admitted to highly selective colleges. I don't know where the myth started.

some selective colleges (eg Amherst) have questions on their application form about how much research you’ve done, and where. I think you’re supposed to get your research internship through bugging daddy rather than your professors though.

My uncle went to Amherst in the 70s and I’m pretty sure there was no such requirement at that time.

Why now?

there were no such requirements at the time I applied to colleges. But now they have these questions. I watched my kid sweat this one. Got waitlisted for Amherst, probably because they didn’t have this kind of background. Read the previous posts about the out of control college admissions industry, uh “system.”

[Anonymous]

100% blame the schools for creating the admissions craziness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the whole system needs an overhaul. High school kids interning for college professors for the summer? Seriously?

They have their whole lives to be engaged in serious academic and professional pursuits. Why can’t they just be kids?

Because college admissions in the US are f—ed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the MCPS magnet programs require the kids to do a research internship.

+ 1
The SMCS at Poolesvillle and SMACS at Blair. Students are told to send numerous requests to college professors and it is nerve-racking for the students too.

If they are asking students to do this blindly that is unethical and misguided. Someone should inform them to stop doing this.

The kids all seem to find someone to work with them. I can see how this would be annoying but from what I saw, I don’t think it ended up taking a lot of the professors time. My kid definitely got at least one nasty response though from a professor who told him he was worthless since he was still in HS. Maybe if you are that person just ignore random emails like the rest of us professionals.

Why would any professor risk “hiring” a minor unaffiliated with the school for something a freshman could do? Why does anyone think a professor could really use the help of a high school student?

College applications are ridiculous. The people most likely to benefit from this are, as always, people with connections. Because I can’t imagine a scenario in this day and age where a professor who didn’t know the kid at all would say this is a smart thing for them to do.

Professors do this all the time. No risk involved.

Do you people not have HR departments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A common myth over on reddit is that teens need "research" experience to get admitted to highly selective colleges. I don't know where the myth started.

some selective colleges (eg Amherst) have questions on their application form about how much research you’ve done, and where. I think you’re supposed to get your research internship through bugging daddy rather than your professors though.

My uncle went to Amherst in the 70s and I’m pretty sure there was no such requirement at that time.

Why now?

I applied to Duke, Wake and UNC for college in the mid 90s . UNC was my safety school, but it never occurred to anyone that I wouldn’t get into all three. What’s all the hoopla about these schools now?

Things change. In college admissions, they have changed a lot in the last 50 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I blame the parents. Let the kids be kids. Tell them they don’t need to do research in HS to be successful in life. Don’t encourage them to harass professors. Bring back sanity - please.

Admissions offices should make it clear and announce that they don't expect researches from highschoolers and ignore that for decisions.

Nope. Parents need to tell their kids that they don’t need to be applying to schools that want any type of research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know who encourages this

The college application process encourages this.

Exactly. I am pretty sure the students would rather spend the summer lifeguarding. I did. But they are being made to think if they don’t pursue this sort of “opportunity,” then they will never amount to anything.

Don’t hate the kids; hate the game the adults are forcing them to play.

Bingo. I can see how this would be a pain for professors. It's such an inappropriate expectation that the system has created.

[Anonymous]

Goat yoga Mom is right. A form email is polite and sets the precedent that research is for college kids with some relationship to the professor or college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I blame the parents. Let the kids be kids. Tell them they don’t need to do research in HS to be successful in life. Don’t encourage them to harass professors. Bring back sanity - please.

Admissions offices should make it clear and announce that they don't expect researches from highschoolers and ignore that for decisions.

Nope. Parents need to tell their kids that they don’t need to be applying to schools that want any type of research.

The problem is schools are not clear about things, so kids do whatever it takes and appply 20 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a professor and regularly get emails from high school students who ask for research internships. They haven't finished high school, much less basic undergraduate courses in my field. I don't know who encourages this, but obviously those kids didn't think up this idea independently.

"Dear Professor X:

I am very interested in your work after reading [one of my obscure papers from a web search]. I would like to help you with research because I want to have a career [making a lot of money by doing something I know nothing about]."

This is insulting to their high school teachers, who have a lot to teach them.

