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

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trackandhp7 said:
Reviving this thread but I know people are probably thinking about Amgen apps soon, since they open in about 2 weeks. Amgen was the best experience of my life! 10/10 would recommend and can help with any questions xx
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Hi,

What program did you get into and what were your stats?

I am fairly confident in my app (good statement of purpose, letters of rec, 1 year research experience, 3.93 GPA), but I am concerned that it's just a numbers game.
What did you have in your application that you believe made you stand out?

Thank you!
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Bioenchilada said:
I participated in Harvard SHURP and have gotten into a Cornell SR-EIP (MBG-REU), what would you like to know?
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What were your stats when you were applying? I applied to Harvard SHURP and would love someone successful to compare myself to.
 
LTUbluedevil said:
What were your stats when you were applying? I applied to Harvard SHURP and would love someone successful to compare myself to.
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When I got into Harvard SHURP, I had a 3.96 GPA, 6 semesters of research experience, and a summer internship at Penn under my belt. My LORs came from my Penn PI and a professor I was working with at my home school.
 
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Bioenchilada said:
When I got into Harvard SHURP, I had a 3.96 GPA, 6 semesters of research experience, and a summer internship at Penn under my belt. My LORs came from my Penn PI and a professor I was working with at my home school.
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In your opinion, do you think I have a chance with only one year of research under my belt being only a sophomore?
 
Applied for DAAD and Tokyo Amgen Scholars programs. Really would like some international research experience (especially because I can speak both German and Japanese). Good luck everyone!
 
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I am about to submit my last of 16 applications. Hoping for the best! Let me know how you all do please, good luck!
 
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Just submitted an awesome essay formatted in Comic Sans, do you think they'll get my humor?
 
Anyone applying to UPenn SUMR or Fred Hutch? Have you heard back yet?
 
Just finished submitting the last of my 16 applications. Most satisfying feeling EVER.
 
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Good luck guys! Next couple of weeks and months waiting will be the most nerve racking and irritating aspect of this process! I remember my freshman year checking my email at the top of every hour which was insane! I suggest you guys submit, forget, and try a new hobby. Don’t annoy the program coordinators , just patiently wait knowing that each of you are great candidates with multiple acceptances on the way. Internships became the best part of my undergraduate career . New city, money in your pocket , and an interesting lab. One tip of advice , Work hard in lab , read the papers, interact, and learn hands on with a smile, but most importantly party hard on the weekends, explore with fellow interns,I talk to past intern friends like family now

- your network is your net worth
 
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AutoclaveGuru said:
Good luck guys! Next couple of weeks and months waiting will be the most nerve racking and irritating aspect of this process! I remember my freshman year checking my email at the top of every hour which was insane! I suggest you guys submit, forget, and try a new hobby. Don’t annoy the program coordinators , just patiently wait knowing that each of you are great candidates with multiple acceptances on the way. Internships became the best part of my undergraduate career . New city, money in your pocket , and an interesting lab. One tip of advice , Work hard in lab , read the papers, interact, and learn hands on with a smile, but most importantly party hard on the weekends, explore with fellow interns,I talk to past intern friends like family now

- your network is your net worth
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Thanks @AutoclaveGuru !
 
I only applied to Mayo SURF this year. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but I figured that if I didn't get in I will just continue to take summer classes and study for the MCAT. It will be EPIC if I get in.
 
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AutoclaveGuru said:
Good luck guys! Next couple of weeks and months waiting will be the most nerve racking and irritating aspect of this process! I remember my freshman year checking my email at the top of every hour which was insane! I suggest you guys submit, forget, and try a new hobby. Don’t annoy the program coordinators , just patiently wait knowing that each of you are great candidates with multiple acceptances on the way. Internships became the best part of my undergraduate career . New city, money in your pocket , and an interesting lab. One tip of advice , Work hard in lab , read the papers, interact, and learn hands on with a smile, but most importantly party hard on the weekends, explore with fellow interns,I talk to past intern friends like family now

- your network is your net worth
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Yeah I'm not stressed. Im fairly confident I will get accepted.
 
Just to maintain my sanity, does anyone know from past years when programs in general start releasing acceptances/rejections?..
 
liketb12 said:
Just to maintain my sanity, does anyone know from past years when programs in general start releasing acceptances/rejections?..
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Depends on the program. I already have an interview for Janelia. Amgen was usually early March, at least for UCLA Amgen
 
Hi all,

Thank you for creating this thread.
I applied to about 10 programs mostly around NY, NJ area but I also applied to NIH Amgen and MIT.

