“Undergraduate Student” or just “Student” as title in conference?

STEM

I’m attending to present at a conference. Last time I attended, I felt like putting “undergraduate student” on my conference badge made people want to spend less time with me. Not sure why, but I think I might be perceived as a low value target in terms of networking. This time I’m thinking of putting just “student” instead, which I’ve seen many others do. Here’s my thought process (+ for pros, - for cons):

Student:

  • Just ambiguous, might make you seem dumb
  • People won’t have a bad initial reaction compared to just undergrad
  • I can still mention I’m an undergraduate when talking to people

Undergraduate Student:

  • acts as an initial filter for opportunities. If someone truly doesn’t want to talk to me just because I’m an undergraduate, it deters them in the first place
  • maybe good for faculty looking for PhD candidates or other new students?
  • could attract attention, because there’s only a few undergraduates
  • People might not want to talk to me, just like what I thought happened the last time

Also, for context if this influences anything, I’m a student volunteer so I won’t be paying the registration fee and wearing volunteer shirts too.

I might be overthinking, but I’d appreciate help on this. Thanks so much!

Posted Dec 7, 2025, 5:04 AM UTC

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