Usually research has been associated with graduate level or professional level endeavors. However, in the ever increasing competitive sphere of undergraduate admissions, research experience has almost become a vital part of ones application. Although the benefits of research at a high school may not all be altruistic there are some definite advantages:

> Doing research will expose you to a completely different environment and working style; you will meet many different people and learn to experience both the success and failure of experimentation

> Your knowledge base will improve tremendously and may help in you understanding many science principles

> Research not only allows you to explore the subject which you are studying but in addition it also allows you to explore yourself, both your limitations and talents as a researcher

However, the most immediate incentive that you will most likely be interested in is bettering your chances of getting into a top ranked university.

In relation to the college admissions, research is of two kinds:

1) Observing the scientific techniques and understanding the principles behind them. Working with other researchers to grasp the essence of the data that is collected

2) Actively working on an experiment independently in a lab. Collecting and analyzing the data on your own. May include writing a research paper on one's experiment and submitting it to various science competitions.

Both of these kinds of research are valuable and often times, both go hand in hand in a research experience. You need to first consider the time you are willing to spend on your research.

The time you are willing to put in is critical. If you are planning doing active research most labs require you to spend many weeks (6+) putting in a lot of hours per day.

However it is a great idea to first get exposed to a research environment. You might consider just joining a lab and getting exposed to a research environment for a short period of time. Consider devoting either your winter or spring vacation with a lab and exposing yourself to what university level research is all about.

What do I get from doing research?

Some of the benefits are listed above but if you are interested in competitive research to help boost your college admission chances than you need to work extremely hard and utilize all the time you get while working at the lab to thoroughly understand your topic.

There are myriads of science competitions for high school students and doing a high quality research project will give you a great chance at winning these competitions. Explain to your professor early on that you are interested in applying to these compactions and most of the time they will be more than happy to help you on your way.

Research is one of those areas in which growth is limitless. You can go as far as you want. Doing research is a privilege not a right; make use of every chance you get and watch as the rewards for your hard work fructify before you.