Summer Research Application and Acceptance Thread (REU, SURF, SURP, SIP, AMGEN etc.) 2016

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Bioenchilada

Bioenchilada

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Felt like it was a good time to create this thread. I'm a senior now, so I'm not applying to any summer programs myself; however, I have participated in and been accepted to multiple programs in the past, so I'm more than happy to give advice to people regarding admission. 🙂

I wish the best of luck to everyone applying this cycle!
 
How do you typically send the LORs to each program? Say you're applying to 10+ would you have your letter writers make 10 copies or is there a different system for LORs?
 
Halcyon32 said:
How do you typically send the LORs to each program? Say you're applying to 10+ would you have your letter writers make 10 copies or is there a different system for LORs?
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Letter submissions vary per program; however, most send the recommender a certain form via email that they submit once they're done. Many of the programs might have similar, if not the same, form but that'll forever be a mystery--unless you're close enough to the faculty member to ask them to see what it looks like.
 
Bioenchilada said:
Letter submissions vary per program; however, most send the recommender a certain form via email that they submit once they're done. Many of the programs might have similar, if not the same, form but that'll forever be a mystery--unless you're close enough to the faculty member to ask them to see what it looks like.
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Ah so once you're applying you indicate and provide contact info for who you want to write your recommendation and the program sends it to them?
 
Hey, just curious, why do you guys do SURP's? Is it better for me to do a SURP or continue my research at my college over the summer (it will have gone on for a year by then)?
Edit:
Also, I should probably mention that I'm currently a junior, so I'll be applying next summer (June/July?) anyway. Is there any advantage that a SURP at another university/med school would confer as opposed to continuing my research (in the form of a SURP as well) at my own university?
 
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I did SURPs because I wanted to get a better sense of what kind of research was going on at other institutions and make connections with people at schools I was interested in for graduate school. Not only this, they're usually very fun since you get to meet people that have similar interests, and you get a lot of work done (40+hrs/week). It kind of feels like you're a graduate student since you're usually assigned your own project and work on it by yourself, basically.

I think it's always better to experience different environments since it shows your capacity to effectively adapt to variable work environments, but I can see how being "loyal" to a single project is always very important.
 
It's not bad. After all, what matters most is having experience before applying^^
 
I applied to most of these every single year and never got an acceptance lol. best of luck to everyone, I hear they're great.
 
Bioenchilada said:
Where did you apply to? ._.
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NIH pretty much everywhere, SURP a few places, Amgen everywhere, SURF everywhere lol. I had no research opportunities or experience prior, so I was hoping every year they would give me a shot to get the ball rolling but alas; never happened.
 
jaxon said:
NIH pretty much everywhere, SURP a few places, Amgen everywhere, SURF everywhere lol. I had no research opportunities or experience prior, so I was hoping every year they would give me a shot to get the ball rolling but alas; never happened.
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.
 
So I'm just a normal student, and I'm interested in summer research and my major actually requires research. So I was wondering if you have to be a stellar applicant with a GPA of 3.7+ (or something....) to get in? I was looking into the AMGEN program and it looks pretty exclusive...
 
FantasyVesperia said:
So I'm just a normal student, and I'm interested in summer research and my major actually requires research. So I was wondering if you have to be a stellar applicant with a GPA of 3.7+ (or something....) to get in? I was looking into the AMGEN program and it looks pretty exclusive...
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What year are you? Have you done research before? Also, what career are your pursuing?
 
Bioenchilada said:
What year are you? Have you done research before? Also, what career are your pursuing?
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Can you talk more about your AMGEN experience, what the averages of people accepted are, what your profile was like when you got accepted etc for the people that are interested? It'd probably leave the SDN community with some valuable information.
 
Bioenchilada said:
What year are you? Have you done research before? Also, what career are your pursuing?
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I'm a sophomore and have not done any research, unfortunately. Career wise, as of now, I'm leaning into veterinary medicine and research and/or public health. I like to keep my options open, but that's what I've been working towards this far.
 
SteveRope123 said:
Can you talk more about your AMGEN experience, what the averages of people accepted are, what your profile was like when you got accepted etc for the people that are interested? It'd probably leave the SDN community with some valuable information.
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I didn't participate in the AMGEN scholars program. I participated in Harvard SHURP and University of Pennsylvania SUIP. I was also accepted to Cornell MBG-REU. Would you be interested in knowing about these?
 
The higher end programs USUALLY require you to have sone research exposure prior to attending the program given that its a pretty big time commitmment, and they're paying you. However, research experience is NOT required and I've met people that have done SURPs without research experience.

FantasyVesperia said:
I'm a sophomore and have not done any research, unfortunately. Career wise, as of now, I'm leaning into veterinary medicine and research and/or public health. I like to keep my options open, but that's what I've been working towards this far.
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Bioenchilada said:
I didn't participate in the AMGEN scholars program. I participated in Harvard SHURP and University of Pennsylvania SUIP. I was also accepted to Cornell MBG-REU. Would you be interested in knowing about these?
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Sure? It's not for me, it's for anyone else that looks at this thread.

