Summer Research Application Thread (REU, SURF, SURP, SIP, etc.) 2012

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Originally Posted by kduck

It seems like most programs should be willing to accept 2 decimal points. If there is any uncertainty, call the contact person for each application and check.

I agree with this.

Originally Posted by gettheleadout

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs are a type of structured research program funded by the National Science Foundation. The experience is similar to a SURF/SURP/etc. type program funded by an institution. The Amgen Scholars Program constitutes a set of several individual programs all funded by Amgen Inc., a multibillion-dollar international biotechnology company. The settings and experiences across these programs are all similar in terms of research experience.

so are REU programs more competitive in getting accepted?

I've heard the AMGEN programs are really selective in a sense that they want more people with experience. REU's usually take half and half; some with experience and others with little experience.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

I've heard the AMGEN programs are really selective in a sense that they want more people with experience. REU's usually take half and half; some with experience and others with little experience.

What about SURF/SURPs? are they just like amgens in selectivity?

Originally Posted by yjj8817

so are REU programs more competitive in getting accepted?

Originally Posted by yjj8817

What about SURF/SURPs? are they just like amgens in selectivity?

This is all dependent on the program/REU site. Mayo's SURF program takes a lot of people both in number (around 100) and percentage-wise (something like 20% I believe), whereas other programs may accept 10% or less, with individual REU sites sometimes accepting <10 participants. A generalization about competitiveness between REU sites and SURF-type, institutionally funded programs cannot be made, IMO, because of variation across the board in application rates, publicity, and selectivity, among other things.

Submitted my app to Baylor SMART today.

For those interested in clinical exposure + research, I did the Chester Scholars program in Cleveland. It's affiliated with Case and is at the county hospital - which is not Cleveland Clinic but has good programs in its own right. I really enjoyed the program and we had a LOT of opportunities to shadow wherever we wanted and most of the doctors I shadowed were open to letting you participate as much as possible.
At the end you have a poster and they are also enthusiastic about helping you publish and present it. Some of the participants joined ongoing research projects that involve a lot of people, and others (like me) had their own independent project.
I had no research experience, submitted my application on the last day possible (I found out about it maybe a week before), etc. I think it is also pretty competitive, they told us in the acceptance letter how many people were picked, and I want to say maybe 20%. The only "bias" is they tend to favor current juniors and above over current freshmen or sophomores otherwise some of us had experience, some didn't. I definitely recommend it! I think the deadline is Feb. 1.
ETA: It has a stipend.

Originally Posted by gettheleadout

Submitted my app to Baylor SMART today.

Decided against it I'm already filling out 9 apps. The only one I'm applying to besides the ones in FL and ILL is Mayo's.

Hey did any of you have a choice between straight up answering questions vs. a small personal statement?

Albert Einstein's prompt is: We’d like you to use this space to tell us about yourself. Please answer the following questions in a few sentences for each question. You may answer each question separately in a paragraph format. It is not necessary to write a long personal statement. And then goes on to ask my fave class, why I wanna do this, etc.

So do you think its better to answer in the separate question format or just to include the answers in a personal essay?

I created a small PS integrating my experiences along with what made me interested in pursuing research. I had a couple people read it and they loved it and thought it was unique. Better than just answering the statement of interest in a direct way.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

I created a small PS integrating my experiences along with what made me interested in pursuing research. I had a couple people read it and they loved it and thought it was unique. Better than just answering the statement of interest in a direct way.

This is what I did-minus the having others proofread it. I just didn't want to be outright rejected in case they were particular about it. Thanks!

Anyone else doing the NIH SIP? I have been emailing researchers about positions yesterday, gonna try to email a bunch more professors to see if I can secure a position soon

Originally Posted by happymedium

Does anyone know about recommendations? I haven't done any research before so I don't have anyone to talk about my "research skills". Is it okay to get a LOR from a professor?

If you're applying to internships that don't require previous research experience, you should be fine.

Who hasn't sent theirs in yet?
I'm waiting on my last professors LOR!! Man, they are slow!

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

Who hasn't sent theirs in yet?
I'm waiting on my last professors LOR!! Man, they are slow!

