In summary: Kent state is located in a midsize college town, 20 minutes away from Akron, which you may choose to fly to with the travel budget if you are more than an hour or two away, and about an hour away from Cleveland. The town itself is quite nice. There is a lovely Mexican restaurant and Five Guys which were favorites last year, but there are maybe a dozen other decent food options as well in addition to cooking in the dorms. No meal plan or allowance is included, but this was never an issue with the available options.There were plenty things to do provided by the REU: There are weekly activities which included going to the zoo, laser tag, canoeing, etc. Though some of these may sound
#71
Annie Ng
3
0
Has anyone applied to WPI and heard anything from them? If yes, please let me know. I am still waiting for their email.
I'm definitely worried I have to figure out new summer plans. I made it onto SMALL's shortlist and got an interview but was rejected in the end. I was rejected by MSRI and Cornell. Fairfield said "We have completed our application review and we have started making offers. *We have not yet filled all of our available positions.*" Missouri said they were still waiting on funding. I'm still waiting on CSUSB (apparently still waiting on funding?), Berkeley (which I don't have high hopes for), and Washington (which hasn't even passed the application deadline so I have no info). It's unfortunate how competitive these programs are. I feel as though I'm qualified (4 grad courses and done with my school's honors math major), and I know I had two very good letters from 2 professors, both knowing me well and having me in two classes each (A's). I suspect my statements of interest were subpar, but I'm not a good writer :/
#73
DMathmagician
10
2
@REUstressed Ouch, sorry to hear that. The fact that you made SMALL's shortlist means you're a quite strong applicant; I know people who have done a lot of research (publishing in top journals) & taken grad classes in areas related to SMALL projects and not even made the shortlist. So, you should have at least a decent shot at the remaining REUs. Additionally, you'll be competing against a much narrower applicant pool, since a lot of really good people have already accepted offers. This is especially true for the REUs waiting for funding, since they can't make early offers.
As for your application, I have heard that the most important part is the letters of rec, though the personal statement is an important factor too. It might help (if you haven't already done so) to do some research at your home institution; I definitely know that letters from the professor I do research with have been crucial to my applications. For the personal statement, I would strongly suggest asking a prof you know is good at that sort of thing (e.g. someone who won Rhodes, Goldwater, etc.) look over them and give feedback.
Here's the attitude I take with REUs (just about the same goes for anything else that is super competitive): It's great if I get in, a fun opportunity to be around really smart people, do good work, and get paid. If not, I'll devote the time to thoroughly studying an area of interest and maybe doing some research with a professor at my college. That is certainly something I couldn't do while at an REU, and will prepare me very well for grad school; in many ways it is better than an REU.
Hope this helps, and good luck with the other REUs!
#74
IDERIVE
25
3
UPDATE: LSU has filled all of it's spots but hasn't sent a rejection email
KANSAS (SUMaR) has not even started to review applications, but will begin late next week. People who get it will be notified within about 2-3 weeks after that. I was told a notice will go up on the website when all spots are filled. Also who else here even applied to Kansas? I think I have a good shot at this one.
#75
Math2017
5
0
Sweet! Is anybody else here going to LSU?
#76
REUstressed
5
0
UPDATE: Fairfield is done sending out decisions (I got rejected).
#77
DLManiac
2
0
I applied to:
UCSB - No Response
CSUSB - No Response
Kent - Group Rejection
UC Merced - Accepted (Scattering of light)
I'm waiting on CSUSB to see if they send out offers by Monday (Or return my email answering if they know about funding yet), but if I don't hear back from them, then I'll be taking Merced. Has anyone here participated in the Merced ARCHIMEDES program before?
I also have a general question:
What is REU housing like? I hear they put you on campus, but is it like freshman dorms? How many people to a room? apartment style rooms with kitchens?
Thanks!
#78
IDERIVE
25
3
Well I haven't gone to an REU before, but from what I've heard it is usually an apartment style room with a kitchen so you can make your own food. Otherwise it really depends on the REU and the on campus housing they have.
#79
DMathmagician
10
2
Update: Boise State has finished (just got a rejection).
@DLManiac It varies from REU to REU. At Kent State last year, each of us shared a double with another person in the REU and had access to a kitchen. The doubles were nice and quite large. I have heard of other REUs that put you up in on-campus apartments. That definitely seems to be the norm, as @IDERIVE said. Also, the programs that give board (e.g. SuMaR at Kansas) probably won't give access to a kitchen, though I'm not sure.
#80
DLManiac
2
0
Thanks for the replies!
I heard back from CSUSB, and they said that they still have not heard back on funding, didn't know when they would but were hoping next week. And then they still have to go through applications after that. So it looks like I'll be accepting Merced. (:
#81
REUstressed
5
0
I suppose the benefit of not being accepted anywhere yet is I can give later programs like CSUSB and Washington full time to make their decisions. QUESTION: Does Washington care that I applied well ahead of the deadline? I assume it makes no difference.
#82
IDERIVE
25
3
Sometimes REUs will begin sending out priority acceptances before their deadlines, but I don't think Washington will do this only because they have such a late deadline and they probably have that to get as many applicants as possible. I think it will neither hurt nor help your application in this case.
UPDATE: Berkeley has only sent out first offers and has yet to actually fill its spots (but who turns down Berkeley right?). They will be sending final offers "soon"
#83
REUstressed
5
0
UPDATE: Berkeley has sent out rejections. They took longer because they didn't expect so many applications.
#84
IDERIVE
25
3
Has anyone heard back from the Kansas REU or the Washington REU? These are my last 2/12 I have left with the slightest bit of hope for each one. Any information would be much appreciated.
#85
REUstressed
5
0
UPDATE: Washington has already made all decisions. They don't send rejections, only acceptances. I emailed them and they said they had over 150 applicants for only 8 spots. If I had a dollar for every time I heard I was ranked very highly but not accepted, I could eat a very nice meal.
#86
IDERIVE
25
3
UPDATE: Kansas has filled all of their spots as well (They have a banner on their website). If I had a dollar for every REU rejection I got, I could buy a chipotle burrito and one of the fancy drinks there. @REUstressed, we can dine together! People who didn't get REUs only!