Summer Research Application and Acceptance Thread ( SPUR, SURF, SURP, SIP, AMGEN, LA etc.) 2018

[DD1023]

If I haven't heard back form Mayo Surp should I assume I didn't get it?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[medDaisuki]

If I haven't heard back form Mayo Surp should I assume I didn't get it?

The coordinator told me they had given out all the offers but people may decline offers so there is still a slim chance.

 

[Arodramaticity]

Long time lurker in the thread. Just got accepted to Stanford SSRP Amgen, still waiting UCB Amgen. Good luck to everyone else applying this year. Stay positive, acceptances are still coming out.

Yo congrats!!! Stanford SSRP is my dream program, but I still haven’t heard from them. Do you know if they do silent rejections? I don’t want to get my hopes up.

 

[lex_premed]

Did anyone else heard back yet from Leadership Alliance Columbia, or Yale?

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

 

[TraderJoe1]

Hey everyone! I would like input on my decision. I have an offer from UPitt, and an offer from a PI at HMS/BWH, both in immunology. My dilemma is the following: the HMS project doesn’t provide housing, so that I would most likely lose about $500 over the summer, but I am stoked about the work I’d be doing. On the other hand, the UPitt SURP offers free housing and a $3500 stipend, but I am very interested in the work of one lab in particular, and I have no guarantee I’d be placed in that lab.

So, HMS offers no money but certainty, while UPitt offers money but uncertainty. HMS and UPitt are my top two choices for MD-PhD programs, in that order.

 

[deleted909896]

Do summer programs ever send out notifications on weekends?

 

[BiotechBeotch]

Hey everyone! I would like input on my decision. I have an offer from UPitt, and an offer from a PI at HMS/BWH, both in immunology. My dilemma is the following: the HMS project doesn’t provide housing, so that I would most likely lose about $500 over the summer, but I am stoked about the work I’d be doing. On the other hand, the UPitt SURP offers free housing and a $3500 stipend, but I am very interested in the work of one lab in particular, and I have no guarantee I’d be placed in that lab.

So, HMS offers no money but certainty, while UPitt offers money but uncertainty. HMS and UPitt are my top two choices for MD-PhD programs, in that order.

Have you looked at housing options to see how much it would really cost? Tbh I think you should pick the research you’re more passionate about. Any lab experience will look good but being able to showcase your passion will look best. Also, if you manage to get a good letter of rec from someone within your top choice’s department, I think that’s a very good asset. Obviously it’s up to you but I think having to save a little money for the summer is worth your top choice

 

[JHUBlueJay19]

Update: Just received an acceptance from Dartmouth MPUS!

However, gut tells me to stay with MIT - SRP in Bio! Congrats everyone on their acceptances!

Congrats! I definitely think MIT is the better choice though, I hope you have an amazing summer experience!

 

[1sttimehopeful]

Did anyone else heard back yet from Leadership Alliance Columbia, or Yale?

Also wondering about LA Yale!

 

[dedbeet95]

Hello everyone! I am a Junior with two years of research experience at my home institution doing biophysical chemistry research. My home institution is a small liberal arts college that is not exactly known for its research, but I have been able to do quite a bit with what little resources that I have available here. I have been accepted into the Cyclotron Institute REU at Texas A&M as of yesterday afternoon (applied as a joke, was not expecting to get in), but I am feeling very conflicted about how to handle this as they have given me 4 days to accept/reject their decision. My advisor has guaranteed me a position this summer at my home institution, which would result in two publications on the research that I have been done in the last two years, which almost seems like a better option than the Cyclotron Institute.... I have no idea what I should do.

I also applied to much more desirable programs like Harvard, Cornell, Yale, UChicago, etc. and would ultimately like to end up at one of these institutions this summer as I see these programs as a viable reason to do research outside of my home institution. Is there any benefit to contacting these programs to notify them that I have been accepted into another program? Will this potentially hurt my chances of getting into these programs if I expedite their decision-making process? What is the protocol for handling these things?
Please help me friends.

 

[TG4M]

I got into Yale BioMed Surf on Tuesday. I am waiting to hear back from Vanderbilt Summer School Academic (VSSA), Duquesne PURE, Rutgers Neurosurp. I got rejected from Princeton's Neuroscience, and Computation Biology programs currently waiting to hear back from their Chemistry program. As of now I am committed to going to Yale BioMed Surf as of now, I really wanted to go to VSSA but I emailed the director and she said, "While we have not yet made final decisions, it is unlikely that many more offers will be sent out." So it was a nice ole silent rejection, just great.

Good luck to everyone waiting to hear back from somewhere!

