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How to Do College Research Right: Step-by-Step Guide

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College research can be an overwhelming task, and it's not easy to know where to begin. In this article, I'll help you sort through your options and find your dream college.

If you work through the following four steps, you'll be well on your way to compiling a list of schools that fulfill all your most important criteria:

• Identify your priorities
• Search with an online college finder
• Consider your chances of admission
• Finalize your list

In the next few sections, we'll cover how to research colleges in a straightforward and effective way.

Step 1: Identify Your Priorities and Preferences

The first step in tackling the college search process involves thinking about what you want out of your college experience. There are some essential qualities that differentiate colleges from one another that you should consider first, such as location, size, cost, and academic programs. You should also contemplate what you want out of the social scene and academic climate at your college. Then, you can search for schools that fit your needs across a variety of different dimensions.

Primary Factors

Here's a list of the first four factors you should consider when searching for colleges:

#1: Location

Do you want to be far away or close to home? Attending an in-state school can mean a lower tuition price, but it may stunt your college experience if you continue to rely on your family and old friends. You should also consider whether you're interested in a rural, urban, or small town college environment. The surrounding area can have a big impact on your happiness and comfort level.

Large and small colleges often have very different vibes. You're more likely to get personalized attention at small colleges , but they might have fewer resources and less diversity amongst students. You should research each college individually, but there are certain characteristics shared by most large or small colleges that might lead you to prefer one type over the other.

#3: Academics

You're going to college primarily to learn stuff, so academics should be up there on your priority list. Just how serious of an academic environment are you looking for? Do you want a school that focuses on undergraduate teaching or research? What types of programs interest you? If you have any ideas about your potential major, keep that in mind as you search for schools so you can apply to places that offer the best programs for you.

Selectivity and reputation also come into play here. Based on your test scores and GPA, you can predict your admissions chances at different schools (more about this later). It's advantageous for you to attend the most competitive school possible based on your stats. This will provide you with the greatest number of opportunities both in college and in your post-graduate endeavors.

Tuition prices are something you should think about in your college search, but don't let a high price prevent you from applying if you really love a school. Right now, you should just work on determining whether cost is an issue for you. If so, focus your search on schools that offer generous financial aid and merit scholarships . You can also investigate colleges with no application fees.

Secondary Factors

This list goes into some other factors to think about in your college search that are less fundamental but can still have a really strong influence on your experience.

#1: Social Scene

This is a vague term, but you should have some idea of what type of social environment you're looking for in college. Do you want to be at a party school? Or are you more of a library-all-day-every-day type? Are you at all interested in Greek life? Do you want to be able to go out to bars and clubs? Make sure the environment at the school you choose will be a fun place for you to spend four years.

#2: Housing

Is it important to you to have a really nice dorm? Do you want to be able to live off campus at some point? Schools may offer more or less variety in housing, so this is definitely worth considering. Universities located in rural areas may have fewer options for living off campus.

Are you looking for a school with lots of dining options? This is important to consider especially if you have special dietary preferences or requirements. Whatever accommodations you need, make sure the schools you choose have the ability to provide them.

#4: Extracurriculars

Think of any extracurricular activities you want to pursue in college. If these are priorities for you, you should ensure that any schools that you're considering have the appropriate resources. Extracurriculars are a huge part of the college experience for most students, and they provide a great social outlet outside of the party scene and classes.

#5: Athletics

If you're hoping to play a sport in college for fun, you should make sure that anywhere you apply will give you that opportunity. Are you planning to work out in college? If this is a priority for you, look for schools that have high-quality athletic facilities and give students full gym access. Many schools offer exercise classes for students at their gyms, which is a really nice perk.

As you consider these factors, you can continue to customize the priority order to fit your needs. Some of the factors I listed as "secondary" might actually be of primary concern to you. If you feel that something is a priority, don't discount it just because other things are "supposed" to be more important. You may even be totally indifferent to some of the factors I've listed (for example, "athletics" are a foreign concept to us hardcore nerds). That's fine too! You can choose to ignore these factors in the next step.

Now that you're armed with your preferences and priorities, it's time to start your college search for realz.

