Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 17:11     Subject: Re:Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, I also have questions about the structure? Is it fully legit/supported by the university?

If your kid is a rock star, sure, it will look good on their application to that school and they might get a nice letter of recommendation. But don't overthink which school will help you get into which college.


OP: I am skeptical abt the whole setup tbh. Not sure if dc will go through with it. It is sounding more like the PhD student will help dc with an independent study project of her choosing, not that dc will help with ongoing and existing research.


As someone who did lab research, that isn't inherently sketchy.

How did your kid get this opportunity, is it with an established lab or program, and a local school? What kind of subject matter is this?
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 17:06     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Academic here. This sounds fine, OP. I hope the Ph.D. student turns out to be a good mentor and that your DC learns something from the experience.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 16:52     Subject: Re:Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, I also have questions about the structure? Is it fully legit/supported by the university?

If your kid is a rock star, sure, it will look good on their application to that school and they might get a nice letter of recommendation. But don't overthink which school will help you get into which college.


OP: I am skeptical abt the whole setup tbh. Not sure if dc will go through with it. It is sounding more like the PhD student will help dc with an independent study project of her choosing, not that dc will help with ongoing and existing research.


This sounds a bit fishy to me. I work at a high school where kids sometimes to "research" like this with faculty at different colleges. I've always assumed the parents were paying the professors/instructors to "mentor" their children.

Colleges and universities have their own students to educate and provide opportunities working in labs. And unlike the overwhelming majority of HS students, the students in their degree programs with have some background experience and knowledge of the field beyond AP coursework.


You assumed wrong.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 16:31     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
What field? What kind of "research"?

An independent study project is better than doing literature reviews for a PHD student who should be doing their own anyway.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 16:31     Subject: Re:Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yes, I also have questions about the structure? Is it fully legit/supported by the university?

If your kid is a rock star, sure, it will look good on their application to that school and they might get a nice letter of recommendation. But don't overthink which school will help you get into which college.


OP: I am skeptical abt the whole setup tbh. Not sure if dc will go through with it. It is sounding more like the PhD student will help dc with an independent study project of her choosing, not that dc will help with ongoing and existing research.


This sounds a bit fishy to me. I work at a high school where kids sometimes to "research" like this with faculty at different colleges. I've always assumed the parents were paying the professors/instructors to "mentor" their children.

Colleges and universities have their own students to educate and provide opportunities working in labs. And unlike the overwhelming majority of HS students, the students in their degree programs with have some background experience and knowledge of the field beyond AP coursework.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 16:17     Subject: Re:Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:Yes, I also have questions about the structure? Is it fully legit/supported by the university?

If your kid is a rock star, sure, it will look good on their application to that school and they might get a nice letter of recommendation. But don't overthink which school will help you get into which college.


OP: I am skeptical abt the whole setup tbh. Not sure if dc will go through with it. It is sounding more like the PhD student will help dc with an independent study project of her choosing, not that dc will help with ongoing and existing research.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:22     Subject: Re:Research for Ph. D. student?
Yes, I also have questions about the structure? Is it fully legit/supported by the university?

If your kid is a rock star, sure, it will look good on their application to that school and they might get a nice letter of recommendation. But don't overthink which school will help you get into which college.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:17     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Formally, unless the student has their own funding (which is extremely rare) the position should be set up as working for the professor. The PhD student will directly supervise the work, however, and the student may only talk to the professor a couple of times.

I'm not clear if your DD is in HS or an undergrad, but I supervised several undergrads when I was a PhD student.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:11     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:I am skeptical a school will be impressed with such research at all, but they'll definitely be less impressed with a PhD student than a professor.

(PhD student should be doing their own research btw.)


No, it's very common for an undergrad to collect data on something smaller for a PhD student. Professors aren't really doing their own projects as commonly as they are supervising everything going on in the lab. The PhD will direct the undergrad in the data they need, teach them and discuss the data. That's how you get started.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:09     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Where she does it doesn't matter as much as what she does and what she can demonstrate.

No, it won't hurt her at other colleges to have done work at another school, doing research is generally a plus.

Yes, it could help at that school but again depends on what she does and what she can demonstrate. It would be good for a "why us" essay. I don't think it would help enough to overcome something like bad grades or test scores but it could be an edge when weighing two candidates.

But again, what you do and how much you can present it is what matters here.


Thanks, does it matter if dc works with PhD vs professor?

Just trying to decide if this is worth pursuing.



Is working with a professor an option? That would be better than with a student, but if that's not a possibility, that doesn't make working with a student not worth it.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:09     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Where she does it doesn't matter as much as what she does and what she can demonstrate.

No, it won't hurt her at other colleges to have done work at another school, doing research is generally a plus.

Yes, it could help at that school but again depends on what she does and what she can demonstrate. It would be good for a "why us" essay. I don't think it would help enough to overcome something like bad grades or test scores but it could be an edge when weighing two candidates.

But again, what you do and how much you can present it is what matters here.


Thanks, does it matter if dc works with PhD vs professor?

Just trying to decide if this is worth pursuing.



Can you be clear about the context? Most young students, even undergrads, are going to be supervised by a PhD student more directly but then be working in a professor's lab.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:08     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
I am skeptical a school will be impressed with such research at all, but they'll definitely be less impressed with a PhD student than a professor.

(PhD student should be doing their own research btw.)
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 15:07     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Anonymous wrote:Where she does it doesn't matter as much as what she does and what she can demonstrate.

No, it won't hurt her at other colleges to have done work at another school, doing research is generally a plus.

Yes, it could help at that school but again depends on what she does and what she can demonstrate. It would be good for a "why us" essay. I don't think it would help enough to overcome something like bad grades or test scores but it could be an edge when weighing two candidates.

But again, what you do and how much you can present it is what matters here.


Thanks, does it matter if dc works with PhD vs professor?

Just trying to decide if this is worth pursuing.

Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 14:21     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
Where she does it doesn't matter as much as what she does and what she can demonstrate.

No, it won't hurt her at other colleges to have done work at another school, doing research is generally a plus.

Yes, it could help at that school but again depends on what she does and what she can demonstrate. It would be good for a "why us" essay. I don't think it would help enough to overcome something like bad grades or test scores but it could be an edge when weighing two candidates.

But again, what you do and how much you can present it is what matters here.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2025 14:16     Subject: Research for Ph. D. student?
DC was is planning on doing summer research for a PhD student. Does the school PhD is located have any bearing on DC’s application? Could it hurt her at other schools? Also, could it help her at the PhD school?