 

[lex_premed]

I got into Yale BioMed Surf on Tuesday. I am waiting to hear back from Vanderbilt Summer School Academic (VSSA), Duquesne PURE, Rutgers Neurosurp. I got rejected from Princeton's Neuroscience, and Computation Biology programs currently waiting to hear back from their Chemistry program. As of now I am committed to going to Yale BioMed Surf as of now, I really wanted to go to VSSA but I emailed the director and she said, "While we have not yet made final decisions, it is unlikely that many more offers will be sent out." So it was a nice ole silent rejection, just great.

Good luck to everyone waiting to hear back from somewhere!

Congratulations on Yale.
I guess I can consider myself rejected if I havent heard back.

I am still waiting on 8 programs to get back to me so fingers crossed !!

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

 

[futuredoctor1911]

Did anyone else heard back yet from Leadership Alliance Columbia, or Yale?

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

No. Trust me after talking to several people the decisions can come out as late as mid April. Don’t lose hope entirely! I applied to Harvard, Columbia, and UChicago. Nothing yet. Via LA

 

[Kirby Smart]

Hey everyone! I would like input on my decision. I have an offer from UPitt, and an offer from a PI at HMS/BWH, both in immunology. My dilemma is the following: the HMS project doesn’t provide housing, so that I would most likely lose about $500 over the summer, but I am stoked about the work I’d be doing. On the other hand, the UPitt SURP offers free housing and a $3500 stipend, but I am very interested in the work of one lab in particular, and I have no guarantee I’d be placed in that lab.

So, HMS offers no money but certainty, while UPitt offers money but uncertainty. HMS and UPitt are my top two choices for MD-PhD programs, in that order.

Maybe it's just me, but you're crazy if you don't take that +$3,500 vs -$500 unless it was a case of being happy at one and unhappy but getting paid at the other. BTW, are you sure 10 weeks (about 2.5 months) of housing for the HMS program would only be $500? Unless thats some set price deal, that estimate should be closer to $1000 I would assume.

 

[Kirby Smart]

Hello everyone! I am a Junior with two years of research experience at my home institution doing biophysical chemistry research. My home institution is a small liberal arts college that is not exactly known for its research, but I have been able to do quite a bit with what little resources that I have available here. I have been accepted into the Cyclotron Institute REU at Texas A&M as of yesterday afternoon (applied as a joke, was not expecting to get in), but I am feeling very conflicted about how to handle this as they have given me 4 days to accept/reject their decision. My advisor has guaranteed me a position this summer at my home institution, which would result in two publications on the research that I have been done in the last two years, which almost seems like a better option than the Cyclotron Institute.... I have no idea what I should do.

I also applied to much more desirable programs like Harvard, Cornell, Yale, UChicago, etc. and would ultimately like to end up at one of these institutions this summer as I see these programs as a viable reason to do research outside of my home institution. Is there any benefit to contacting these programs to notify them that I have been accepted into another program? Will this potentially hurt my chances of getting into these programs if I expedite their decision-making process? What is the protocol for handling these things?
Please help me friends.

Would you not be published on those papers at your home institution regardless of if you're there this summer if you've been working there for two years? Or did you mean you were gonna have two publications as first author if you are there over the summer to finish them?

 

[lex_premed]

No. Trust me after talking to several people the decisions can come out as late as mid April. Don’t lose hope entirely! I applied to Harvard, Columbia, and UChicago. Nothing yet. Via LA

Thanks for supportive thoughts
Well, I guess I have to wait peacefully. It is just hard to see all of those acceptances, and still complete silence for me.

Thank you!

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

 

[Arodramaticity]

Did anyone reply to the ChemBio NYU REU? Both my references sent their letters, but I never got a confirmation email for one of them. So I emailed the program and they straight up just never responded. This is the second time I emailed them too, and have not been responded to.

 

[dedbeet95]

Would you not be published on those papers at your home institution regardless of if you're there this summer if you've been working there for two years? Or did you mean you were gonna have two publications as first author if you are there over the summer to finish them?

If I am there over the summer, I can make absolutely sure that they are submitted. I have watched my advisor struggle to submit one manuscript for publication in the Journal of Chemical Education over the course of the last academic year and have low expectations of seeing those publications happen if I don't stay over the summer.... Again, my home institution is a small liberal arts college with 4 chemistry faculty so my advisor has her hands full during the school year.

 

[TraderJoe1]

Maybe it's just me, but you're crazy if you don't take that +$3,500 vs -$500 unless it was a case of being happy at one and unhappy but getting paid at the other. BTW, are you sure 10 weeks (about 2.5 months) of housing for the HMS program would only be $500? Unless thats some set price deal, that estimate should be closer to $1000 I would assume.

Thanks for the input! There is a stipend for both, but housing isn’t provided through the HMS program, so I would be leasing/subletting an apartment in Boston for the summer. When I budgeted everything out (food, social expenses, rent, etc), I estimated I’d be about $500 short. May just get a parttime job up there and grab a few extra shifts at my current job in the meantime, as it’s been a dream of mine to work in this PI’s lab for a while. Thanks again!