Step 2: Search for Schools Using an Online College Finder

After you've figured out your preferences, the easiest way to find schools that you like is to use an online college finder tool to search based on your criteria.

One option that you might consider initially is College Navigator . You can specify location, size, major program, public or private, tuition, test scores, and more in your search. This tool will give you all the statistics on different schools and help you locate options that seem like the right fit. As you investigate the results of your search, add schools to your "favorites" and compare them side by side to see how they differ. This might eliminate some options based on factors like cost and admissions rate.

Another site to investigate is Cappex . Cappex is a college matchmaking site where you can fill out a profile and get matched up with schools that align with your preferences. The site provides suggestions for schools that you might like after you complete your profile. It has a pretty complete overview of each school including student reviews and information about campus life that might not be included in the College Navigator statistics.

If you find schools that you like, you can add them to your running list and compare them against each other. Cappex also links directly to the application pages for schools on your list of favorites, so you can check out what materials you're expected to submit.

There are also a number of other sites you can use at this stage. The link at the beginning of this section will take you to my reviews of the ten best college search websites. Feel free to use whichever one seems most accessible to you!

Step 3: Consider Admissions Chances and Reputation

Once you've figured out what you want from a college and have gotten some solid suggestions from search sites, you should step back and take an objective look at your results. It's important to maintain realistic expectations in the college application process, so you should choose schools where you have reasonable chances of admission.

Though the sites I mentioned above may give you statistics for a school's average test scores and GPA, it's difficult to understand your chances of admission just by looking at statistics. I would recommend that you Google "(name of school) PrepScholar admissions requirements" to access our database pages about each school. Use the tools on these pages to enter in your GPA and SAT scores and calculate your chances of admission.

In general, if your chances are below 30 percent the school qualifies as a reach school . A school with an admissions rate that's below 15 percent is a reach school for all students regardless of scores and GPA. If all or most of the schools you're interested in are reach schools, it's time to adjust some of your criteria to allow for other options. Only a third of the colleges where you apply should be reaches.

This is also a good time to check ranking lists like US News and Forbes to see whether the colleges that interest you have decent reputations. However, be careful when considering these rankings! If two schools are within ten or so ranks of each other, there probably isn't much of a difference in quality between them.

Rankings are a tool to be used after you've already picked out schools based on other factors. If you're trying to decide between two schools and the lower ranked school is a much better fit for you, then you should still apply to that one. Rankings are more of a tie-breaker to be used when all other measurements are equal. Prestige can be important because it generally means a more intellectual student community and greater academic opportunities, but you should put your personal goals and priorities above the prestige of the school.

After consulting these resources, you'll end up with a better sense of the quality of your preliminary list of schools. This leads to the next step, making your final college list!

Step 4: Make a Final List

Now that you've gathered all of this information, it's time to tweak your list of schools so that it has a nice balance of different options. As I mentioned in the previous section, it's important to have reach schools, but they should only make up about a third of your list. Another third of the schools should be likely options, and the last third should be safety schools .

You can use the same process as above to look up potential likely and safety schools and check your admissions chances. Safety schools are schools where you have at least an 80 percent chance of admission. Likely schools are schools where you have a 30 to 80 percent chance of admission. These can be further divided into "possible" and "probable" options. Possible options will be in the 30-50 percent range, and probable options are between 50 and 80%.

Most students end up applying to around 5-8 colleges in total. Start out with three schools in the reach category, three in the likely category (two probable and one possible), and three in the safety category. Then, if you find that you're overwhelmed by the application fees or the supplementary essays, you can always cut out 2-3 schools. Be honest about whether you can realistically see yourself attending all of the schools on your list.

You should also do some research to check whether the schools on your list use the Common Application or if they require you to fill out separate applications. This can have a big impact on the time you spend on the process. You might decide to eliminate a school from your list if you're not super attached to it and it's the only option that requires an individual application.

Once you've balanced your list, begin brainstorming your application essays and deciding which accomplishments and activities you want to highlight for colleges. Read this article about how to create a versatile application for some more tips!

What's Next?

Now that you know how to do research colleges, you should also be able to put it into practice. Learn more about the application deadlines that will be most critical for you.