I've hardly sent anything yet. My prof's are sending out my letters either this weekend or during the week. I haven't sent in any application materials besides my transcripts either.

Hey everyone - didn't read the first 4 pages of this thread but I just wanted to encourage everyone to apply to summer programs if you are even a little interested! I just got my first publication from an REU I did. In total, I did 2 different REUs and 1 year rsch at NIH, and I thought it was a great experience and loved every minute (even though I have no desire to get a phd). Good luck everyone!

Originally Posted by happymedium

Do medical schools even care about research? I have no research experience whatsoever but I think my time would be better spent volunteering.

Has anyone tried the NIH Summer Internship program? Do they need LOR or just references? I'm going to go for this, but it's only because I need research experience so I can get a lab monkey job during my gap year or for grad school just in case I don't get into a med school.

Depends on the school. I've heard from an admin at Northwestern that this year they weren't seriously considering almost any applicants who didn't have some research in their background.

Most of mines are due from Feb 1st-Feb 15.
Come on Professor, write my LOR already and proofread my P.S.!!

I'm kinda pissed BC parents are telling me now that all of August will be spent back in their homeland. Meaning I am doing all these apps for summer programs not nothing.

I have two more apps to finish and it this point I'm just doing them half-heartedly.

(Sorry for the rant. Pissed)

I'm applying to an REU (already sent in application), to SHURP and to a couple of the Amgen sites. Honestly, I don't feel confident with any of them lol The competition is probably veeery tough...

I was under the impression that they accept a wide range of applicants from 3.0 and up which is the usual minimum. I thought I would have an above average chance.
Apparently, most accept applicants around the 3.8+ range. :/

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

I was under the impression that they accept a wide range of applicants from 3.0 and up which is the usual minimum. I thought I would have an above average chance.
Apparently, most accept applicants around the 3.8+ range. :/

Why do you say apparently?

Originally Posted by gettheleadout

Why do you say apparently?

Cause all you stellar stats people said that even with a 3.9 you got rejected by most of the programs applied to. :/

Hi-

Here's another option for summer research- I know about it through VCU, where I work.

MIDPH 2012

Best of luck to everyone this summer!

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

Cause all you stellar stats people said that even with a 3.9 you got rejected by most of the programs applied to. :/

But that doesn't mean the applicants accepted all had high GPA's, just that a high GPA by itself doesn't equal acceptances.

Originally Posted by gettheleadout

But that doesn't mean the applicants accepted all had high GPA's, just that a high GPA by itself doesn't equal acceptances.

Anyone applying to Mt. Sinai SURP having trouble entering text into the "Describe your research experience" text box? It's only allowing me to paste in 60 words of my response and I don't see any character/word limit.

Anyone want to critique my P.S.? Exchange?

Hi guys! I am a sophomore biochem/math student from Kentucky, and I thought I should join this forum because, well, what better to alleviate stress than to chat with everybody going through the same problem?

I am applying to Amgen at MIT, Columbia, Berkeley, UCSF, and WashU... unfortunately, I didn't know about any other research programs other than Amgen until it was a bit late. Also didn't notice the part about rolling admissions - so here's to hoping I still make it! Good luck to everybody!

What kind of stats do you guys have, what kind of prior research experiences? I am just trying to see what kind of things these elite programs are looking for.

Submitted Mayo and Columbia apps tonight!

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

Anyone want to critique my P.S.? Exchange?

I'd be willing to read your PS. Shoot me a PM.

So how hard do you guys think the NIH SIP one is to get?

Originally Posted by Stumpyman

So how hard do you guys think the NIH SIP one is to get?

They take a lot of people, both in raw numbers and by % of applicants, but it's a rolling system. Individual PI's accept applicants, which is why directly contacting investigators after submitting your app is recommended. That said, the deadline is March 1st but I haven't submitted mine yet. Many people would say this is too late, and maybe it is, but I won't know until later.

Submitting Mayo tomorrow once I upload those transcripts to the application. Then the rest follows. Hopefully I get into my main choice, the UChicago REU. Hey GTLO, how did you upload the transcript and did you use your official or unofficial?