Thanks though!
 
SteveRope123 said:
Sure? It's not for me, it's for anyone else that looks at this thread.

Thanks though!
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Sure!

So, in terms of my stats, when I applied to SUIP(sophomore year) I had already done 4 semesters of research at my school in two labs similtaneously . My GPA was a 3.9(?) and my 2 rec letters were from professors that could really speak about my skills as a prospective researcher. I only applied to 3 programs that year and got into my third choice, which was fortunately at the University of Pennsylvania. I don't remember where I got rejected from that year.

In terms of my experience at Penn, it was truly amazing even though the research was in a field that I wasn't SUPER familiar with. The people were all really varied in terms of stats, but I remember the lowest GPA was like a 3.5, the average was a 3.85, and the acceptance was less than 5%. Something that I should point out is that most (~90%) of the people involved were minorities and everyone had done some form of research prior, as far as I'm concerned. It was definitely stressful at times since you're conducting research full-time, but it was an enriching experience nonetheless.

When it comes to Harvard, my stats were essentially the same (GPA was higher) and now I had a rec letter from my Penn PI. I was also admitted to Penn (again), Cornell, and Brown (basically?). Rejected from: JHU, MIT-Amgen.

The people at Harvard SHURP came from much more varied in terms of majors (more engineers) and there were even freshmen involved! Still, I think everyone was doing research and I think everyone but 1 person were minorities of some sort (myself included). There was a range of GPAs again, with the lowest being a 3.5 (I think?). Still, everyone was amazing regardless of credentials--their passion for research really showed.
 
baratheonfire said:
Hey, just curious, why do you guys do SURP's? Is it better for me to do a SURP or continue my research at my college over the summer (it will have gone on for a year by then)?
Edit:
Also, I should probably mention that I'm currently a junior, so I'll be applying next summer (June/July?) anyway. Is there any advantage that a SURP at another university/med school would confer as opposed to continuing my research (in the form of a SURP as well) at my own university?
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Bump

Also, when are you guys applying? I'm waiting until late December so I can send in my grades.
 
I think many of the apps are due on January/February, and they'll still ask for your most recent transcripts. There's no real benefit in submitting apps early, unless admissions are rolling.
 
So I've decided I'm going to be applying to three this year:

- Project IMHOTEP: Morehouse College
- MCHC/RISE-UP: Kennedy Krieger Institute
- SPHSP: Columbia University

I'm still looking out for more, but these three are a definite.
 
Not applying to programs this year - currently a Junior but will be matriculating into medical school next year.
I've done 2 summer research internships with my one this past summer at Harvard.
I've held acceptances to a handful of programs so shoot some questions you have my way if you are wondering.

Also, just for the sake of not writing it out 20 times: 4.0/ORM/no research experience before first summer internship
 
PleaseCallMeDoc said:
Not applying to programs this year - currently a Junior but will be matriculating into medical school next year.
I've done 2 summer research internships with my one this past summer at Harvard.
I've held acceptances to a handful of programs so shoot some questions you have my way if you are wondering.

Also, just for the sake of not writing it out 20 times: 4.0/ORM/no research experience before first summer internship
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What Harvard program were you in last year?
 
Is it customary to only apply to a few of these programs? I want to apply broadly (to 10+ programs) but I feel like that would be inconsiderate towards my letter writers since it's not a one size fits all type deal for LORs. I don't want them to have to deal with a bunch of different forms from a bunch of different programs if that's rude to do.
 
Halcyon32 said:
Is it customary to only apply to a few of these programs? I want to apply broadly (to 10+ programs) but I feel like that would be inconsiderate towards my letter writers since it's not a one size fits all type deal for LORs. I don't want them to have to deal with a bunch of different forms from a bunch of different programs if that's rude to do.
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I think recommenders are typically used to submitting a lot of rec letters, so just ask them to see if they're willing to do it. Also, isn't 10 a bit of an overkill?
 
If anyone has NIH SIP questions, I'm happy to answer them, but I'm not going to be regularly checking this thread, so just tag or quote me and I'll get a notification. Disclaimer: it's been a couple of years since I participated, but my understanding is that it's still basically the same as it was then.
 
Bioenchilada said:
I think recommenders are typically used to submitting a lot of rec letters, so just ask them to see if they're willing to do it. Also, isn't 10 a bit of an overkill?
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I don't know haha is it overkill? I'm not familiar with the process, acceptance rate, etc. that's why i asked if it's customary to only a apply to a small amount of these. I want to give myself the best chance at being accepted to one because from what I hear acceptance rates are pretty low for a lot of these
 
Halcyon32 said:
I don't know haha is it overkill? I'm not familiar with the process, acceptance rate, etc. that's why i asked if it's customary to only a apply to a small amount of these. I want to give myself the best chance at being accepted to one because from what I hear acceptance rates are pretty low for a lot of these
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I think I applied to maybe 11 or 12 programs last year? I thought it was normal to apply to a bunch of them.
I also had I think 3 or 4 different recommenders depending on the program. It's good to be super concise when supplying them with the information they need in order to write the recs.