College ranking lists can be helpful tools if you use them in the right way. Find out about all the college ranking lists you should read and how much you should rely on them.

Looking to attend a top-notch liberal arts school? Here's a list of the 28 best liberal arts colleges in the country.

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Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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How Undergraduates Benefit From Doing Research

Undergraduate research isn't just for STEM subjects.

Benefits of Undergraduate Research

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Studies show students who participate in research earn better grades, are more likely to graduate and are better equipped for graduate school or careers.

Jessica Stewart understands from personal experience the value of doing research as a college undergraduate. In her junior year at the University of California, Berkeley , Stewart worked with art historian Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby on her book, "Colossal," researching the Suez Canal, Eiffel Tower and other massive art and engineering monuments.

She loved the research so much that she went on to get her Ph.D. in art history. Almost 20 years after working on "Colossal," Stewart now directs the program that gave her the opportunity: UC Berkeley’s Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program.

But the initial benefit of doing undergraduate research was even more practical. When she was deciding which projects to apply for as an undergraduate, she got to explore many academic disciplines. This process opened her eyes.

“From the moment I set foot on campus, URAP allowed me to see what kinds of ideas I could study,” Stewart says. “The research and credit are great, but there’s this wayfinding side, too, where students can learn who researchers are, what research looks like and fields they may not have had any exposure to.”

A long tradition at some universities, mentored research projects are now offered at undergraduate institutions around the U.S. While many programs started out focused on science, today most universities offer opportunities across disciplines, including all aspects of STEM as well as architecture, business and theater arts.

No matter the subject area, research participation is an asset for undergrads. Studies show students who participate earn better grades , are more likely to graduate and are better equipped for graduate school or careers.

“It’s often most transformative for nontraditional learners and underrepresented students,” Stewart says. “They learn to triangulate life experience and studies in ways that may not have been intuitive for them. It greatly improves academic performance, retention and persistence.”

Research Roots in STEM

Every year, 6,000 undergraduates participate in research experiences through the National Science Foundation, mostly during the summer. Projects span nearly 20 subject areas , such as astronomy and ocean sciences. Most take place in the U.S., but some research is done abroad, including a marine sciences project at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

Experiences like these increase students’ confidence in their research skills and boost awareness of what graduate school will be like, according to a 2018 study . They also help students identify whether they want to pursue a science career.

“It’s one of the best ways to recruit students into STEM careers and retain them,” says Corby Hovis, a program director at the NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education. “That’s why we do it. It’s an effective way to get students from classrooms into doing STEM.”

The NSF is especially interested in applications from students who might not have had past opportunities to do research, including those who are the first in their families to attend college, and Black and Latino students.

Research institutions apply for NSF grants to mentor undergraduate students and guide them through participation in an ongoing project. For students, the experience includes orientation and training, as well as a stipend and allowances for housing and travel. In most cases, students write a paper about their contribution to research and may even present at a conference or seminar.

Some opportunities require that students have specific math courses under their belts, but all focus on helping students build other skills, aside from lab or research techniques, that they’ll need for future academic work or careers.

“Communicating clearly the results of research is a skill that could carry over into any field,” Hovis says. “The teamwork and cohort experience not only encourages them to continue in science, but (is) translatable to any number of other activities they will do later on.”

Connecting With Faculty

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , research has been part of the undergraduate experience for more than 50 years. Some students choose the school specifically for this reason, and more than 90% of students participate. As at other schools, research is part of a bigger initiative around experiential learning, which also includes service learning and study abroad .

The biggest challenge for students is usually figuring out what kind of research they’re interested in.

“We depend on students to do some of that footwork,” says Michael Bergren, director of MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. “There are a lot of supports, but at the end of the day a student needs to understand what they’re interested in, who's doing the work they’re interested in and what the steps are to participating in that research.”

But there is hand-holding, if needed. Before applying to work on a project, students have to approach the lead faculty member and introduce themselves.

“This is really intimidating. We don’t take that for granted,” Bergren says. “Part of life skills development is approaching a lab or faculty member and advocating for themselves.”