 

[Incomparable]

May just get a parttime job up there and grab a few extra shifts at my current job in the meantime, as it’s been a dream of mine to work in this PI’s lab for a while. Thanks again!

This is most likely not allowed. Check with your home institution to see if there are any opportunities to get further funding.

edit: Has it been confirmed that you will get placed in your desired lab?

 

[Kirby Smart]

Thanks for the input! There is a stipend for both, but housing isn’t provided through the HMS program, so I would be leasing/subletting an apartment in Boston for the summer. When I budgeted everything out (food, social expenses, rent, etc), I estimated I’d be about $500 short. May just get a parttime job up there and grab a few extra shifts at my current job in the meantime, as it’s been a dream of mine to work in this PI’s lab for a while. Thanks again!

Ahhh I see, I misunderstood and thought you meant it was a decision between stipend and free housing vs no stipend or housing haha. Yeah I would say $500 difference is worth giving up if it is worth it to you, however I'd probably still take the money unless I knew I wouldn't like the other research as much.

 

[Kirby Smart]

Officially rejected from St. Jude's POE program today :/ still waiting to hear back from 3 other programs but so far it's been silence so I'm pretty worried... best of luck to everyone!

Accepted
Baylor College of Medicine SMART - _wallflower_(2/26)
Brown University w/ Leadership Alliance - beachwaterPR (2/28)
Case Western SURP - DD1023 (between 2/12-2/17)
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory URP - asdfghjkl123 (2/20)
Columbia Amgen - yjkimnada (2/23)
Columbia University (Leadership Alliance) - Kathellene (2/28)
Harvard HMS DBMI Bioinformatics Summer Institute - aew1996 (2/16)
Harvard Stem Cell Institute Internship Program - yjkimnada (2/23)
Houston Methodist SURI - cerealguy (2/28)
IOWA SUMR - whostolemypipette (3/1), manivharat (3/2)
Johns Hopkins BioREU - dejosco (2/28)
Johns Hopkins SIP - thekindflower123 (2/23)
Leadership Alliance - (University of Miami) - dh345 (2/23)
Leah Menshouse Springer Summer Opportunities Program at Siteman Cancer Center - parolinat (2/26)
Mayo Clinic SURF - BlotoftheNorth (2/8), JC7878 (2/19), KiwiSpice (2/13), RNARNARNA (2/27), asdfghjkl123 (2/15), TheRealBatmanMD (2/28)
Massachusetts General Hospital SRTP - nolandancegirl (2/27), DoctorMelanin (2/28)
MIT MSRP in Bio/Neuro - Narp2251 (2/9)
MD Anderson CPRIT-CURE - superchamp14(2/16)
Memorial Sloan Kettering Summer Program - mdalltheway321 (2/28), asdfghjkl123 (2/28)
MSK Computational Biology Summer Program - aew1996 (2/16)
Mount Sinai SURP - moulmo (2/9)
NIH AMGEN - kmmd2018 (3/1)
NIH's BESIP (Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program) - Mekhmeh (2/26)
NIH SIP (NIA) - BlotoftheNorth (2/14)
Northwestern SROP (Feb 14) - kiki333 (2/14)
Northwestern University via Big Ten SROP - beachwaterPR's friend (2/28)
Pasteur Foundation Undergraduate Internship Program - RNARNARNA (3/1)
Penn State SURIP - thekindflower123 (2/23)
Pitt SURP - amethyst131 (3/5), TraderJoe1 (3/7)
The Scripps Research Institute SURF - 99731mj (2/24)
Rockefeller SURF - neuro_ramsey (the week of 2/19), _wallflower_ (2/28)
Rutgers University RISE - 99731mj (1/31)
Rutgers University SURF - BiotechBeotch (3/6)
SUPERS@PENN - Narp2251 (2/27)
Tri-Institutional CBSP - asdfghjkl123 (2/28)
UAB Summer in Biomedical Sciences (UAB SIBS) - cerealguy (2/28)
UCONN SRFP - noladancegirl ("a few weeks ago [from 2/28]")
UCSF SRTP- TheRealBatmanMD (2/28)
UMiami SURF - TraderJoe1 (3/6)
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor REU - wafet96 (2/17)
University of Michigan SMART- wannabe_obgyn (3/8)
University of Nebraska Medical Center - SURP - Narp2251 (2/21)
Upstate Med SURF-PS program- wannabe_obgyn (3/5)
U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research Summer Internship - lcg98 (2/13)
UT Southwestern SURF - Kathellene (2/28)
UTSW - Stem Cell - imwiththehomiesrightnow (2/28)
UTSW - QP-SURF - neuro_ramsey (3/1)
UVA SRIP - TotallyUncertain (2/15), Body Corpus (2/19)
Vanderbilt UCRIP - yahneeks (2/13), SilverScalpel14 (2/13)
Wadsworth Institute (NY State Dept. of Health) REU - liketb12 (2/27)
Weill Cornell ACCESS - neuroeagle (2/21), liketb12 (3/5)
WUSTL Amgen - Narp2251 (3/1)
WUSTL BioMedRAP - thekindflower123 (3/8)
Yale BioMed SURF - Gbarron (3/2), liketb12 (3/6)
Albert Einstein SURP- kiki333 (3/8)

