REU Programs

[bookworm04]

I know this isn't technically related to grad school, but I've seen REU's come up in here sometimes, mods feel free to let me know if I need to delete it. :)

I talked with my advisor about REU programs for the summer, and he told me that like undergrad colleges, REU's vary in how competitive they are. He told me to apply to "lots of places", and the

Comments

[markovnikov]

Usually REUs are only open to current undergrads. You usually can't do them if you will have a bachelor's by the time the summer comes around, FYI. Unless I misunderstood you.

REUs are very competitive. I was in one last summer, and they said they had over 600 applicants for 20 spots. My advisor said the selection was completely random though. They basically just picked the twenty from a pile because I don't think they really cared too much after going through graduate applications.

I applied to 10 the summer going into my junior year, and didn't get accepted into any. I then applied to 8 last summer, and I was accepted to 2.

Hope that helps.

[markovnikov]

Oh these are chemistry REUs by the way, so they may be more/less competitive than ecology.

[bookworm04]

Sorry if I didn't make it clear. I have senior standing, but I'm not going to get my degree until next may.

Thanks for the insight. Well, if it's random...I guess it's worth a shot.

[roseofjuly]

From my understanding, REUs vary in competitiveness -- a lot is based on the reputation of the school the REU is held at, the funding source of the REU (like NSF) the location of the REU, etc.

With your GPA (not terribly low, but not terribly high either) you should probably apply to more REUs...when I was a junior I think I applied to about 5. If you're in the U.S., the National Science Foundation's website has a list of REUs that it funds across the country, and a great deal of them are biologicalI went to a non-NSF funded REU last summer (mine was instead funded by the NIH and CDC) and there were a range of people, from those who had been doing research practically sine hitting the campus (like me) to those who had no research experience. This was also a sort of different RE in that it wasn't only for undergrads; there were recent graduates, master's students, and Ph.D students at the program too, although they were in the minority

[bookworm04]

Thank you for the link, and the advice!

I'm in the US, and I've already gone through the NSF programs that I think I'd enjoy doing, which is 5 or 6 depending if I want to apply to a severely competitive one. I'll go back and see if there are any other ones that catch my interest.

On the six professors thing, I didn't know if it would be rude/presumptuous to ask them to just write three letters each or something. Now that you mention it, it sounds like a good solution. That's what I get for stressing out about things without really thinking them through first. Thanks!

[roseofjuly]

Nope, it's actually quite common practice for the majority of things, including for graduate school. The same three professors wrote all my recs for 5 different grad programs.

Ooh, also, visit the NIH website (NIH.gov). They have summer research internships, usually in the D.C.-metro area but in some other places too. Mostly these are biomedical internships, but the majority of them are biologically based. The deadline isn't until March.

[bookworm04]

That's good to know, now I won't feel like such a mooch for asking them to write 2 each. :)

Ooh! I'll have to take a look at the NIH site.

[adequaticus]

As a good (good grades, some limited research experience), but non-amazing sophomore, I applied to 19 and got into 4.
As a much more impressive junior (very good grades, good amount of research experience), I applied to 9 and got into 6.

Advice: You don't sound very impressive, so cast a very wide net if you really want an REU offer.

"I'm having a hell of a time finding 6 'science people' to write me recommendation letters"

Why do you need SIX recommendation letters?

[bookworm04]

Thanks for the ratios. I've been going through the comments here, and I'm thinking that applying to roughly 20 would probably be in my best interests.

Well, each program needs two rec letters. If I applied to three, then I'd need six. Right? When I posted, I didn't think about asking fewer profs to write multiple letters.

[driveheraway]

My understanding is that REUs do not go to people with tons of research experience since their purpose is to expose you to more research. They are intended more for people who have not had the opportunity to do research at the institution where they are currently, so the fact that you don't have tons of experience shouldn't be a large handicap.

[bookworm04]

Thanks! It makes sense.

[adequaticus]

This has not been the case in my experience. Nearly everyone in my REU program each summer had significant research experience.

Sure, the purpose is to expose you to more research, but advisors and grad students don't want to spend those 10 weeks TEACHING you how to be useful. You're meant to make real progress on a real project. I would argue that the purpose of REU's is to expose students to *different* areas of research. If you want a shot at a top REU program, you better be an excellent student who knows how to work in a lab well.

[roseofjuly]

Agreed -- I was about to say this. While they may not accept a lot of people with very extensive research experience, they're also not going to accept people with absolutely no research experience, either. The 10-week span is very briskly paced and tightly run, and a lot of times you're doing an entire project in that period of time. They need to be sure that you can handle it and that you have at least a bit of experience with research...

...however, at some programs that may be more broadly defined than at others.

[altoangel]

For what it's worth, I did an REU the summer after my sophomore year and another research experience the summer after my junior year. I think the essay is quite important - the program directors at my first REU commented on how much they liked my essay, so I think it was pivotal for me. As the above commenter said, most REUs are focused on people without a whole lot of research experience. What you have should be fine, but I'd try to really wow them with my essay. I wrote mine as a college sophomore who was pretty much clueless about what she wanted to research :) so it read much more like an undergrad admissions essay. You're further into your program of study, so you would probably structure yours more like an SOP. Your professors should be able to advise you about this

[bookworm04]

Thanks for the encouragement. :) I'm trying to come up with an strong essay, now.

I'm looking at this community for the general structure of an SOP, and asking my professors for help, so it comes off a little less like an undergrad admissions essay.

I was, and still am..., stressing out about how people said they applied to 20 programs. But when I look at it, they were accepted into 20% of them, so your suggestion of 6-8 sounds about right.

I have all of the information that I need to fill out the applications, sans essays, compiled. I just have to fill them out. I realize that I've effectively missed the Feb 15th deadline on some applications (I can't ask my profs to write recommendations on such short notice, and I won't have a polished essay done), but many of the REU programs have application deadlines around March 1st.

Thanks again!