Peers offer tips about how to navigate that face-to-face encounter, such as find out a faculty member's office hours, send an email with a resume attached and attend a departmental event.

The networking doesn’t stop there. Get to know which graduate students work on the project, talk to other students who might be exploring the same opportunities and make sure you know what the work involves.

“As the research progresses, deliverables amp up,” Bergren says. “You may find you need to put more time into this right when finals are happening.”

The Future of Undergraduate Research

Some undergraduate researchers might share their work at academic conferences or seminars, or even be published in journals. Some might participate in the Council on Undergraduate Research annual conference , the largest symposium of its kind. Every year, more than 4,000 students attend a graduate school and career fair and present work that spans the disciplines.

Students have come to expect that they’ll get a chance to do research as undergrads, says Lindsay Currie, the council's director.

“More recent generations grew up in a different climate. They learned by doing in classrooms,” Currie says. “That, combined with a workforce that expects people to have lived experience, means students want to be able to say that they’ve already done research as part of their coursework.”

What’s next, Currie says, is universities that integrate research into coursework so that students start a project their first year and continue through their time in college. Working with a network of universities, the Council on Undergraduate Research has completed a study of how schools can modify their curricula to incorporate research from the very beginning.

“Starting as freshmen, students would work on research that would build,” Currie says. “This would be significantly more advanced projects that would be consistent across the particular department. This is how they’re going to teach, because they know students benefit from doing.”

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Science, health, and public trust.

September 8, 2021

Explaining How Research Works

We’ve heard “follow the science” a lot during the pandemic. But it seems science has taken us on a long and winding road filled with twists and turns, even changing directions at times. That’s led some people to feel they can’t trust science. But when what we know changes, it often means science is working.

Explaining the scientific process may be one way that science communicators can help maintain public trust in science. Placing research in the bigger context of its field and where it fits into the scientific process can help people better understand and interpret new findings as they emerge. A single study usually uncovers only a piece of a larger puzzle.

Questions about how the world works are often investigated on many different levels. For example, scientists can look at the different atoms in a molecule, cells in a tissue, or how different tissues or systems affect each other. Researchers often must choose one or a finite number of ways to investigate a question. It can take many different studies using different approaches to start piecing the whole picture together.

Sometimes it might seem like research results contradict each other. But often, studies are just looking at different aspects of the same problem. Researchers can also investigate a question using different techniques or timeframes. That may lead them to arrive at different conclusions from the same data.

Using the data available at the time of their study, scientists develop different explanations, or models. New information may mean that a novel model needs to be developed to account for it. The models that prevail are those that can withstand the test of time and incorporate new information. Science is a constantly evolving and self-correcting process.

Scientists gain more confidence about a model through the scientific process. They replicate each other’s work. They present at conferences. And papers undergo peer review, in which experts in the field review the work before it can be published in scientific journals. This helps ensure that the study is up to current scientific standards and maintains a level of integrity. Peer reviewers may find problems with the experiments or think different experiments are needed to justify the conclusions. They might even offer new ways to interpret the data.

It’s important for science communicators to consider which stage a study is at in the scientific process when deciding whether to cover it. Some studies are posted on preprint servers for other scientists to start weighing in on and haven’t yet been fully vetted. Results that haven't yet been subjected to scientific scrutiny should be reported on with care and context to avoid confusion or frustration from readers.

We’ve developed a one-page guide, "How Research Works: Understanding the Process of Science" to help communicators put the process of science into perspective. We hope it can serve as a useful resource to help explain why science changes—and why it’s important to expect that change. Please take a look and share your thoughts with us by sending an email to  [email protected].

Below are some additional resources:

• Discoveries in Basic Science: A Perfectly Imperfect Process
• When Clinical Research Is in the News
• What is Basic Science and Why is it Important?
• ​ What is a Research Organism?
• What Are Clinical Trials and Studies?
• Basic Research – Digital Media Kit
• Decoding Science: How Does Science Know What It Knows? (NAS)
• Can Science Help People Make Decisions ? (NAS)

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A student’s guide to undergraduate research

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Originally written by Shiwei Wang for Nature journal in March 2019.