Preliminary Offer/Interview
Columbia Amgen - sophhhhhhh123 (1/17)
CURE Program at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) - liketb12 (2/26)
NIH SIP (NIA) - BlotoftheNorth (2/7 & 2/9)
Northwestern Undergraduate Medical Internship Program - yahneeks (1/26)
Pasteur Foundation Undergraduate Internship Program - RNARNARNA (2/23)
St. Jude POE Program- bratalat (2/15)
UPenn SUMR - Chromium Surfer 3/4, xxpathtomedxx 3/2

Waiting
Boston University SURF
Boston STaRS
Cincinnati Children's SURF
Cincinnati SURP
Columbia Amgen
Columbia SPHSP
CRISSP (Children's Healthcare of Philadelphia)
DAAD
Dana Farber CURE
Gerstner Sloan Kettering SURP
Harvard Amgen
Harvard HSCI
Harvard Immunology
Harvard (Leadership Alliance)
Harvard SEAS REU
Icahn School
Johns Hopkins BioREU
Johns Hopkins SIP
MCW SPUR
MIT
MD Anderson SURP
MGH SRTP
NIH Amgen Scholar
NIH STEP-UP NIDDK
Northeastern Dept. of Biology REU
NY Medical College (STAR)
NYU (Leadership Alliance)
Princeton University
Rutgers NeuroSURP
Rutgers University RISE
Stanford Amgen/SSRP
UC Berkeley Amgen
UChicago PSOMER
UChicago CAMP II
UNC SURE-REU
UPenn SINGH Nanotechnology REU
UPenn SUIP
UPenn SUMR
UPenn SUPERS
UPenn UCSP
UPenn (Leadership Alliance)
UTokyo Amgen
U of M Cardiovascular SURF
UVA SRIP
UVA (Leadership Alliance)
Penn State SURIP
Penn UCSP
Penn USSP
Pitt SURP
Tufts School of Engineering REU
Tufts University: Building Diversity in Biomedical Sciences
Vanderbilt MSTP
Wake Forest Summer Scholars
Weill Cornell ACCESS
Weill Cornell TRAVELERS Program
U of Wisconsin Madison SIGNALS
WUSTL IPH
Yale University (Leadership Alliance)
Yale BioMedical SURF

Rejected
Weill Cornell Gateways to Laboratory (Leadership Alliance) - lex_premed, liketb12 (2/8)
NIH Amgen Scholar - sophhhhhhh123 (2/10), manivharat (3/1)
Berkeley Amgen's - jackkkkkk (2/26)
Thomas Jefferson Biomedical Sciences Summer Research Program - BiotechBeotch (2/28)
JHU Basic Science Institute- manivharat (3/1)
Hopkins SIP for the public health division - (2/28) Chromium Surfer
University of Michigan CaRSIP- (3/1) wannabe_obgyn, Green_Goose
MGH SRTP- Chromium Surfer (3/2)
WashU BP-Endure- manivharat (2/28)
Johns Hopkins INBT- vermillionfighter (3/5), liketb12 (3/5)
Fred Hutch SURP xxpathtomedxx (2/20)
JHU Pulm/Critical Care - Chromium Surfer 3/8
Minnessota LSSURP Pre- MSTP - kiki333 (3/6)
St. Jude POE Program- Kirby Smart (3/11)

 

[deleted910929]

Has anyone been rejected or accepted by Columbia Amgen? Any news?

 

[TraderJoe1]

This is most likely not allowed. Check with your home institution to see if there are any opportunities to get further funding.

edit: Has it been confirmed that you will get placed in your desired lab?

For HMS, yes, but for Pitt, no! Placement occurs after acceptance for Pitt. And don't you worry, I've been searching like a madman for funding opportunities at my institution. And that parttime job thing is just an idea; my PI said that she expects me to work 40 hrs/week, so that a weekend gig as a scribe/something else would be feasible (albeit a bit more stressful). Crossing my fingers that my institution has some funding available!

 

[whostolemypipette]

For those of you who have yet to hear back from programs and get accepted, I wish you guys good luck.