Those programs are very competitve but I hope I can get to at least one.

Good luck everyone!
 
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lex_premed said:
Hi all,

Thank you for creating this thread.
I applied to about 10 programs mostly around NY, NJ area but I also applied to NIH Amgen and MIT.

Those programs are very competitve but I hope I can get to at least one.

Good luck everyone!
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What other programs if you don’t mind ?
 
liketb12 said:
Just to maintain my sanity, does anyone know from past years when programs in general start releasing acceptances/rejections?..
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Some programs release during the last week of February but most release early March.
 
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Past Amgen scholar, feel free to ask me any question.
Disclaimer: I strongly believe that if you are applying for these programs, you should be interested in exploring or pursuing a PHD or MDPHD, which is the mission of these programs. If you’re only doing this to put on your MD application, knowing full well that you have no intention of ever pursuing academic research, there’s no place in these programs for you. You’re taking the spot away from someone else who is genuinely interested in pursuing research degree.
 
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Microbug said:
Disclaimer: I strongly believe that if you are applying for these programs, you should be interested in exploring or pursuing a PHD or MDPHD, which is the mission of these programs.
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I am definitely super interested in exploring the MD/Phd option and it's what I indicated on my applications and mentioned in my essays.

But do you think that's seen as a negative, considering the amount of pre-meds that apply to these programs just for a leg up in med school admissions and like you said, have no intention in pursuing academic research??

I'm worried they toss all the MD/PhD hopefuls into one pile and look at them last, after they review the PhD only people, which makes me wonder if I should have just put PhD down. (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question!!)
 
liketb12 said:
I am definitely super interested in exploring the MD/Phd option and it's what I indicated on my applications and mentioned in my essays.

But do you think that's seen as a negative, considering the amount of pre-meds that apply to these programs just for a leg up in med school admissions and like you said, have no intention in pursuing academic research??

I'm worried they toss all the MD/PhD hopefuls into one pile and look at them last, after they review the PhD only people, which makes me wonder if I should have just put PhD down. (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question!!)
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the institution I was at put us together as one cohort (Amgen, Leadership alliance, other funding sources). The outcome (around 50 of us in total) comes to about 75% PhD, 20% MDPHD and 5% MD. I did a summer research program every summer and I always put down MDPHD. Applied to 5-7 a year and ended up with one every year. I don’t think it puts you at any disadvantage if you have a track record of commitment to research. And programs do post-program survey, we were also a close-knit group that kept in touch, everyone knows where people ended up at. There may not be professional repercussion but I definitely judged those people (NOT those interested in exploring PHD or MDPHD), who straightout say “I only do this to have on my med school app.”
 
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liketb12 said:
I am definitely super interested in exploring the MD/Phd option and it's what I indicated on my applications and mentioned in my essays.

But do you think that's seen as a negative, considering the amount of pre-meds that apply to these programs just for a leg up in med school admissions and like you said, have no intention in pursuing academic research??

I'm worried they toss all the MD/PhD hopefuls into one pile and look at them last, after they review the PhD only people, which makes me wonder if I should have just put PhD down. (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question!!)
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There is also MDPHD specific programs (IOWA SUMR) that I definitely recommend.
 
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Thanks so much @Microbug!

Also just wondering, what did you guys apply for on Leadership Alliance? I'm a freshmen (rip at my chances) and selected Weil Cornell Gateways, Brown, and Harvard. I'm super nervous!! Some other faves I applied for are Yale Biomed SURF, Weill Cornell ACCESS, Harvard Engineering REU, Tufts Biomed, NIH SIP, and Johns Hopkins SIP.

Even though most programs prefer upperclassmen, I still applied to things that don't completely bar freshmen since I have pretty good research experience in my opinion (research intern for 2 years at a top 3 school, and doing independent research right now at my college on the verge of publishing since it's been a 2 year ongoing project (but it is a pretty unknown school)), low-income/first-gen/URM, and I have a 3.8 with a rigorous course load. Still super scared since being a freshmen really lowers my chances but we'll see!! :)
 
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liketb12 said:
But do you think that's seen as a negative, considering the amount of pre-meds that apply to these programs just for a leg up in med school admissions and like you said, have no intention in pursuing academic research??

I'm worried they toss all the MD/PhD hopefuls into one pile and look at them last, after they review the PhD only people, which makes me wonder if I should have just put PhD down. (Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question!!)
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Absolutely not. I've been fortunate enough to participate in a few of these programs in the past. I've always been up front about my desire to purse an MD/PhD and it has never hurt me or my friends.

