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I am writing the bachelor dissertation. I have two options.

The first option is to choose the topic that a professor suggested me to do which is somewhat novel. The professor likes it, but I do not like it. It does not align with my future (research) plan as well.

The second option is to write about something I like but not in the interest of the professor. The topic is not novel at all but quite heavy, and it will require a lot of reading (journal papers & books), simulations, so it is not easier than the first one. The professor can still supervise me.

Which one do you think is better for me? (for graduate school application)

Neuchâtel
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2 Answers2

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One of the strengths of faculty is usually their ability to devise feasible research plans. I would go with option 1, as it is much less risky and will be more likely that your efforts will provide you with something positive to talk about after you graduate. If you go on in a research career, the bachelor thesis will be the worst piece of research you ever complete- but the goal is completion! Trying to make it into a magnum opus is not a strategy for success.

Dawn
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  • You are right. I want to take into account the risk of going nowhere as well. – Neuchâtel Oct 11 '22 at 18:25
  • Agree. A first research project normally needs quite a lot of guidance. It is too easy to go off the rails or wind up with something trivial. – Buffy Oct 11 '22 at 18:48
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This isn't exactly an answer, and user Dawn gives the correct advice, IMO. Rather it is an anecdote from when I was your age, deep in the previous century.

I did something like your second option. I studied math and wrote something like a thesis (honors thesis) in the philosophy of math. Lots of reading, thought, writing, but no real guidance. It was pretty muddled at the end, though I guess the grade was good. Not something to look back on with a lot of pride years later though.

But, this being the US, where few undergraduates do much actual research due to inexperience and severe time constraints, I came out ok and was invited to grad school, though not on the basis of that paper (never published, thankfully). You don't say where you are applying for grad school, but in the US, the admissions committee looks at a lot of things and all positive indicators are, well, positive.

See the canonical question for information about how doctoral admissions works various places around the world: How does the admissions process work for Ph.D. programs in Country X?

Buffy
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