If you absolutely must work in a lab outside your home institution, remember that it's still not too late to apply to some programs (although it'd be cutting it close at this point). Just to name a few: UIUC's Frontiers in Biomedical Imaging (March 15th) and Rowan's BioMedical REU (March 20th). If you happened to apply to the NIH SIP before the March 1st deadline but have still yet to get a response, I'd suggest resending and redoubling your efforts in reaching out to PIs as well. There have been cases of PIs at the NIH sending offers in March, so you really have nothing to lose.

 

[kiki333]

Anyone can suggest me a way to decline an offer, the nicest way possible, to leave the door open in that institution for the future ?

 

[Kirby Smart]

Anyone can suggest me a way to decline an offer, the nicest way possible, to leave the door open in that institution for the future ?

"LOL jk I would never consider your lame ass institution"

Haha all joking aside, I'm sure if you respectfully decline and explain that you have decided to pursue other options and thank them for the review and offer that they won't blacklist you for anything in the future. It would be extremely passive aggressive and I don't think anyone involved is out to do anything like that out of spite lol.

 

[mat10d]

Has anyone been rejected or accepted by Columbia Amgen? Any news?

Ye I heard I was rejected after emailing either Alice Heicklen or Chanda Springer to ask regarding my status

 

[Incomparable]

Anyone can suggest me a way to decline an offer, the nicest way possible, to leave the door open in that institution for the future ?

Let them know you are honored for the acceptance but you have unfortunately already accepted another offer. They wont hold it against you, I promise.

 

[Cheesecake101]

Anyone can suggest me a way to decline an offer, the nicest way possible, to leave the door open in that institution for the future ?

Which program is this for? Reason I’m asking because I think I have a good template that I found in the earlier pages

 

[kiki333]

I just rejected Northwestern (SROP) and Albert Einstein SURP so hope one of you guys can get the spot!

 

[ckckckckck]

Longtime lurker, just got accepted to the Penn USSP
Very surprised, quite average stats - 3.6 GPA, ~8 months research experience at home institution, international student from India (nothing unique). Strengths were probably essays and LORs.

Have belief in yourselves guys! Anything can happen

 

[ckckckckck]

Congrats! If you don't mind answering, did they send you an email asking for an interview with a PI? Waiting to hear back from them and hoping they're still sending out offers

Yes, it was an email asking for an interview, but it seemed like the interview was just to see which lab fit best. They said they would do their best to accommodate you to a lab.

Best of luck!

 

[VerilyCertain]

Did anyone reply to the ChemBio NYU REU? Both my references sent their letters, but I never got a confirmation email for one of them. So I emailed the program and they straight up just never responded. This is the second time I emailed them too, and have not been responded to.

I'm having a similar issue as well. One of my recommenders insists that she didn't get the automated link to send her LOR. My other recommender successfully sent his and I had even gotten an automated form letter as an update from the program. After trying to contact someone at the REU using the email, I have gotten no response back.... I emailed a question regarding eligibility before submitting my application as well. Likewise... no response.

 

[Arodramaticity]

I'm having a similar issue as well. One of my recommenders insists that she didn't get the automated link to send her LOR. My other recommender successfully sent his and I had even gotten an automated form letter as an update from the program. After trying to contact someone at the REU using the email, I have gotten no response back.... I emailed a question regarding eligibility before submitting my application as well. Likewise... no response.

Haha I'm glad I wasn't the only one. Good new is that I found on the website that their program coordinator is Dr. Yoel Ohayon. It's not letting me post emails on this thread since I just recently made an account but you can find his email on the NYU faculty page (or by simply google searching Yoel Ohayon NYU). I emailed him directly with my question and he responded pretty quickly (and curtly) saying that both my LOR's were received. Hope this helps!

 

[BiotechBeotch]

I officially committed to Rutgers SURF today! Good luck to everyone else!!! On a side note, if anyone is going to be at Rutgers this summer OR needs a sublet at Rutgers then hit me up

 

[lex_premed]

I officially accepted to Rutgers SURF today! Good luck to everyone else!!! On a side note, if anyone is going to be at Rutgers this summer OR needs a sublet at Rutgers then hit me up

OMG! Congrats
When did they send you an email??
I am still waiting....

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

 

[BiotechBeotch]

OMG! Congrats
When did they send you an email??
I am still waiting....

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

Sorry, I edited the original post to say that I committed* today. I got notified of my acceptance on Tuesday 3/6 (at like 4 AM, no less). They gave me 1 week to accept (the deadline was tomorrow, 3/13) so I would expect another round of offers soon.
Did you apply to SURF or just RISE? Because I still haven't heard from RISE but I did email them to ask about my app (since their website says you can participate in both). I got my PI today and the research seems cool. It wasn't my top choice, but mostly because of the housing/stipend they offer but I'm excited the more I think about it.

