Undergraduate Research Awards

[DendWrite]

How much bearing (if any) do undergraduate research awards (or programs like the SURF summer research programs) have on admissions at MSTP programs? There are a few undergrad grants that one can apply to at my school. I applied last year but didn't get it, and I'm wondering if it's worth it to keep trying. They are all quite small (around $2000). Does winning / not winning one of these grants really matter if you have substantial lab experience? I'll have 3 years by the time I apply (of good, hands-on work with a great PI).

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[CielloStelatto]

My guess would be that research awards would add some positive things to your application, but you won't be hurting just because you didn't win some award or grant. I'd guess that lots of very respectable applicants (who do well in the app cycle) didn't win those types of awards or grants.

It's probably good practice for grad school and beyond to submit for the grants (i remember do that my last two years of undergrad), but I doubt that not winning them would stop you from getting some acceptances.

 

[achamess]

I second what the previous poster said. In the final analysis, research awards, especially the better known ones such as HHMI or Goldwater, can only help you. But not having these awards won't be a strike against you so long as you can demonstrate significant research involvement. The reason an adcom would regard a research award positively is precisely because it says that somebody else has already assessed your ability and enthusiasm for research and has deemed them worthy of support. Given that an adcom has all of a few minutes or hours to analyze your past activities, an external judgement on your work can be very useful in helping them form their own opinion on your research past.

With that said, no sweat if you don't get one. Just work hard in the lab and all is good

 

[whiteshadodw]

some SURFs are pretty competitive. the one at my schools normally gets 300 applicants, and only enough grant money to support 60 students. also, at my school the SURF can be continued into the regular school year, and so you're getting HHMI/NIH money for the school year for your research. so definitely worth it.

 

[JHopRevisit]

Doesn't matter much. Applied to a few SURFs, didn't get any, did fine for the application process.

You'd be surprised how few of the things you stress out about matter in the long run. IMHO, GPA, MCAT scores, research experience, recco letters and really unique/impressive extracurricular experiences are the big five, all the other stuff is just gravy.

A SURF, or any research at a different school, can be a decent opportunity to spend a summer in a new place doing something interesting. But if your school has good research opportunities you're better off doing something at your home institution so that you can potentially continue it during the school year if you like it. I'd really only recommend it for people from small liberal arts colleges who just don't have the resources at their university. The only advantage a SURF has it that it lets you fill another slot of the "awards" section, but you can come up with random BS for that section just like everyone else does. Some people also just enjoy getting away from their school for a summer, but if you're looking to travel, wouldn't you rather do something cool abroad or something like that?

 

[whiteshadodw]

Doesn't matter much. Applied to a few SURFs, didn't get any, did fine for the application process.

You'd be surprised how few of the things you stress out about matter in the long run. IMHO, GPA, MCAT scores, research experience, recco letters and really unique/impressive extracurricular experiences are the big five, all the other stuff is just gravy.

A SURF, or any research at a different school, can be a decent opportunity to spend a summer in a new place doing something interesting. But if your school has good research opportunities you're better off doing something at your home institution so that you can potentially continue it during the school year if you like it. I'd really only recommend it for people from small liberal arts colleges who just don't have the resources at their university. The only advantage a SURF has it that it lets you fill another slot of the "awards" section, but you can come up with random BS for that section just like everyone else does. Some people also just enjoy getting away from their school for a summer, but if you're looking to travel, wouldn't you rather do something cool abroad or something like that?

i definitely agree that its better to do research at your home institution so that you can potentially continue the research. but some of these SURFs have specifc grants for undergrads from HHMI/NIH. it'd be hard to find some random BS award that's better than an HHMI/NIH/other grant. that's not to say that you can't get into programs without it, but its just another thing that looks nice on the CV. at the same time though, i think its better to do research that can be more long term at your home institution and try to get awards that way (best poster, best thesis, outstanding research, etc). spending 12 weeks at harvard is somewhat useless unless you are making some major connections or unless the research opportunities at your school are hard to come by. Aren't there scholarships that you can apply for as well?