Long-time mentors say that carefully choosing the right high school student and providing enough support can make the difference between a successful experience and all-around disappointment. “These kids are our future scientists. Giving them an opportunity to do this can be really fun. But you have to take the time to make it work,” says Carol Bult, who has hosted high school students in her Jackson Lab research group for a decade. “You don't want to take on a high school student and just throw him in a corner and hope that he will do well.”

Pick your student carefully. Do a thorough interview—preferably in person—to make sure the student understands the time commitment and is genuinely interested in your research.

Assign a good mentor. The mentor can be a postdoc, a graduate student, even an experienced undergrad. He or she should like working with people and not mind questions. Mentoring will be a good learning experience for the mentor too.

Choose a project that needs to get done. Avoid “make work” assignments. “I don't like to have a student assigned to a project where they are just turning a crank and pretty well know what's going to happen,” says David Harrison, who has hosted students for 36 of his 37 years on the scientific staff at The Jackson Lab. “I like to have my students do stuff where I don't know what is going to happen any more than they do.”

Match the project to the timeline. Take into account that the first few weeks will be spent bringing the student up to speed on the lab's work and techniques. Summer students will probably be able to get more done every day than those in the lab during the school year, who likely have other obligations.

Don't give a stalled project to a student. Avoid projects that are prone to difficulties, such as molecular-based projects, or that are already having problems.

It's not just about the science. The students also need to learn how to properly communicate their science by writing up their results and making presentations, so emphasize those skills.

It's okay to not take a student every year. “This year, we have been under a lot of pressure in the lab, so we couldn't have any students,” says Hunter College biology professor Marie Filbin. Her advice: “Don't always say yes, but don't always say no.”

Read up! For advice and support on mentoring, see the research society Sigma Xi's list of resources for mentors, some specifically aimed at hosting high school students: www.sigmaxi.org/programs/education/men.high.train.shtml