 

[lex_premed]

Sorry, I edited the original post to say that I committed* today. I got notified of my acceptance on Tuesday 3/6 (at like 4 AM, no less). They gave me 1 week to accept (the deadline was tomorrow, 3/13) so I would expect another round of offers soon.
Did you apply to SURF or just RISE? Because I still haven't heard from RISE but I did email them to ask about my app (since their website says you can participate in both). I got my PI today and the research seems cool. It wasn't my top choice, but mostly because of the housing/stipend they offer but I'm excited the more I think about it.

I believe any research experience is cool to do full time for a few weeks. It is not the same what doing research between classes and exams as you can clearly commit to a particular project, and focus all attention. I sent you a PM.

Good luck in summer!

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

 

[TG4M]

Sorry, I edited the original post to say that I committed* today. I got notified of my acceptance on Tuesday 3/6 (at like 4 AM, no less). They gave me 1 week to accept (the deadline was tomorrow, 3/13) so I would expect another round of offers soon.
Did you apply to SURF or just RISE? Because I still haven't heard from RISE but I did email them to ask about my app (since their website says you can participate in both). I got my PI today and the research seems cool. It wasn't my top choice, but mostly because of the housing/stipend they offer but I'm excited the more I think about it.

Did you apply to Rutger's NeuroSurp? I am waiting for those decisions. What's the difference between SURF and RISE? Anyways congrats on getting the SURF!

 

[BiotechBeotch]

Did you apply to Rutger's NeuroSurp? I am waiting for those decisions. What's the difference between SURF and RISE? Anyways congrats on getting the SURF!

I applied to RISE, SURF, and REU in Cellular Bioengineering through the RISE portal application. SURF is a separate program hosted by the school of pharmacy and focuses on pharmaceutical science & toxicology. I've seen a lot of people mention that they're waiting on NeuroSurp so I wouldn't worry too much. Someone from RISE also told me that they were closed for a few days last week because they lost power during the storms in the northeast so that might have delayed things

 

[lex_premed]

I applied to RISE, SURF, and REU in Cellular Bioengineering through the RISE portal application. SURF is a separate program hosted by the school of pharmacy and focuses on pharmaceutical science & toxicology. I've seen a lot of people mention that they're waiting on NeuroSurp so I wouldn't worry too much. Someone from RISE also told me that they were closed for a few days last week because they lost power during the storms in the northeast so that might have delayed things

Oh.. That explains a lot.
Hopefully we will hear soon

Sent from my SM-J727T using SDN mobile

 

[theklaw4.0]

Hey guys just wondering if anyone applied to the Mount Sinai international exchange summer research program for minorities students?

 

[BiotechBeotch]

So I need a little advice... I literally JUST committed to Rutgers SURF (because it was the deadline to accept) and got my PI placement, emailed the guy, etc. Apparently he's pretty top notch, his summer students get a lot of awards and some publications...the research isn't exactly what I'm used to but I wanna try new things and explore my interests. Plus, I did get placed in pharmacology which is my choice of career path.

I woke up this morning to an acceptance from SUPERS@UPenn (I was on the waitlist but it had been a while so I wasn't holding my breath anymore). UPenn is obviously a dream, especially since I go to a no-name no-research school. Plus, UPenn offers more money PLUS housing & a meal plan (none of which are covered by Rutgers). Additionally, I would prefer to be in Philly for personal reasons, but New Brunswick isn't a bad location either. I thought UPenn was a clear top choice before, but now I'm just confused about which program is better for me, aligns more with my interests, etc. Plus I'm not sure how I would back out of Rutgers if I wanted to (I don't want to be rude, plus I'm very interested in their grad program). I'm going to have a meeting with my adviser today but does anyone have any advice?

 

[whostolemypipette]

So I need a little advice... I literally JUST committed to Rutgers SURF (because it was the deadline to accept) and got my PI placement, emailed the guy, etc. Apparently he's pretty top notch, his summer students get a lot of awards and some publications...the research isn't exactly what I'm used to but I wanna try new things and explore my interests. Plus, I did get placed in pharmacology which is my choice of career path.

I woke up this morning to an acceptance from SUPERS@UPenn (I was on the waitlist but it had been a while so I wasn't holding my breath anymore). UPenn is obviously a dream, especially since I go to a no-name no-research school. Plus, UPenn offers more money PLUS housing & a meal plan (none of which are covered by Rutgers). Additionally, I would prefer to be in Philly for personal reasons, but New Brunswick isn't a bad location either. I thought UPenn was a clear top choice before, but now I'm just confused about which program is better for me, aligns more with my interests, etc. Plus I'm not sure how I would back out of Rutgers if I wanted to (I don't want to be rude, plus I'm very interested in their grad program). I'm going to have a meeting with my adviser today but does anyone have any advice?