Participating in original research during your undergraduate studies can greatly expand your learning experience. However, finding the project can be a challenging task, so here’s a short but comprehensive guide that can help you get the most out of an undergraduate research opportunity.

Choose the right lab

Learn to think like a scientist. A lot of people start their undergraduate research by glancing at the faculty list and e-mailing multiple professors whose work seems interesting. Although this might get you a position somewhere, it is not the most effective approach. Before looking at labs, dive into the science to find out which areas fascinate you. Read a lot, go to talks, and talk to your professors not just about their classes, but about science in general as well.

Subscribe to e-mail newsletters from journals such as Nature and Science. Try to read research highlights and science news regularly. Podcasts and articles by, for example, Nature, Science, Scientific American or Quanta can also be interesting sources of information. Follow academics, journals and universities on Twitter. Start your undergraduate research by learning more about science, thinking like a scientist and working out what you love.

Look for questions, not subjects. You might have chosen a major to study, but don’t let this limit your search for research labs. Modern labs are interdisciplinary and very different from what you do in undergrad labs. Instead of limiting your search to your department, try to look at labs in all related departments. Choose labs on the basis of the questions they’re trying to answer.

Mentoring is as important as research. Contact group members to learn about your prospective laboratory’s environment. Are the group members close? Is the lab friendly or competitive and condescending? Is the lab head hands-off or hands-on? The size of the group is also important. If you join a small group, you’ll have a higher chance of being mentored directly by your principal investigator, whereas in a big group, you are more likely to be mentored by a postdoctoral researcher or graduate student.

Reach out with confidence. Once you’ve determined that the research programme interests you and the group dynamic is healthy, send the principal investigator an e-mail. Make sure to explain why you’re interested in working in the lab and that you have spoken to other lab members. Be patient if they don’t reply. If you don’t receive a response after a week or so, send a second e-mail or reach out in other ways, such as by asking group members to enquire for you.

Get the most out of the experience

Start your research with reading, and keep on reading. Usually, the principal investigator will assign you a mentor and a project. Ask for literature to read: learning about the state of the field and why the work is important will help you to push the project forward. Read about your field as well as other, totally unrelated fields. As an undergraduate, you have the freedom to change your major and your future plans. Make sure to strike a balance between reading and conducting experiments. It’s hard to do both at the same time, but it will make you a better scientist.

Set specific goals for yourself and let your mentors know. Think about what you want from your research and how much time you are willing to put in. Besides learning the techniques, do you want to learn how to analyse results and design experiments? Do you want to learn how to write proposals by applying for undergraduate research grants? Do you want to improve your presentation skills by going to conferences? Do you want to potentially finish a project for publication? Working out what you want to achieve will help you to direct your time effectively.

Research takes time. Don’t blame yourself if experiments don’t work or the project is not moving forward as fast as you expected. Science is about failing and trying again. Getting used to and coping with frustration is part of the learning curve of research.

Find a healthy balance. University is already a lot of work, and research will only take up more time. When planning your schedule, try to allocate large blocks of time (whole afternoons or individual days) to research. Rushing through a procedure could be unsafe and will often produce useless results. Always plan extra time for experiments. Consider working less in the lab during exam weeks so you don’t get overwhelmed. Talk to your mentor about your schedule and feelings regularly, so that you can arrange experiments at times that suit you, and you can keep on top of your mental health.

Find financial support. If you wish to do research at your own institution over the summer, your institution might offer funding to cover your expenses. If you want to go to another university, you can apply for funding from that institution’s undergraduate research programme, or from foundations, companies or academic societies. For example, the US National Science Foundation offers a Research Experiences for Undergraduates programme. Universities, foundations and academic societies might also offer grants to cover your travel expense to various conferences. Don’t let money limit what you want to do. Talk to senior students or professors, or search online to find all the opportunities!

Always think about the big picture. Your undergraduate research doesn’t define what you’re going to do after your degree. Keep reading and taking classes outside your comfort zone. Explore and learn as much as possible. Working out what you love is the best preparation you can get for the rest of your career.

Read the full article on the Nature website.

