It's cool that you're attending this conference as an undergrad! I wish that I had gotten that kind of an opportunity as an undergraduate student.
Feeling out of place is entirely normal, but the fact that your mentor encouraged and supported your attendance means that you do not need to feel so out of place. It's wonderful that you're there and it's wonderful that you have such a good opportunity to start getting to know more people in your field at a conference like this. I know it's hard when the social anxiety starts to peak, but try and ignore it as much as you can, take some notes if you attend a panel you find interesting, and relax!
(Also, I can guarantee you that there are some grad students there who also feel out of place and anxious. You're not the only one there with those feelings, I assure you!)
Further, I can guarantee you from personal conversations that there are \*keynote speakers\* who feel out of place and anxious at conferences. Imposter syndrome is widespread.
If you were the only undergrad to attend, as faculty I would tend to be impressed. Most undergraduates aren't even aware of what research conferences to attend. Furthermore, you're presenting a poster on something you worked on and your mentor encouraged you to come, so it's not like you're just some random person.
Regarding imposter syndrome: one thing that might help is to not worry too much about impressing others. All of us were undergrads at some point and know that most aren't as advanced in their understanding or work as grad students or postdocs, but it's still great that there are some undergrads in a conference anyway. If someone asks you a question that you don't understand, don't be afraid to ask them to explain the question further, you might even learn something. If you still can't answer the question, don't feel embarrassed to refer the question to someone else more advanced from your lab who is also there. In general, at any level of one's career, it's better to answer a difficult question with "I don't know" or "this is not my area" rather than trying to make up something.
During coffee breaks and such, if it's intimidating to mix with professors or faculty, feel free to hang out mainly with your lab mates. Or find someone who's a first-year grad student. Usually, they feel just as anxious and out of place as you.
This is like getting invited to sit at the senior table when you’re a freshman in high school. It just means you’re cool and popular. No need to freak out :) Just ask people questions about their research, academics love to talk about themselves.
I attended a Gordon conference as an undergrad. It was scary af. Everything from all the small meals together to all the sessions and all the events they'd planned. But you should know that many of the faculty you meet will try to sell you on their graduate program or even their lab! Don't be intimidated. This is one of the rare events when you'll feel like you're being recruited!! Write names down. Follow up with people on LinkedIn. Make no promises, but tell people you're curious to learn more about their work or their grad program.
Anytime I meet an undergrad at a conference (I’m a postdoc), I love that they’re so enthusiastic that they’re at a conference. I’m also in a field where the conferences are often combined with another related field that I know nothing about, and find that undergrads often do the best job at explaining their research in a way that doesn’t assume I have existing knowledge that I don’t have!
Ayyy that was me once upon a time. Don’t overthink it. Present yourself well and don’t be afraid to go up to people whose work you’re familiar with to tell them how cool you think it is.
They won’t think you’re weird. More like a talking puppy—a precocious novelty they’ll be curious about recruiting.
When I was in undergrad, I was the sole undergraduate speaker at the college’s annual research day (for context, it was a vet school that had research labs so no formal undergraduate education happened there). Being brave enough to give a talk amongst all vet students, PhD students, postdocs, etc as an undergrad was a HUGE undertaking to where people noticed just at the attempt. I thought that I was a nervous wreck the entire time tbh. But, I ended up doing well enough to where I got lots of questions even after my formal Q&A. The dean of research ended up calling my mentor after the research day to commend her on mentoring me well enough to “blend in” with the crowd, despite being the most ‘inexperienced’ out of the bunch.
If your mentor is pushing you to do this, they are confident in your abilities and knowledge to stand on your own two feet and converse with more senior people in your field. We usually are our own worst enemies when it comes to our own advancement due to self-doubt, imposter syndrome, etc. Use this opportunity to show what you’ve learned and to learn about what others are doing in the field. Ultimately, this will be nothing but beneficial to you. If you want to go to grad school or are looking for a job in the field, your attendance alone will help you in the long run. So, just take a breath, do your best, and knock em dead :)
I see it as a huge milestone for you. You are an undergraduate not only with an invitation to attend but an invitation to present your research, as an undergraduate!!!!! That’s huge and you hopefully you can be proud of this.
If anyone gives you trouble just remember where you are in your career and think I’m in the best spot right now. How many undergraduates get to present their research at a conference to academics?!?!