So first of all, congratulations on your acceptances. As for what to do, it's always going to depend on what you personally want out of a program, which really, only you truly know. I think it's becoming a cliche, but things only get to become cliches if they're true. Of course, this could be applicable to anyone deciding between X and Y program. This is just my thoughts and take from it what you will. I will say I tried to be earnest and give it some thought since it will be likely a hard decision.

1. Personally, and I do emphasize personally, the experience of the program always trumps all other factors. Plenty of people with high GPAs, strong LORs, etc. that would qualify them for the program get turned down but still get into the grad school/med school of their dreams. I personally interpret that as it doesn't matter which program you go to in terms of name. The strong GPA, LORs, etc. that got them into X program at Stanford, MIT, Harvard, UChic, etc. are always going to be reflected in their apps in the next cycle to grad school/med school anyways. Furthermore, I think most medical school/grad school adcoms realize that acceptance rates to these summer programs can actually be even lower than their own rates. Based on my conversations with some directors, they're looking into how you spend your summer, not where. So, that leads to...

2. Do you know who your mentor would be at SUPERS yet? I would try and figure out who your likely matched labs would be as soon as possible. I truly believe the PI is what makes the program, not the host institution. If you get a crap PI that delegates menial tasks for your project, I do think you would set yourself back. You would have to find a way to embellish your project and contributions to a discerning adcom. On the other hand, if you can standout as one of the PI's top students ever, get a strong LOR, and even a publication, then you definitely would have had a productive summer. I think the possibility to get published can't be overlooked. Yes, grad schools/med schools state it's not required, but they almost certainly help and undeniably do not hurt. Publications are the end game for research experiences; they're validation and proof that a student is top notch and serious about research. That said, I will add the caveat that it can be hard to get published, even if past students in the lab have been. From personal experience, projects can always be set back by the sudden need to do a new experiment. So keep that all in mind.

3. Each program offers something unique in terms of access to resources by virtue of the host institution. Both universities are situated in the tri-state area. Philly has a high density of world-class hospitals, universities, med schools, etc. Perelman undoubtably has a lot of resources for you to utilize and, while you may have your sights set on pharmacology, I think it would be a great opportunity to decide if you might want to consider biomedical research in general. On the other hand, Rutgers is situated in a state dubbed the medical chest of the world where 17 of the top 20 pharmaceuticals have major facilities here. And that is reflected in the program by virtue of talks and visits.

4. As to how to back out, I don't think financial circumstances are any small matter. I think Rutgers would understand if you sent an email along the lines how you gave it serious thought and decided that it wouldn't be feasible any more to work there over the summer. Just be nice and honest about it. $2800 and no meal plan/housing can present a barrier to some students.

Anyways, that's just my opinion. It may potentially be informed, but it's still an opinion none-the-less. Notice that I didn't say which program you should go for; I just provided things you should consider. I think it's ultimately a decision for you to decide and I truly don't want you to regret anything. So, congratulations once again and I hope you choose a program you end up loving.

 

[premedstudent1001]

Has anyone heard back from Columbia SPHSP (Summer Public Health Scholars Program)?

 

[JHUBlueJay19]

Got accepted into UIC College of Pharmacy SURF today! Won't be able to take it since I already committed to NIH BESIP (which I hope was the better decision).

 

[BiotechBeotch]

So first of all, congratulations on your acceptances. As for what to do, it's always going to depend on what you personally want out of a program, which really, only you truly know. I think it's becoming a cliche, but things only get to become cliches if they're true. Of course, this could be applicable to anyone deciding between X and Y program. This is just my thoughts and take from it what you will. I will say I tried to be earnest and give it some thought since it will be likely a hard decision.

1. Personally, and I do emphasize personally, the experience of the program always trumps all other factors. Plenty of people with high GPAs, strong LORs, etc. that would qualify them for the program get turned down but still get into the grad school/med school of their dreams. I personally interpret that as it doesn't matter which program you go to in terms of name. The strong GPA, LORs, etc. that got them into X program at Stanford, MIT, Harvard, UChic, etc. are always going to be reflected in their apps in the next cycle to grad school/med school anyways. Furthermore, I think most medical school/grad school adcoms realize that acceptance rates to these summer programs can actually be even lower than their own rates. Based on my conversations with some directors, they're looking into how you spend your summer, not where. So, that leads to...

2. Do you know who your mentor would be at SUPERS yet? I would try and figure out who your likely matched labs would be as soon as possible. I truly believe the PI is what makes the program, not the host institution. If you get a crap PI that delegates menial tasks for your project, I do think you would set yourself back. You would have to find a way to embellish your project and contributions to a discerning adcom. On the other hand, if you can standout as one of the PI's top students ever, get a strong LOR, and even a publication, then you definitely would have had a productive summer. I think the possibility to get published can't be overlooked. Yes, grad schools/med schools state it's not required, but they almost certainly help and undeniably do not hurt. Publications are the end game for research experiences; they're validation and proof that a student is top notch and serious about research. That said, I will add the caveat that it can be hard to get published, even if past students in the lab have been. From personal experience, projects can always be set back by the sudden need to do a new experiment. So keep that all in mind.

