8filltheheart Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Are any of the professors at any of the schools courting him? Do any profs think he's super-special? After sending three kids off to college, I would say that having a kid be the apple of some professor's eye -- the one he thinks of for research opportunities, the one he wants to send to conferences, etc -- is worth MORE than a higher-ranked school..... I know that it's unusual to have a prof focus on a pre-frosh, but it does happen. If it happens to your son, I would pursue that school very seriously. Having a prof who is willing to really mentor a young person, rather than just having a friendly prof who's a decent advisor and a caring teacher, is worth A LOT! Just how much is being courted by a professor really worth? Ds's Modern professor is most definitely courting ds. He said that he would start up the dept's honors program just for him (they have never had an honors student before), he would immediately get him involved in his high energy physics research (this professor is part of research for CERN, Barbar, and Super B.) He also told ds that he would mentor him for a sr thesis so that he could have published research before graduation. He also told ds that he already spoke to the dean of the physics dept for ds to receive the physics scholarship even though students are supposed to be in their sophomore yr at the university in order to apply for it. This is definitely a lower level school, but this professor is courting hard!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I let DH read your post, and this is what he says: it is great if he can start research immediately without having false starts/unproductive attempts with other professors, but it won't make any difference for the level of coursework. Grad schools look at the GRE scores first and research second. Among schools of equal caliber, pick the one where prof is courting. If schools are not similar, pick the better school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Being courted (and mentored) by a professor can be worth a lot. Oldest dd was in an undergrad chemistry program and a prof took her under his wing. She was able to co-author and publish articles in journals as an undergrad and do presentations on those articles at conferences that were primarily for grad students. That experience was wonderful! When she was looking at grad schools, she applied and was accepted to two programs and was all set to accept an offer. Then she became engaged and wanted to go to grad school in Atlanta- and decided to apply to Georgia Tech in July before school started in August. Her prof and mentor made some calls and got her an interview and she was able to start a PhD program at Tech the next month, tuition fully funded and with a stipend for living expenses. Today that original professor and his wife are close friends of dd and her husband. It has just been such a wonderful thing for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 My dd was courted by a chem prof whose research interest was dd's area of interest. This prof -- 1) arranged for her to do research at a prestigious research institution in Europe after her freshman year. (!!!) 2) arranged for a super-prestigious internship at the Smithsonian after her sophomore year. (!!!) (Those are incredibly prestigious and usually only available to grad students -- dd never met another undergrad at any of the social events arranged for the interns.) 3) helped her shift from a B.A. to a B.S. at the start of her senior year 4) did an independent study class with her in her area of interest in order to help her get the internship 5) was her #1 encourager during the grad school process 6) has remained her mentor but is now a personal friend as well Dd went to a LAC with no engineering connections at all. From that small LAC where no one in recent memory has gone to grad school in engineering, dd managed to jump to the #2 program in the country in her field of engineering. The academics at the college are very strong, but the mentor/prof is 100% responsible for the absolutely amazing opportunities that dd had as an undergrad. She is now an NSF fellow, and NSF applicants receive their grant applications back with comments from the readers. The only comments written on her application involved her amazing undergraduate opportunities and experiences. Yes, her undergrad school is highly ranked. Yes, dd was a strong student there. But without the mentoring of that prof, there is no way she could have jumped from a top LAC to a top engineering program. So never EVER underestimate the power of one professor to help a kid along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Wow, Gwen, your dd did have some amazing opportunities. This professor told ds that he has had students complete internships at Jefferson Laboratories before. That is actually a kind of funny thing for us bc we used to live not too far from there and back before ds was obsessed with physics he walked through their particle accelerator. :) But, whether or not that is a "good" internship, I have no idea. That is a conversation for ds, not me. ;). (He is not here, but I know he will read this thread when he gets home.) Regentrude, thank your dh for his advice. Ds has already told this professor that he can't have a serious conversation about this until he knows all his options. Ds was extremely disappointed bc he was supposed to compete in a physics competition for a full tuition 4 yr scholarship and it was canceled due to the weather. We have no idea if and when they will reschedule. Annie, your dd's experience was awesome as well. A lot to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 8, I am so sorry about the competition. What a major disappointment for your son. I really hope it can get rescheduled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Ds was approached by the professor and told that if he made the decision to attend this school that he could spend 10 weeks this summer in Japan at BarBar as part of a paid internship with all expenses paid (travel expenses, housing, food). Jeepers. Why do decisions have to be so complicated? (ETA: yes, Regentrude, that is the competition that was rescheduled.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Apparently this BarBar offer to an 18 yr old is like sticking a 2 yr old in the middle of a stack of tempting toys and telling them not to touch any of them. He is very tempted by the idea. I think this is a bad choice long-term, even though a great opportunity in and of itself. Sigh........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Is there any way he could go to that school for a year, do the summer internship, and then transfer to the other school (UA?)? Or could you go to UA and tell them about the BarBar offer and see if they could offer an internship, or even just tell him about some of the cooler internships that other students have done, with the idea that he would get something equivalent? Whenever I have to choose between several things (houses, schools, whatever) I try to make a chart of the pros & cons for each, and that tends to make it more obvious that the option with a lot of pros and few cons is a better bet than the one with one or two really juicy pros and a lot more cons. Maybe when the initial excitement has abated a bit, he'll be more open to seeing things in a more practical, less emotional way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 21, 2014 Author Share Posted February 21, 2014 Jackie, I think your idea of contacting the school is a good one. We both really liked the dean. He spent a lot of time with ds and was very frank when ds asked him tough questions about school options. Ds could probably call him and talk to him about the opportunity and get feedback on this opportunity vs. what he will be able to do there. I am ready to quit this counselor job!! (Actually, I am informing dh and ds that I am officially resigning as of today!!!!) I am way out of my league. I don't know what I am talking about. I don't have a clue who or what Bar Bar is (which is a sad state of affairs for ds :( ) He really needs someone who actually has a clue to talk to. The professors here are definitely not objective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 One thing DD's mentor has put us into that is well worth considering. Apparently, many professional conferences have scholarships for "pre-baccalaureate" students in high school or below. This gives the young student a chance to be seen by faculty at a variety of schools, to talk to them, and to also figure out which people and institutions might be a good fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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