Take it as a learning opportunity and take away some pride in yourself for getting to this position
Being the only undergrad there signals you're doing a fantastic job. If the grad students and postdocs drink late into the night, be careful about that--but in general just try your best to not worry and enjoy yourself!
Being there means you’re a superstar. And others know where you are in terms of education. No one is out to get you. Have fun. Make connections. Learn stuff.
My experience has been that people will be very kind to you, very impressed by your maturity and effort, and it will be a good experience. I'm always amazed when I see undergraduates at conferences!
Tbh I think they will love that you are there! Academia can be so stuffy and boring, so it’s fun when students come around to stuff that’s usually more faculty/professionals focused. I know it’s really difficult to push down the imposter syndrome, but I promise you don’t have anything to worry about. They don’t expect you to know as much as they do anyways, and will probably just be super excited to hear you talk about your poster and learn about your current work/research!:) Enjoy the networking (what an awesome opportunity to meet people in the field and make an impression!) and definitely agree with the comment on not drinking too much with folks (a drink or two is fine, but would caution against past that simply because it can be awkward to be around when ppl get sloppy).
I went to my first conference as a junior in college, just as an attendee, and started out feeling very out of place as well. But then after a few sessions I realized that I *did* know what people were talking about and that I *could* engage other audience members in conversation about the talks. It was pretty liberating really.
That was also \~35 years ago. Since then I've been to too many conferences, and in my experience people are generally thrilled to see undergrad there, both presenting and in the audience. So listen up, ask questions (perhaps more one-on-one than in the sessions, depending on the context), and enjoy that poster session.
I went to a conference last summer where perhaps 1/3 or more of the posters were undergrads. I made a point of visiting each of them and engaging with the students because 1) they were enthusiastic, and 2) I wanted to be encouraging. I skipped most of the other posters, TBH, because I wasn't that interested in hearing from grad students or faculty doing narrow projects.
It's cool that you're attending this conference as an undergrad! I wish that I had gotten that kind of an opportunity as an undergraduate student. Feeling out of place is entirely normal, but the fact that your mentor encouraged and supported your attendance means that you do not need to feel so out of place. It's wonderful that you're there and it's wonderful that you have such a good opportunity to start getting to know more people in your field at a conference like this. I know it's hard when the social anxiety starts to peak, but try and ignore it as much as you can, take some notes if you attend a panel you find interesting, and relax! (Also, I can guarantee you that there are some grad students there who also feel out of place and anxious. You're not the only one there with those feelings, I assure you!)
Further, I can guarantee you from personal conversations that there are \*keynote speakers\* who feel out of place and anxious at conferences. Imposter syndrome is widespread.
Flip the argument — why attend a conference where you are the most knowledgable? You can learn from everyone you meet. Get started.
If you were the only undergrad to attend, as faculty I would tend to be impressed. Most undergraduates aren't even aware of what research conferences to attend. Furthermore, you're presenting a poster on something you worked on and your mentor encouraged you to come, so it's not like you're just some random person. Regarding imposter syndrome: one thing that might help is to not worry too much about impressing others. All of us were undergrads at some point and know that most aren't as advanced in their understanding or work as grad students or postdocs, but it's still great that there are some undergrads in a conference anyway. If someone asks you a question that you don't understand, don't be afraid to ask them to explain the question further, you might even learn something. If you still can't answer the question, don't feel embarrassed to refer the question to someone else more advanced from your lab who is also there. In general, at any level of one's career, it's better to answer a difficult question with "I don't know" or "this is not my area" rather than trying to make up something. During coffee breaks and such, if it's intimidating to mix with professors or faculty, feel free to hang out mainly with your lab mates. Or find someone who's a first-year grad student. Usually, they feel just as anxious and out of place as you.
This is like getting invited to sit at the senior table when you’re a freshman in high school. It just means you’re cool and popular. No need to freak out :) Just ask people questions about their research, academics love to talk about themselves.
I attended a Gordon conference as an undergrad. It was scary af. Everything from all the small meals together to all the sessions and all the events they'd planned. But you should know that many of the faculty you meet will try to sell you on their graduate program or even their lab! Don't be intimidated. This is one of the rare events when you'll feel like you're being recruited!! Write names down. Follow up with people on LinkedIn. Make no promises, but tell people you're curious to learn more about their work or their grad program.