On a side note, good luck to all applying this year. These programs are a lot of fun and you will meet some amazing people. Sending positive vibes to you all!
 
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liketb12 said:
Thanks so much @Microbug!

Also just wondering, what did you guys apply for on Leadership Alliance? I'm a freshmen (rip at my chances) and selected Weil Cornell Gateways, Brown, and Harvard. I'm super nervous!! Some other faves I applied for are Yale Biomed SURF, Weill Cornell ACCESS, Harvard Engineering REU, Tufts Biomed, NIH SIP, and Johns Hopkins SIP.

Even though most programs prefer upperclassmen, I still applied to things that don't completely bar freshmen since I have pretty good research experience in my opinion (research intern for 2 years at a top 3 school, and doing independent research right now at my college on the verge of publishing since it's been a 2 year ongoing project (but it is a pretty unknown school)), low-income/first-gen/URM, and I have a 3.8 with a rigorous course load. Still super scared since being a freshmen really lowers my chances but we'll see!! :)
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I've heard about this "freshman curse" but for what it's worth, there has been freshman students in every program I've participated in. One of them became a good friend of mine. Apparently, he only applied to one program that cycle lol.
 
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Has anyone ever gotten early acceptance to an SR-EIP university? I read on the website that sometimes they send acceptances out as early as Feb. 2nd.
 
Has anyone else had their recommenders say they were not notified to upload their reference letters?
 
Disagree with @Microbug

A lot of ppl just do research to tick the box, but if you don’t give ppl good opportunities to do research then they might never discover they are not only interested but good at it. I think this is especially true for people with backgrounds unlikely to go into research to begin with. I had almost 0 interest in biomedical research as a freshman premed. Got involved in a research stream cuz it seemed like a good thing to do for my CV and now I’ll be applying MD/PhD after finishing a research Masters. Without a good “first experience” in research it can be really hard to find good opportunities at your home institution (a good lab likely to be more invested in your training/work than merely having you run gels over and over) and these programs provide that for a lot of people.

I will say that if you’re from a school replete with good research opportunities (Tier 1 research, HYPSM and Co, etc) then try that first before you apply to one of these programs. You will be better placed to actually succeed in this application process and you might learn that you hate research. If you don’t like research and are just doing it for the CV after that, then I agree: stay home and do research there and let others take these spots.
 
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Lucca said:
Disagree with @Microbug

A lot of ppl just do research to tick the box, but if you don’t give ppl good opportunities to do research then they might never discover they are not only interested but good at it. I think this is especially true for people with backgrounds unlikely to go into research to begin with. I had almost 0 interest in biomedical research as a freshman premed. Got involved in a research stream cuz it seemed like a good thing to do for my CV and now I’ll be applying MD/PhD after finishing a research Masters. Without a good “first experience” in research it can be really hard to find good opportunities at your home institution (a good lab likely to be more invested in your training/work than merely having you run gels over and over) and these programs provide that for a lot of people.

I will say that if you’re from a school replete with good research opportunities (Tier 1 research, HYPSM and Co, etc) then try that first before you apply to one of these programs. You will be better placed to actually succeed in this application process and you might learn that you hate research. If you don’t like research and are just doing it for the CV after that, then I agree: stay home and do research there and let others take these spots.
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I think we have to agree to disagree. I have no problem with people wanting to explore research through these programs. But intentionally doing so to check a box while taking a spot away from someone else who actually fits the mission of these programs is somewhat dishonest.
 
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Microbug said:
I think we have to agree to disagree. I have no problem with people wanting to explore research through these programs. But intentionally doing so to check a box while taking a spot away from someone else who actually fits the mission of these programs is somewhat dishonest.
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I agree, Research exposure is necessary to make sure medicine is right for you. It took me three years of research to realize it wasn’t the field for me and I’m better for it
 
Is anyone on here an F1 visa international student that’s applying to summer research programs? I am! I’m a little worried that I will be at a disadvantage due to my international status. What do you all think?
 
Anyone know of any NIH SIP movement yet?
 
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MonkeyArrow said:
Anyone know of any NIH SIP movement yet?
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I applied and have had my recs in for about two weeks but haven't heard anything. I have a strong feeling it is a rolling admissions program though since they make you put in your interests that will be searched up by participating researchers/PIs.
 