Blame the college admissions process fella! Talk to your peers/co-workers and have them change their stupid process. Colleges have questions along the lines of "Why XXX college?" and guess what, kids make up crap like "I love Crystal Meth Biology, love the work Professor Impatient is doing and would love to work in his lab. After lab, I want to grab late night pizza at Local Italianao's". Your idiot colleagues think the kid is genuine because he used a real prof's name and a real pizza place that is open late nights, and that the kid is really into your college. The kid does that for every college he applies to. Why are you now upset if the kid just follows the same playbook and contacts one of y'all in real life? You trained him after all..

Preach!

Professor, drop by your admissions office and show them that email and ask them who encourages this.

This! I hate every thread blaming students who are doing what any person in their position would do to be competitive. It's not their fault. Blame the system that set this up that YOU, OP, are much more a part of than any high school kid.

+1. First, my kid went to TJ, and plenty of kids there actually did secure substantive research internships at competitive colleges and places like NIH after junior year. That resulted in publication and even patents in the kids name, regeneron awards, etc. I mean, not my kid, who was very middle of the pack by TJ standards. But, several of his friends.

Second, knocking on your office door, handing you a resume and inviting themselves in crosses the line. I think we can all agree on that. But an email? Seriously? What’s the issue? Just draft and save a standard letter like:

Dear (insert name here)— thank you for your interest in interning in my lab. I’m always excited to see bright young students interested in the field of goat yoga (or whatever). Unfortunately, I cannot offer you a position because my policy is to only hire students who have taken my goat yoga, the deep dive class/ have completed at least four semesters at Goat U/ insert your hiring criteria here. However, I hope that if you attend Goat U and remain interested in Goat yoga, you will take my Goat studies class and apply for an internship at that point. Go Giats! Sincerely, me.

Insert kids name, cut and paste into your letter and you have dealt with the email in a polite and professional manner in 30 seconds. Done. If you really can’t manage that, you have bigger issues than HS student emails.

Plus, as the parent of two college kids (one of whom is in his third year of research with his advisor), I find the OP incredibly frustrating. College professors love to gripe about helicopter parents and kids who come to college unable to do things like, say, prepare a resume and appropriately and professionally ask for internships. And that’s fair. 18-22 year old college kids should not need mom and dad to help them apply for internships. But they have to learn how to complete a resume and job application and interview etiquette somewhere. It doesn’t happen by magic. If you want the kids in your college classes to be able to appropriately and professionally discuss internship opportunities with you— without parents being involved— AND you don’t want to hear from high school kids, when and how do you expect them to learn these skills? Securing a research position and getting a summer job at Chic Fil A are not the same thing.

And lastly, at least some of these kids are genuinely interested in your research and want to learn more. If you are an educator, why would you discourage that?

PS— high school teachers do have a lot to offer. But very rarely are they completing innovative research in high school chem labs or working with students outside of remedial classes during the summer. That’s just not part of the job.

Suck it up. Create a form rejection letter, hit reply and paste and move on. You would be able to do this for every HS kid who applies over a several year period in the amount of time you will spend whining on this thread about OMG! Why won’t HS kids stop taking initiative? Especially since a professor who would write the OP is the type who is simultaneously complaining that this generation of kids won’t take initiative and can’t do anything without a parent holding their hand.

— signed, a parent in tech who is contacted by HS kids looking for summer internships. I’ve hired one who was already known to me through TJ (and they were better than most college interns). I’ve also never seen it as a bad thing or had an issue sending out polite, professional rejections.

Do TJ and Blair not have some relationship with local colleges/professors that agree to sponsor HS kids for research?

If not…why? This just seems an instance where the institutions should get involved.

[Anonymous]

OP you are low key a jerk. Just ignore the emails or write a form rejection letter. What’s wrong with kids wanting to do research? Geez…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I blame the parents. Let the kids be kids. Tell them they don’t need to do research in HS to be successful in life. Don’t encourage them to harass professors. Bring back sanity - please.

Admissions offices should make it clear and announce that they don't expect researches from highschoolers and ignore that for decisions.

Nope. Parents need to tell their kids that they don’t need to be applying to schools that want any type of research.

The problem is schools are not clear about things, so kids do whatever it takes and appply 20 schools.

And this also needs to be stopped by parents. 20 schools? C’mon.