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

[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.

I only got into one REU each summer, but I didn't mind since I applied only to ones I was really interested in. I think I only applied to three or four each time, but you'd probably be safer applying to 6 or 8.

If you haven't done this already, get started on applications now. I remember a lot of REU deadlines in late January - early February, so hopefully it's not too late for you to find something for next summer. Hope that helped!

[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!