3. Each program offers something unique in terms of access to resources by virtue of the host institution. Both universities are situated in the tri-state area. Philly has a high density of world-class hospitals, universities, med schools, etc. Perelman undoubtably has a lot of resources for you to utilize and, while you may have your sights set on pharmacology, I think it would be a great opportunity to decide if you might want to consider biomedical research in general. On the other hand, Rutgers is situated in a state dubbed the medical chest of the world where 17 of the top 20 pharmaceuticals have major facilities here. And that is reflected in the program by virtue of talks and visits.

4. As to how to back out, I don't think financial circumstances are any small matter. I think Rutgers would understand if you sent an email along the lines how you gave it serious thought and decided that it wouldn't be feasible any more to work there over the summer. Just be nice and honest about it. $2800 and no meal plan/housing can present a barrier to some students.

Anyways, that's just my opinion. It may potentially be informed, but it's still an opinion none-the-less. Notice that I didn't say which program you should go for; I just provided things you should consider. I think it's ultimately a decision for you to decide and I truly don't want you to regret anything. So, congratulations once again and I hope you choose a program you end up loving.

I want you to know that I took this to heart and really thought about it. I talked to my adviser for like, an hour. We basically decided that the skillset I gain from either program will be the same, although the research might be different. Neither program offers research in anything I'm really set on, but UPenn's is slightly more aligned with my interests (although less pharma based). Although the PI at Rutgers is awesome, so are the ones at UPenn which I'm likely to get matched with. Neither are probably THAT likely to lead to a publication so I don't want to hang my hopes on that.

Additionally, with my school having less "pedigree", my professors agreed that having a good name on my CV will mean a lot on my applications - although this isn't normally the case, I'm from a very young, mostly unheard of institution and to prove that I can run with the big kids can kill any doubt about the quality of my education. Plus, although I like Rutgers for grad school, it'd be amazing to have an in with UPenn (which will likely look more impressive on my grad school apps if we're being honest). Both have pretty equivalent networking opportunities, I think, although Penn offers less panels.

And yeah, the financial situation isn't anything to discard (but I didn't want it to be my primary interest). Ultimately, I think SUPERS is the better choice for me but I'm confirming that they'll allow me to receive academic credit before I move forward. Definitely a hard choice but I think I'm on the right path and I'm hoping to get it sorted out within the next few days so someone else can move off either waitlist.

 

[compbioboi]

Has anyone heard anything from the Institute of Computational Medicine (ICM) at Hopkins? I applied through SIP & have heard back from my alternate choices, but not ICM. I tried emailing their program director but have not received a response. Also, anyone know if CSHL and Stanford SSRP do silent rejections?

 

[TG4M]

I want you to know that I took this to heart and really thought about it. I talked to my adviser for like, an hour. We basically decided that the skillset I gain from either program will be the same, although the research might be different. Neither program offers research in anything I'm really set on, but UPenn's is slightly more aligned with my interests (although less pharma based). Although the PI at Rutgers is awesome, so are the ones at UPenn which I'm likely to get matched with. Neither are probably THAT likely to lead to a publication so I don't want to hang my hopes on that.

Additionally, with my school having less "pedigree", my professors agreed that having a good name on my CV will mean a lot on my applications - although this isn't normally the case, I'm from a very young, mostly unheard of institution and to prove that I can run with the big kids can kill any doubt about the quality of my education. Plus, although I like Rutgers for grad school, it'd be amazing to have an in with UPenn (which will likely look more impressive on my grad school apps if we're being honest). Both have pretty equivalent networking opportunities, I think, although Penn offers less panels.

And yeah, the financial situation isn't anything to discard (but I didn't want it to be my primary interest). Ultimately, I think SUPERS is the better choice for me but I'm confirming that they'll allow me to receive academic credit before I move forward. Definitely a hard choice but I think I'm on the right path and I'm hoping to get it sorted out within the next few days so someone else can move off either waitlist.

I just want to add that financial situation as a primary interest is totally understandable since it is hard to poof money out of thin air to support room and board plus other additional costs during the summer while not working since your time is eaten up by doing the SURF. I think that reason alone trumps Rutgers. On top of that, what are your interests? What kind of research do you want to do? No offense, the reasoning to "run with the big kids" by doing a summer program doesn't prove that, it would show through other things (just want to note sometimes prestige blocks logic, summer research program at either schools are really fine since both Rutgers and Penn are massive research institutions). I think having a LOR from a PI is massive enough regardless of where their research is done.