Also, another shout-out to Amgen! 🙂 Definitely apply!
 
I think the most programs I applied to was 7. Minimum was 4. Maybe I was just lucky haha

Halcyon32 said:
I don't know haha is it overkill? I'm not familiar with the process, acceptance rate, etc. that's why i asked if it's customary to only a apply to a small amount of these. I want to give myself the best chance at being accepted to one because from what I hear acceptance rates are pretty low for a lot of these
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Apps tend to be time consuming and if you're not very interested, it'll be evident in your statement of purpose. Do you have a lot of research experience?
 
Bioenchilada said:
I think the most programs I applied to was 7. Minimum was 4. Maybe I was just lucky haha



Apps tend to be time consuming and if you're not very interested, it'll be evident in your statement of purpose. Do you have a lot of research experience?
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No. but I plan to during the spring semester. I don't know how much tentative research experience before the summer counts for but since I have no experience as of yet, I figured I better apply broadly. But again, if it's a hassle for the letter writers, I'd rather not
 
Halcyon32 said:
I don't know haha is it overkill? I'm not familiar with the process, acceptance rate, etc. that's why i asked if it's customary to only a apply to a small amount of these. I want to give myself the best chance at being accepted to one because from what I hear acceptance rates are pretty low for a lot of these
Click to expand...
Not overkill. Just give your letter writers enough time.
Many of these programs have acceptance rates below 10%, with some hovering around 2% acceptance rates.
 
Halcyon32 said:
No. but I plan to during the spring semester. I don't know how much tentative research experience before the summer counts for but since I have no experience as of yet, I figured I better apply broadly. But again, if it's a hassle for the letter writers, I'd rather not
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What year are you?
 
I don't have anything productive to add but I just wanted to vent and say this is my first time applying to anything like this, I'm applying to like 8, I suck at writing and keep having to edit these essays, all the deadlines are weird, some of them have large stipends+housing and some of them don't wanna help you at all financially but they're super prestigious and this really is just so unnecessarily stressful when I just wanna do pediatric research and be a successful physician dangit.
This is my rant.

EDIT: I will add something productive to the thread and say I am applying to Akron Children's, Cincinatti Childrens, CRISSP, Case Western, Oakland, UC Davis Summer Surgery, and a few more Cancer or Pediatric related. If anyone has done these, or any cancer ones, please let me know what you thought of them.

P.S. ugh
 
I am going to reiterate what other posters have said. Definitely apply to many of these programs. My first year I applied to 8 and received 1 acceptance. My second year I applied to 10 and received 3.

After speaking to the directors of the programs I was in, they said acceptance rates are below 10% and are often more competitive admissions processes than the related PhD programs at the school. Pretty crazy stuff.

The most annoying thing about them is that they give you only a few days to accept their offer. I was accepted to a program one summer but hadn't heard back to my top choices. I called my top choices, told them I had another offer, and the next day I had offers from both of them. Do not hesitate to hustle along their decision. But, they were very clear that I only was receiving an offer because I was already selected, they just hadn't released decisions yet. So this will not get you in if you are not selected.
 
Halcyon32 said:
Sophomore
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Make sure you project your passion for research in your statement of purpose very well then. Since you don't have research experience, you can't really prove that you're capable of handling full research; thus, it becomes very important to show them how much you really want to get involved and why. (Not that you should slack off when you have research experience, but you have credentias to prove that you're at least familiar with the research process)
 
Bioenchilada said:
Felt like it was a good time to create this thread. I'm a senior now, so I'm not applying to any summer programs myself; however, I have participated in and been accepted to multiple programs in the past, so I'm more than happy to give advice to people regarding admission. 🙂

I wish the best of luck to everyone applying this cycle!
Click to expand...

Btw guys, if y'all need help with your PS for REU's, feel free to PM them to me. I was accepted to multiple national REU programs, and have 5+ years of research experience.

For what it's worth, I also have a 78+ LizzyM and currently have IIs for several Top 10 institutions.
 
Rule #1: Do NOT say you are thinking of going to medical school. Auto-reject.

Edit: Sorry, this is only if you are applying to research-oriented programs. I was stupid and never applied to the medically relevant ones, hence, I never got any REU acceptances 🙁
 
Bioenchilada said:
Make sure you project your passion for research in your statement of purpose very well then. Since you don't have research experience, you can't really prove that you're capable of handling full research; thus, it becomes very important to show them how much you really want to get involved and why. (Not that you should slack off when you have research experience, but you have credentias to prove that you're at least familiar with the research process)
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Thank you very much!
 
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