To find a research opportunity at Johns Hopkins University, visit the Hopkins Office of Undergraduate Research website .

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• College-Bound Colorado

What does undergraduate research really look like?

When people say, “research”, what do they mean? A quick search on the internet, usually. But in college, research takes on a whole new meaning.

Jason Keller February 22, 2019

When people say “research,” what do they mean? A quick search on the internet, usually. But in college, research takes on a whole new meaning. At its core, research is looking for the answer to a question that someone else hasn't already answered, building on the body of human knowledge. It's a key part of graduate programs and many career fields — so it's especially valuable to start getting research experience as an undergraduate.

Undergraduate research experience can look like a number of things, according to Janice Dickensheets, faculty fellow in the Office of Undergraduate Research at UNC. It can range from formal, clinical studies, to helping run a publication (like UNC's PUGS or UAP ), to creative works and beyond.

Research seeks to answer questions you can’t look up on your own or to develop things not yet created.

Research should present falsifiable claims and findings that haven't been uncovered yet. A falsifiable claim is a claim that can be disproven by countering studies or statements. As the blog Explorable puts it:

Falsifiability is the assertion that for any hypothesis to have credence, it must be inherently disprovable before it can become accepted as a scientific hypothesis or theory.

Basically, the more a piece of research can stand up to scholarly critiques, the more compelling the research. It should have some mechanism which might allow others to disprove it. This is an important part of the scientific method. Creative work, naturally, is an original piece, and might not be falsifiable.

Every research topic looks different.

The research approach for undergraduates differs depending on the field and focus of research, Dickensheets says. Some common types include working with faculty on their research, enrolling in a research program and conducting your own studies, or even creative endeavors. The actual nature of your research could carry you to the lab to conduct experiments and dissections or across the world to study poaching of endangered animals.

A lot of the time, it’s interdisciplinary.

Undergraduate research can cross disciplines. A student studying cello techniques of the 19th and 20th century might also need to conduct statistical analyses to understand which notes appear most often. Or a doctor trying to figure out if a medicine works could not only take detailed blood samples, but also ask the subjects how the medicine made them feel and then write up a paper on it.

Research can be artistic.

In some institutions, research might look like a manuscript, a book of poems or a sculpture. More traditional types of research include qualitative research (finding answers about the quality of something, such as by interviewing someone about their experience being raised by their grandparents) and quantitative research (using numbers to find answers, such as by conducting a survey where people answer questions about being raised by their grandparents "on a scale of 1-7").

It’s possible to get grants or even get paid.

Some research institutions, such as UNC, provide funds to help facilitate research, fund studies and present at conferences. In some institutions, it might even be possible for undergraduate researchers to take a paid research position in lieu of a job, earning them research experience and also payment. UNC offers stipends and grants to its undergraduate researchers.

Research can be a great way to improve critical thinking…

According to both Dickensheets and a paper written at Samford University by John K. Petrella and Alan P. Jung, undergraduate research can help students understand how the scientific method works or aid them in their ability to answer difficult or abstract questions.

“I think the biggest benefit to undergraduate research is the ability to be a critical thinker. It is one of the places where a student can’t just get away with memorizing and regurgitating answers. They have to think about the question at hand. Figure out what research the world has already done, and posit a solution, interpretation or summarization (generally) of that research, often providing answers or other questions that can become the impetus for additional research.” – Janice Dickensheets

Meet mentors…

Undergraduate research likely will require you to have a faculty member standing by to help you conduct and refine your research or answer any questions you might have. Often times the student will be asked to go and find their own faculty mentor, so it’s important to find one that aligns with your research interests. 

…or position yourself well for graduate school.

“You go to graduate school to do research, so they want to know that you can do research and that you’ll be good at it,” says Matthew Paoletti, then a graduate student studying for his doctorate in physics, in a 2007 Sciencemag.org article . According to the article, 74 percent of graduate students in chemistry had some research experience prior to grad school. A good GPA isn’t nearly as impressive to admissions counselors as a published paper is, according to the University of Illinois press . 

Interested in researching at the undergraduate level? Come visit UNC, and visit the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Honors Program .

• Jason Keller
• College Prep
• Graduate School

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