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

Submitting Mayo tomorrow once I upload those transcripts to the application. Then the rest follows. Hopefully I get into my main choice, the UChicago REU. Hey GTLO, how did you upload the transcript and did you use your official or unofficial?

Scanned an unofficial and uploaded as a PDF.

Hey guys, I had a question about GPA...

My school gives A+ for a value of 4.333. Do I convert all my A+ to A's so that it's on a 4-pt scale, or is it still considered on a 4 pt scale? or a 4.333 scale?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by gabadaba

Hey guys, I had a question about GPA...

My school gives A+ for a value of 4.333. Do I convert all my A+ to A's so that it's on a 4-pt scale, or is it still considered on a 4 pt scale? or a 4.333 scale?

Thanks!

This depends on the application. Some allow you to specify your school's grading scale, some ask you outright to convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale, and others don't mention it and simply ask for a GPA entered in X.XX format. In the case where an application does not allow you to specify a scale, I would email the program and ask how to go about it.

Submitted UIC, Mayo, Leadership Alliance, and Loyola today! The rest is for Monday!
Wish me luck and same to all of you!

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

Submitted UIC, Mayo, Leadership Alliance, and Loyola today! The rest is for Monday!
Wish me luck and same to all of you!

Good luck Johnny. I did one of those on your list last summer, and it was great. This year I sent out 7 apps. ... waiting ...

I'm applying to Vanderbilt Clinical Research and Arkansas Children's Hospital. I'm a 4.0 student, involved in Breast Cancer Research with the Dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and I've been an active volunteer. What would you say my chances are?

Originally Posted by aspiring2014

I'm applying to Vanderbilt Clinical Research and Arkansas Children's Hospital. I'm a 4.0 student, involved in Breast Cancer Research with the Dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and I've been an active volunteer. What would you say my chances are?

Just FYI, the Vandy Clinical program has no stipend or meal funding, just housing. Your chances depend on the length and degree of involvement in your research, the quality of your LOR's, and other factors. To be honest, I think this process is even less predictable than medical school admissions, because it's not as simple as "the most qualified applicants have the best chances" because many of these programs are looking to provide spots to people who they feel will not only perform well but also get the most out of it. Because of that, I can see individuals with extensive research involvement getting passed over. Sort of a "Goldilocks" situation, as was discussed in the 2010-2011 thread.

Originally Posted by gettheleadout

Just FYI, the Vandy Clinical program has no stipend or meal funding, just housing. Your chances depend on the length and degree of involvement in your research, the quality of your LOR's, and other factors. To be honest, I think this process is even less predictable than medical school admissions, because it's not as simple as "the most qualified applicants have the best chances" because many of these programs are looking to provide spots to people who they feel will not only perform well but also get the most out of it. Because of that, I can see individuals with extensive research involvement getting passed over. Sort of a "Goldilocks" situation, as was discussed in the 2010-2011 thread.

Yeah, I would agree.
I've read most of them are catering to students who come from CC's or universities where research isn't big.
A lot also try and get a diversified pool of researchers.

Originally Posted by JohnnyRomanes

Yeah, I would agree.
I've read most of them are catering to students who come from CC's or universities where research isn't big.
A lot also try and get a diversified pool of researchers.

What about liberal arts colleges? At my school, research is offered, but not in the specific field I'm interested in.

Research is widely available, but limited, I guess you could say.

Oh, and do you guys know how much personal statements matter? Are they heavily weighed? And should you focus on past research experience or interest/story?

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks!

Originally Posted by gabadaba

Oh, and do you guys know how much personal statements matter? Are they heavily weighed? And should you focus on past research experience or interest/story?

Sorry for all the questions! Thanks!

These schools don't conduct interviews so they get to know you by reading LOR's and P.S. It carries a big weight in the application process.

Originally Posted by gabadaba

What about liberal arts colleges? At my school, research is offered, but not in the specific field I'm interested in.

Research is widely available, but limited, I guess you could say.

I remember an applicant in last year's thread that mentioned that and it was well-received.

thanks!

Just submitted NYU SURP and WashU and UCB Amgen apps.

Submitting Hopkins SIP and UCSF Amgen apps tomorrow!