Applying to Math REUs Summer 2009: Results & Discussion

[lurkre]

I have applied only to two REU programs, mainly due to the fact that i am an international student, and since most of these programs are funded by NSF they don't accept international students.

As an international student myself, i was wondering how far our international status would affect our application.

 

[JCVD]

steve simpson was the penn state logician i was talking about

 

[sutupidmath]

As an international student myself, i was wondering how far our international status would affect our application.

Well, as far as i know, if you are simply in a F-1 visa (student visa), which i am myself, that is if you don't have permanent residentship, then you have to look only for those REU's that explicitly state that they accept international students. Most of them, however, state in their webpages that they do not accept international students, because, as you might be aware of, most of these programs are funded by NSF(National Science Foundation) and as a requirement is to be a U.S citizen or permanent resident, which sucsk a lot. I personally could come across only three REU's that accept international students, and they don't even aid you financialy, that is they don't award you stipends or anything like that.
Williams COlleges, BYU, and Caltech where the only ones i found that grant admission to international students. BYU accepts only 1 international student for this summer, which almost kills my chances for getting in.

 

[sutupidmath]

Does anyone know which REUs have made their first round of offers?

I know for sure that Williams COllege has done.

 

[sutupidmath]

i think the main reason i got into the cornell reu was that my background was very well suited for the project i applied for, which was in logic. i had done the penn state reu/mass program the year before, and one of the courses i took in the mass program was in computability theory, which was taught by one of the more famous logicians; i did well in that class and had that professor write me a recommendation letter. otherwise my stats were good but not necessarily phenomenal: i come from a very good small liberal arts school, my math gpa at the time was probably about 3.8, and beyond the introductory math classes i had taken 2 terms of combinatorics, 2 terms of abstract algebra, and 1 term each of number theory, odes, complex analysis, computability theory, geometric topology, and analytic probability theory, in addition to 3 terms of cs. my only real research experience at the time was the penn state reu i had done the year before, and i did not have anything published. i think i wrote a pretty good personal statement more geared toward why i was qualified to participate in the reu rather than why i really wanted to participate in the reu, though i did at least mention the latter.

Hmm. well your math background is really strong. How do you classify now:are u sophomore, junior, senior?

 

[sciboinkhobbes]

Just a quick REU question in general... If you haven't heard from a prospective REU a week after the first acceptance offers, do you still have any chance of getting in? Or, if you're not in the first "draft", are your chances rather slim?

 

[Sulphagne]

Does anyone here know anything about the REU-like program the NSA is running? The director's summer program? I was wondering if anyone heard of it or maybe knows someone who was in it. What is your opinion of it?

 

[Proggle]

Just a quick REU question in general... If you haven't heard from a prospective REU a week after the first acceptance offers, do you still have any chance of getting in? Or, if you're not in the first "draft", are your chances rather slim?

I think you still have a decent chance if you are waitlisted. Since REU applications are free, people often send many of them. I will be turning down five out of six offers next week, and I suppose many people that have been successful with their applications are in a similar situation.

 

[RCA_0]

Proggle, which REUs have you already been accepted to?

 

[owlpride]

Just in case someone's interested, I can add Mount Holyoke and the Claremont Colleges to my earlier list of acceptances. 7/10 offers, 3 applications withdrawn. *Patting myself on the shoulder*

I hope some of these spots are passed on to you!

 

[lurkre]

I think you still have a decent chance if you are waitlisted. Since REU applications are free, people often send many of them. I will be turning down five out of six offers next week, and I suppose many people that have been successful with their applications are in a similar situation.

How do you know if you're waitlisted?

 

[mathhhh]

I got rejected from GVSU and was informed today. Over 100 applicants.

 

[blerg]

Just got accepted to grand valley state :)

Anyone have any experience with the university?

 

[Jacobpm64]

congrats Blerg. You were here since the beginning of the thread! lol

 

[GreenWolf]

hi all!:)

I got accepted into the inverse problems group at Rose-Hulman, and the Computational Statistics group at James Madison Univeristy. (I also got accepted into one of the projects at Rutgers but it didn't get funding, and wait listed for another).

I've accepted the one at James Madison Univeristy, and am wondering if anyone has been there before and has anything they'd like to share about it?:D

 

[GreenWolf]

RCA, I was waitlisted for the Rutgers REU program, sort of. They had a shortage of funding, so they weren't able to actually fund all of the projects that they wanted to do. I was selected to do one of the projects that didn't get funding, and then I was also as the back up for one of the projects that did get funding.

