<ol>
<li>I looked through current UROP offerings and I noticed that many of them required a. programming experience and b. knowledge of statistics and c. robotics and electronics experience. I unfortunately have none of the above. Will this become a problem when applying for UROPs or are there some that do not require these skills or at least provide the necessary training?</li>
</ol>
<p>^I'm interested in climate change and energy source development and I'm thinking of majoring in environmental engineering. I'm also really fascinated by philosophy and linguistics related stuff so I will probably minor in or at least take classes in that, so a UROP within those departments would interest me.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How competitive is it to get a UROP? Are you able to apply for more than 1, in case you don't get into your first choice?</p></li>
<li><p>Many of the UROPs I saw required a time commitment of 8-12 hours a week. Is that manageable with classes/homework and maybe a couple other extracurricular things going on? (I think if I did get a really awesome research job that that would definitely take priority over other clubs I'd want to join if it is unmanageable)</p></li>
<li><p>Are there seminars or classes at MIT that teach programming and robotics/electrical stuff
to complete beginners? </p></li>
<li><p>I'm really interested in Concourse for a few reasons. a. smaller classes for physics and calc. b. the integration of humanities about history and morals of science and such. Does anyone have any recommendations/reviews/comments/etc about the Concourse program concerning those things specifically or other pieces of info/advice are also appreciated :)</p></li>
<li><p>How hard is it to get into Concourse?</p></li>
</ol>
<p><em>I had intended this to be only 1 question and I've gone and written a book :P sorry guys</em></p>
<p>I don’t know anything about 1-4, but during my visit, my host told me a lot about concourse (and I got to meet some of the people who organize/teach it).</p>
<p>So for 5 and 6, Concourse is amazing and definitely worth looking into. From what they explained to me, they don’t like to reject students. Instead, they will push you away from the program ONLY if they feel you are not a correct fit. Don’t know if this is 100% correct, but I think they said something like 70 people applied, and 50 were accepted to the program.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I’m sure your peers can get you up to speed in an afternoon, if you have any particular aptitude. Of course though once you learn the basics, you really have to find opportunities to apply the knowledge and stretch and learn the nex things you don’t know, but again, you should have available peers to help.</p></li>
<li><p>What is Concourse?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Many UROPs (but not all) ask for some technical skills, and at MIT, the assumption is that you will teach yourself. You can pick up some programming, web-design, or statistical skills over the summer, during the semester, or over IAP in January. It’s a good idea to browse the UROPs and look for one or two areas in which you could prepare. For instance, some UROPS that interest you may ask for Java programming and/or Python experience, which you can learn over the summer. If you’re really interested in environmental engineering, you’ll need to know this stuff.</p>
<p>
My daughter managed to get a UROP each period she wanted one, but she didn’t always obtain her preferred UROP – there will be some competition. After four UROPs at MIT, she concluded that while skills are important, the most important things are your sincere interest, commitment to the project, and likely good fit with the research team. If you seriously want a UROP, you can find one. </p>
<p>
You can see what the MIT workload is like the first semester, and by spring, you’ll know if you have time to add a UROP. It will all depend on you, what you’re willing to take on, and what you’re willing to let go. If you need some money, a good 9-hour a week job is on a library desk, where you can read and do some p-sets during slow hours. You won’t be able to double-dip like this on a UROP.</p>
<p>
See comment above about teaching yourself. There are workshops offered throughout the academic year, I believe – certainly you can find this during IAP.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I’ll be able to teach myself…I’ve googled around a little and practically all of the “teach me how to program sites” that I’ve found assume that I have a clue as to what I’m doing, which I don’t. As for doing it this summer, I am really hoping to do Interphase, which would keep me quite busy Do people generally not get UROPs 1st semester? Because if that is the case, then my problems will be solved because I will most definitely take something during IAP that will teach me.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that the UROP listings through the UROP office are not the be-all and end-all list of UROPs – it’s more common to get a UROP by emailing a professor or by asking around in your department of interest. You’re free to talk with as many professors as you’d like about potential UROPs, in the same way that you’re free to apply to as many summer jobs as you’d like in the real world.</p>
<p>
Yes, absolutely, though often not until you get a little better at time management than people typically are first semester freshman year. But after that, it’s pretty typical to have a UROP and do an extracurricular or two in addition to a normal courseload and time with friends. </p>
<p>I don’t know much about Concourse myself, but there will almost certainly be an information session at CPW, so keep an eye out.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I think a lot of the UROP postings have skill requirements because the advertiser has a specific task he/she wants someone to do. But, if you e-mail around to professors whose work you’re interested in and tell them why you think what they’re doing is cool and that you’d like to work with them, you’ll very likely get a few responses. If there’s someone you really want to work with and they don’t reply to you, you can also visit their office in person. Most of the people I know with UROPs found their UROPs in this way rather than off the postings.</p></li>
<li><p>You don’t really have to “apply” for a UROP. It’s more like you have to find a professor you are interested in working with who is willing to have you in their lab. You technically have to fill out a UROP application, but it is less of an application than a documentation of the fact that you are working on a research project and would like MIT to give you money or credit or simply acknowledge your effort.</p></li>
<li><p>The jury’s still out on this one for me, but I have friends who are putting in this much time, doing other things, and seem to be surviving. Upperclassmen I know have suggested that 6-8 hours/week may be more reasonable for a freshman UROP though.</p></li>
<li><p>6.00 is the standard course for this, though lots of people also take 6.S189 during IAP. That’s something that’ll probably make more sense to you next year when you get here.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, I’m not in Concourse. I have friends who did it first semester. Most of them dropped this semester though, so I don’t believe that they were particularly fond of it. I remember there being some incongruence between courses offered through Concourse and mainstream courses, which was aggravating for some people - especially when finals rolled around. Particularly for physics, the curriculum was structured very differently in Concourse, but Concourse students still had to take the same final exam as everyone else. Somebody who is actually in Concourse could tell you better about this stuff though. If you’re really interested in small classes you could also look into ESG (disclaimer: I’m not in that either). It has REALLY small classes - I have a friend whose physics class had 8 people, for instance.</p></li>
<li><p>I remember getting advertisements for Concourse this year after the application deadline had already passed, so I don’t think there’s a crazy rush of people trying to join. If you really want to do it, you’ll probably be able to.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks everyone for the replies ! @wellthatsokay, I junk what appeals to me about Concourse is the philosophy/humanities related approach (the HASS classes they offer basically) and also the small classes. However I think that the small classes especially for physics ( my “worst” subject, I’m really jut not as comfortable with it as other classes, but that’s probably just due to my hs class structure/teacher’s methods) and I hadn’t previously considered esg but I looked at their website and a few blogs about it and I’m starting to think that that may be a better program for me. (I also discovered yesterday about the STS major/minor/concentration and I could get more out of that than Concouse I think). </p>
<p>The esg website said they have ~50 freshman a year, do you know if it’s hard to get into that? Or are the numbers just low do to low demand?</p>
<p>^I think that ESG runs a lottery-based admissions system. So, if you apply on time, then you have the same chance of getting in as everyone else. I don’t know how popular it is, or the probability of getting in though, sorry.</p>
Do people generally not get UROPs 1st semester? Because if that is the case, then my problems will be solved because I will most definitely take something during IAP that will teach me.</p>
But after that, it’s pretty typical to have a UROP and do an extracurricular or two in addition to a normal courseload and time with friends. </p>