I went to a "Computer Science Colloquium" today, since it sounded interesting. A few of the faculty were presenting their research interests (as well as brief descriptions of projects they are currently involved in). The last of them, a young woman, included the names of anyone working on a project with her - with a distinction between faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. It was then that it struck me. The undergrads outnumbered the grad students at least 4:1. Some might argue that this could result in inferior research. But, wow! Where else is it this common for undergraduate students to be involved in serious research? WPI even makes it a graduation requirement - although, as with all such requirements, a dedicated student can get by without making a full effort.
It especially interests me since I'm looking at graduate schools now. Just think, when I enter graduate school, I will have already done some (near-)graduate-level research. Doing this project has definitely opened my eyes to the amount of opportunities out there. There are so many interesting fields to study!
Speaking of MQP, I have a meeting in 5 minutes... Time to get back to work :)
productive