I got accepted into Rose-Hulman last Monday, and they gave me a week to decide yes or no. Since Rose-Hulman wasn't my first choice, I e-mailed my top 3 programs (of which Rutgers was one) describing my situation and asking about the status of my application, and that's what they told me.

 

[Sheneron]

Got a letter in the mail from Duke/TUNL today. I was rejected. It was kind of nice though to actually hear back from one of these places finally. Starting to get a little bit nervous...

 

[Jacobpm64]

I know how that is man. I've applied to 8 schools, and I only heard back from 2 so far. I hope that they are still in the reviewing process.

 

[RCA_0]

I've applied to quite a few schools as well. I wonder how much longer we will have to wait to hear a decision? Maybe this waiting process is a good sign that our applications are being carefully considered. I am starting to become nervous since early decisions have been sent out to those already accepted into REU programs. I'm sure many programs are still in the process of evaluating our applications though.

 

[sciboinkhobbes]

So... Just got rejected from Montana State - Bozeman (solar physics) :( That was my safety application, so... while it was good to hear back from someone at least, I'm really afraid that I didn't get in anywhere :(

What kind of back up plans have people been considering if REU applications don't work out?

 

[Jacobpm64]

If I don't get accepted to any of them, I will be studying for the math subject GRE test. So, I hope to have a productive summer either way the coin lands.

 

[Ai52487963]

So... Just got rejected from Montana State - Bozeman (solar physics) :( That was my safety application, so... while it was good to hear back from someone at least, I'm really afraid that I didn't get in anywhere :(

What kind of back up plans have people been considering if REU applications don't work out?

I just got the MSU rejection e-mail today too. Now I'm down to two internship programs out of 13. I get more depressed every week it seems.

I think studying for the GREs is a good idea, actually. My summer will probably consist of that, work and whatever research I can do with my adviser over the break.

 

[anaximanderma]

A buddy of mine got into Williams a few weeks ago. I'm so jealous! I thought I had pretty good chances, but apparently you need to have taken a thousand graduate courses, get great letters of rec, etc. to get in. It's slightly annoying, because my GPA's significantly higher than his...but I guess they don't care too much about that :(

 

[Sheneron]

Yeah, I don't know what to do if I don't get into an REU. I need to make some money but I can't go back to a menial job... I really can't. But its looking like I am going to have to think of something

 

[sharon_stoned]

A buddy of mine got into Williams a few weeks ago. I'm so jealous!

wow. i thought nobody ever gets accepted to williams...what did he do to get in? sell his soul to satan?

 

[sciboinkhobbes]

I concur, studying for the GREs does sound like an excellent idea. Sorry to hear you're down to two programs, Ai :S I wish you the best of luck, but even if it doesn't pan out I'm sure there's always a backup plan. If I don't get into any REUs this summer, I think I'll be attempting to find some last minute research opportunities, and talking to my advisers to see if they have any suggestions...

I definitely agree with Sheneron, it's got to be something more than just a regular summer job - but I think the physics/math related opportunities are out there, they just require some searching.

But ehhhhh, the waiting part is just not fun at all.

 

[sutupidmath]

What kind of back up plans have people been considering if REU applications don't work out?

I'm still waiting to hear from the second(and last as well) program i applied for. I'f i don't get accepted, i will most probably fly home and take a couple of nice math books with me so i will have something to rejoice in.

 

[anaximanderma]

wow. i thought nobody ever gets accepted to williams...what did he do to get in? sell his soul to satan?

Probably...it seems like the people who get into the most prestigious REUs and grad schools are always the most unlikely ones. He's just very, very quiet, and doesn't seem particularly smart at all...but I guess appearances are deceiving!

It looks like I'm in the same boat as the folks who are watching their summer plans fall through...been rejected from 3 REUs out of 7 so far. I'm thinking I should talk to one of my professors about their research, but I don't know them that well, and I really think I would benefit more from the structure of an REU, rather than just a random research project with a prof. And besides, it's not like there's any menial labwork to do for a math professor, what could I even help him with?!

But worst of all is the total lack of self-confidence I'm starting to feel...

 

[Ai52487963]

But worst of all is the total lack of self-confidence I'm starting to feel...

I've got it real bad. I appreciate sciboink's sentiments, but to get rejections from 11/13 REUs thus far (or at least, not immediate notifications), it's like dying of thirst. I feel bad for having three of my faculty write so many letters of rec, and feel even worse living in the shadow of a friend of mine in the dept who's doing research under my adviser and got accepted to 3/5 of his REUs, which included SAO and Kitt Peak.

