cold-emailing professors as a junior, what actually worked for you

Sharing this since cold-emailing is the question I had no answer to as a sophomore and figuring it out took forever. paying it forward, also genuinely curious what's worked for other people. Quick context: I started cold-emailing in October of my sophomore year, about 35 emails over six months, ended up with two professors who took me on. One I'm still working with. So a 6% hit rate roughly, which I read elsewhere is pretty normal. What I think mattered: 1. Subject line. Not 'high school student looking for research opportunity.' Mine was always something like 'Question about your 2024 paper on [specific topic].' Gets opened. 2. First sentence references their actual work, not a general 'I'm interested in your field.' If you can't name a specific paper, you haven't done enough homework to email them yet. 3. Attach a one-page CV. Not three pages. Profs scan, they don't read. 4. Don't say 'I'll do anything for free.' It sounds desperate and also kind of devalues your time. 5. Follow up exactly once after two weeks. Then move on. What didn't work for me: - Emailing big-name professors at HYPSM. Almost zero replies. - Emailing too many people at the same lab. They talk to each other. - Vague 'any opportunity' emails. anyone have better luck going through grad students or postdocs instead of going straight to PIs?