Does anyone know when to expect a decision from MD Anderson SURP? I looked at last year's thread but there doesn't seem to be anyone who applied for it. Is it that the SURP program is very new or is it that it's not highly regarded?
Also, it seems like people send many emails after their applications. I really don't see the point in sending emails to centralized programs. Does it increase your chance of getting accepted by sounding familiar to the committee when they actually read your application? I know this is probably a dumb question, but I would really appreciate any clarification on this email thing. Thank you!
 
NuclearPore said:
Does anyone know when to expect a decision from MD Anderson SURP? I looked at last year's thread but there doesn't seem to be anyone who applied for it. Is it that the SURP program is very new or is it that it's not highly regarded?
Also, it seems like people send many emails after their applications. I really don't see the point in sending emails to centralized programs. Does it increase your chance of getting accepted by sounding familiar to the committee when they actually read your application? I know this is probably a dumb question, but I would really appreciate any clarification on this email thing. Thank you!
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patience is the key to success
 
JC7878 said:
patience is the key to success
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I agree. I'm not saying I want to email them because I want to know when to expect a decision. I mean it would be nice to know but I can live without it. I'm just asking if sending emails can give you an advantage (in terms of making yourself familiar to them, or showing that you are really interested in the program ... etc.).
The reason I'm not so anxious is that I only applied to 3 programs this year and they are all competitive, so I don't really have my hopes up. I'm sure you can relate since you only applied to one program.
 
Hello everyone,

I did last year SURP at top institution in NY, and I was surprised that most accepted students were in MD track.

I am into MD- PhD as well, and it is surprising that maybe 3% were actually interested in MD PhD, or PhD.

Also, dont be discouraged if you get rejected.
Those programs are highly competitive, even more than MD, or MD PhD addmission alone.

I applied to 10, and got only 1 acceptance.

Good luck - i am so anxious to wait on schools decisions
 
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lex_premed said:
Hello everyone,

I did last year SURP at top institution in NY, and I was surprised that most accepted students were in MD track.

I am into MD- PhD as well, and it is surprising that maybe 3% were actually interested in MD PhD, or PhD.

Also, dont be discouraged if you get rejected.
Those programs are highly competitive, even more than MD, or MD PhD addmission alone.

I applied to 10, and got only 1 acceptance.

Good luck - i am so anxious to wait on schools decisions
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what institution did you do your surp at?? was it in NYC?
 
Since decisions start to come out towards the end of the month I figured I would start this. It's helpful for people both in this cycle but also in future cycles. In past years everyone put the programs they applied to in the "waiting" category and then updated the list by moving programs in the other categories as time progressed. Once you hear back from a program put your handle and date of communication next to the program name! Best of luck everyone! :)
Accepted
Preliminary Offer/Interview
Waiting
Columbia SPHSP
UPenn SUMR
Johns Hopkins SIP
MGH SRTP
Rejected
 
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NuclearPore said:
I agree. I'm not saying I want to email them because I want to know when to expect a decision. I mean it would be nice to know but I can live without it. I'm just asking if sending emails can give you an advantage (in terms of making yourself familiar to them, or showing that you are really interested in the program ... etc.).
The reason I'm not so anxious is that I only applied to 3 programs this year and they are all competitive, so I don't really have my hopes up. I'm sure you can relate since you only applied to one program.
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I agree, and I understand your situation. I only applied to Mayo SURF this year so I know how you feel. Good luck and I hope you get accepted into all 3!
 
Chromium Surfer said:
Since decisions start to come out towards the end of the month I figured I would start this. It's helpful for people both in this cycle but also in future cycles. In past years everyone put the programs they applied to in the "waiting" category and then updated the list by moving programs in the other categories as time progressed. Once you hear back from a program put your handle and date of communication next to the program name! Best of luck everyone! :)
Accepted
Preliminary Offer/Interview
Waiting
Columbia SPHSP
UPenn SUMR
Johns Hopkins SIP
MGH SRTP
Rejected
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Hello,

Accepted
Preliminary Offer/Interview
Waiting
Weill Cornell ACCESS
Weill Cornell TRAVELERS Program
Icahn School
Rutgers University RISE
Princeton University
Columbia University ( Leadership Alliance)
Yale University (Leadership Alliance)
MIT
NIH SIP/ Amgen Scholar
NY Medical College (STAR)

Rejected
Weill Cornell Gateways to Laboratory (Leadership Alliance)
 
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but do you need to meet any special requirements to apply to summer research programs in general. I've never done any type of research, is prior research experience required.
 
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