Research experience for grad school

August 29, 2012 4:25 PM

As an undergrad looking to apply to grad school, I have been looking into getting some research experience in my field (Psychology) for all the obvious reasons. I possibly have a lead and now a question.

Sent an email to a major university, where a major researcher in my field resides, inquiring about an internship/volunteer position that . Fortunately, I recieved a reply that included "send me a copy of your unofficial transcripts, your CV and a brief statement (a paragraph or two) on why you are interested in our lab in particular."

So what should I include in my CV? Also, I've had a couple of false starts over the years, should I include all my transcripts?

Other possibly pertinent info - I do not attend this school, but rather another college through a satellite school. Please feel free to ask if any other info might be needed.

posted by Rocket Surgeon to Education (3 answers total)

A CV is a longer, more detailed version of a resume. Do a search on the internet and you can look at some good examples. If they requested the transcripts, you should include them. They may not pay that close attention to your, "false starts," or there will be an opportunity to explain them if it comes up later. If it does come up, honesty is the best policy. Show that you know why that happened, what was going on with you at that time, and reiterate how motivated you currently are to be working on this research project.
posted by nurgle at 4:45 PM on August 29, 2012

Yeah, don't leave anything off. I'd not care (or notice) what a student was doing before they got their current UG degree, but it'd be the end of any interaction if I found out they'd lied on their CV.

Honestly, my thought process would be 1) are they a high performer and from where (i.e. look at transcript)? 2) Is there anything in their CV I need to know to interpret their transcript and letter correctly (i.e. English as 2nd language, mature student with unconventional educational background)? 3) Why do they want to do this, and do they sound interesting as well as interested (i.e. read the two paragraphs).

In short: don't lie by omission on your CV, and the two paragraphs are what will get you the position as long as your grades are good enough.
posted by cromagnon at 5:10 PM on August 29, 2012

Response by poster: Yeah, I was not looking to "lie by omission" but rather wondering how extensive I needed to be for a position in which I will be doing the grunt work voluntarily. But thank you for the answers, I will start to putting together what I need.
posted by Rocket Surgeon at 11:07 AM on August 30, 2012