Oct 13 (edited) • General discussion
Can’t Find a Research Mentor? How and Where to Really Find Your High School Research Mentor
One question many students asked me is:
🌐I learned a lot from your talks every meeting, and I thank you for helping us develop critical thinking skills and curiosity. My school offers a 3-year program where we have to choose a topic to research in and find a mentor, and I was originally going to try using Artificial Intelligence in behavioral economics, but it seems hard to find mentors in that field, so I wonder if I should stay or switch to a broader field?
🙍♂️My answer:
If you are genuinely interested in Artificial Intelligence in behavioral economics, I encourage you to stick with it. Finding a mentor can be challenging, but it shouldn’t deter you from pursuing your true interests.
Many researchers are actively working at the intersection of behavioral economics and AI. I recommend looking for them in your local region. Don’t target professors at highly-ranked universities (i.e. top 100), as most faculty at those institutions are not likely to respond.
The ranking of the institution does not matter for your learning as this stage and for your college application. I met several MIT undergraduate students who did research in high school find a mentor in local state universities.
Here are a few suggestions to help you in your search:
1. Identify PhD students or postdocs: They are more accessible and willing to engage with students. Even if a professor responds to you, they may still assign a PhD student or postdoc to work with you.
2. Research their work: Read their published or working papers and familiarize yourself with their current projects. This will help you understand their specific needs.
3. Explain your contribution: When reaching out, clearly articulate how you could potentially contribute to their ongoing projects.
Once you complete the 7-step workbook, your will complete a research proposal which will serve as an excellent resource to share with potential mentors. This will help you to identify the field potential mentors. Secondly, when send out cold email, this proposal will demonstrate that you've already put significant thought therefore increase the chances that you will get a response.
PS: some discussion on Reddit about the cold email as high schoolers:
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Can’t Find a Research Mentor? How and Where to Really Find Your High School Research Mentor
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