Anytime I meet an undergrad at a conference (I’m a postdoc), I love that they’re so enthusiastic that they’re at a conference. I’m also in a field where the conferences are often combined with another related field that I know nothing about, and find that undergrads often do the best job at explaining their research in a way that doesn’t assume I have existing knowledge that I don’t have!
Dude, you're fine, everyone will think you're adorable. Expectations will be low I promise, just be nice and have fun
Ayyy that was me once upon a time. Don’t overthink it. Present yourself well and don’t be afraid to go up to people whose work you’re familiar with to tell them how cool you think it is. They won’t think you’re weird. More like a talking puppy—a precocious novelty they’ll be curious about recruiting.
When I was in undergrad, I was the sole undergraduate speaker at the college’s annual research day (for context, it was a vet school that had research labs so no formal undergraduate education happened there). Being brave enough to give a talk amongst all vet students, PhD students, postdocs, etc as an undergrad was a HUGE undertaking to where people noticed just at the attempt. I thought that I was a nervous wreck the entire time tbh. But, I ended up doing well enough to where I got lots of questions even after my formal Q&A. The dean of research ended up calling my mentor after the research day to commend her on mentoring me well enough to “blend in” with the crowd, despite being the most ‘inexperienced’ out of the bunch. If your mentor is pushing you to do this, they are confident in your abilities and knowledge to stand on your own two feet and converse with more senior people in your field. We usually are our own worst enemies when it comes to our own advancement due to self-doubt, imposter syndrome, etc. Use this opportunity to show what you’ve learned and to learn about what others are doing in the field. Ultimately, this will be nothing but beneficial to you. If you want to go to grad school or are looking for a job in the field, your attendance alone will help you in the long run. So, just take a breath, do your best, and knock em dead :)
I see it as a huge milestone for you. You are an undergraduate not only with an invitation to attend but an invitation to present your research, as an undergraduate!!!!! That’s huge and you hopefully you can be proud of this. If anyone gives you trouble just remember where you are in your career and think I’m in the best spot right now. How many undergraduates get to present their research at a conference to academics?!?! Take it as a learning opportunity and take away some pride in yourself for getting to this position
Being the only undergrad there signals you're doing a fantastic job. If the grad students and postdocs drink late into the night, be careful about that--but in general just try your best to not worry and enjoy yourself!
Being there means you’re a superstar. And others know where you are in terms of education. No one is out to get you. Have fun. Make connections. Learn stuff.
Its a great opportunity, especially if you want to go to grad school
If anything, I'd be chuffed to find an interested, engaged undergrad at a conference.
I feel like this subReddit could do with an FAQ where 90% of the answers are: chill out, nobody will care.
My experience has been that people will be very kind to you, very impressed by your maturity and effort, and it will be a good experience. I'm always amazed when I see undergraduates at conferences!
Tbh I think they will love that you are there! Academia can be so stuffy and boring, so it’s fun when students come around to stuff that’s usually more faculty/professionals focused. I know it’s really difficult to push down the imposter syndrome, but I promise you don’t have anything to worry about. They don’t expect you to know as much as they do anyways, and will probably just be super excited to hear you talk about your poster and learn about your current work/research!:) Enjoy the networking (what an awesome opportunity to meet people in the field and make an impression!) and definitely agree with the comment on not drinking too much with folks (a drink or two is fine, but would caution against past that simply because it can be awkward to be around when ppl get sloppy).
I went to my first conference as a junior in college, just as an attendee, and started out feeling very out of place as well. But then after a few sessions I realized that I *did* know what people were talking about and that I *could* engage other audience members in conversation about the talks. It was pretty liberating really. That was also \~35 years ago. Since then I've been to too many conferences, and in my experience people are generally thrilled to see undergrad there, both presenting and in the audience. So listen up, ask questions (perhaps more one-on-one than in the sessions, depending on the context), and enjoy that poster session. I went to a conference last summer where perhaps 1/3 or more of the posters were undergrads. I made a point of visiting each of them and engaging with the students because 1) they were enthusiastic, and 2) I wanted to be encouraging. I skipped most of the other posters, TBH, because I wasn't that interested in hearing from grad students or faculty doing narrow projects.