I feel pretty outclassed and virtually useless as I physically could be. I wonder if the faculty I had write those letters feel like they wasted their time on me :\

 

[Sheneron]

I've got it real bad. I appreciate sciboink's sentiments, but to get rejections from 11/13 REUs thus far (or at least, not immediate notifications), it's like dying of thirst. I feel bad for having three of my faculty write so many letters of rec, and feel even worse living in the shadow of a friend of mine in the dept who's doing research under my adviser and got accepted to 3/5 of his REUs, which included SAO and Kitt Peak.

I feel pretty outclassed and virtually useless as I physically could be. I wonder if the faculty I had write those letters feel like they wasted their time on me :\

You and me both. I was a little embarrassed going to them and asking for 12 recommendations but I knew it was something I really wanted and for some reason, apparently unjustified, I was feeling confident that I would get into one of them and it would make it all worth it. I told them I would let them know which one I got into/chose, haha.

I am considering talking to the faculty at my school about doing research with them during the summer since I already have an apartment up there, but I don't know anyone hardly at all and I really was hoping to do something where I made money.

 

[tannenbaum]

You and me both. I was a little embarrassed going to them and asking for 12 recommendations but I knew it was something I really wanted and for some reason, apparently unjustified, I was feeling confident that I would get into one of them and it would make it all worth it. I told them I would let them know which one I got into/chose, haha.

I am considering talking to the faculty at my school about doing research with them during the summer since I already have an apartment up there, but I don't know anyone hardly at all and I really was hoping to do something where I made money.

I don't want to be mean, but that's probably exactly why you have not gotten into an REU yet. If you don't know any of your professors, how are they supposed to write a letter saying anything worthwhile about you? REUs get 10-20 qualified applications for every single spot. A one paragraph letter saying that you were in the top 1/4 of their class does not tell them any more than an A on your transcript. They are much more interested in hearing how motivated and independent you are, your level of interest in physics (?), your potential as a future physicist, your ability to work with others, how conscientious you are in the lab, how fast you pick up on new material, how pleasant you are to work with, etc. Distant letters of recommendations tell programs that you don't take advantage of all of the resources you have or that you have a bad relationship with your professors. A detailed letter of a TA who supervised one of your labs is better than a generic letter from a full professor.

In any event, you should work on getting to know a few professors in the department before you write another batch of applications in the future. Working with one of them during the summer would be a great start! Good luck!

 

[Ai52487963]

In any event, you should work on getting to know a few professors in the department before you write another batch of applications in the future. Working with one of them during the summer would be a great start! Good luck!

I agree, but I've done both and it hasn't worked much for me.

My adviser said there's a lot of factors of randomness that play into REU positions (he would know, since he used to be on an REU committee for the SAO positions), so maybe those are another area to factor in with the whole application business?

 

[Sheneron]

I agree, but I've done both and it hasn't worked much for me.

My adviser said there's a lot of factors of randomness that play into REU positions (he would know, since he used to be on an REU committee for the SAO positions), so maybe those are another area to factor in with the whole application business?

What kind of factors do mean exactly?

 

[Ai52487963]

What kind of factors do mean exactly?

Things like what languages professors prefer (computer or otherwise) how many spots there are, and just general random kind of features the professors are looking for in their interns.

For example, if you tried applying for the UM-CERN partnership, they were looking for people prolific with specific lab equipment, fluent in at least French, but German would also be nice and good with some fairly obtuse computer programming skills. I wouldn't consider Labview that obscure, but most people by their junior year wouldn't be that great using it. Same kind of thing with Fortran to some extent.

 

[owlpride]

Ai52487963 brings up a very good point.

One piece of information that is really useful to know, if you can find it, is what sort of students the program targets. Some programs want to be motivational and target students without any prior research experience. Others want the best students they can get. Many programs say that they give preference to juniors. Most programs mean that that they are looking for students who are mathematically as mature as juniors; however, a few flat out refuse to accept sophomores because they feel like it's not the best use of their NSF money. (But they may not explicitly say that on their website; take for example Oregon State.) A few programs want to produce actual results, while many others will spend much of the summer teaching you cool new stuff. If a project description says "a background in... is useful but not expected," chances are that applicants with that background will be accepted first and everyone else will have to wait in line.

If you are lucky a program hints at these points on its website. If not, you might have to get the info from your professors, the program director or a web search. I tried to tailor my personal statement to each program's mission and I ended up writing each personal statement from scratch. I also tried to explicitly address any weaknesses in my application. For example, I applied to an REU that explicitly asked for a working knowledge of complex analysis. Well, I didn't have that but I spent some time in my application elaborating why I could still be a productive member of the group, and I got accepted anyway :)