Hello future CARI student!
Although all of this seems very far away, you should know that it is never too early to start thinking about and brainstorming for your topic. A few pieces of advice:
- Pick a topic, if possible, that you’ve been interested in for a while. If you genuinely enjoy reading about your field, that’s a good sign!
- Connect with and talk to any and all people around you, students, faculty, and non-academics, who are interested in the same topics.
- Do plenty of early-stage brainstorming as you begin to warm up to your topic. Let yourself free associate, ponder, and generally spend time just soaking up the information.
- When you start to work on the methodology sections of your paper, genuinely try to make sure that you understand the concepts. This will save you lots and lots of trouble in the long term.
- Feel free to ask any and all CARI faculty for their input. They’re very approachable and glad to help.
While I know this will sound redundant, it is best to start this work as early as possible. A thesis cannot be written in a week, and at the end of this program you will want something that you feel proud of. It is a long process, but one that is genuinely informative and very important to your academic development. Don’t underestimate the value of this education – most undergraduates don’t even have the option of researching and writing at this level. You will stand out from your peers regardless of what your post-CARI plans are, and you will not regret this investment in your future.
Leave a Reply