Has anyone that moved into the matching phase gotten out of that phase and received a formal acceptance?
@havenr
not yet
I’m not too sure how valuable it would be if I went… Like how prestigious is the program? Will it add much to the application and can my research there be used for a publication/science competition?
I was planning on submitting my project to Siemen’s but apparently that is discontinued from 2018 onwards.
Not yet for me. Students will hear back from them at different times. Some are matched quickly and hear back in the middle of April, some take longer and hear back early May.
@gurt567 I know that this program is decently prestigious and pretty well known. I guess competition eligibility will depend on the particular lab that you are in, the quality of your mentor, and the caliber of the research results, and probably also the amount of time/effort you put in throughout the six weeks.
One downside I see from this program is the hefty $7000 tuition…
Not that the tuition is too much of a financial burden or anything (though that may be the case for some), but usually, the level of prestige is inversely related to tuition costs.
Look at the Envision Experience summer program, for example, which charges $4000 for one week of basically nothing. It is essentially a pay 2 play.
However, BU RISE does have a very selective admissions process, as far as I know, so I do not think that this will be too big of a problem.
Edit : sorry, incorrect comment
@CatalyzedChagrin Thank you replying.
Anyone been matched yet? or know when that happens…? Or the possibility of being rejected because they can’t find a match…
I’ve got a local program I have to commit to by tonight and I’d much rather go to RISE, but I don’t know if there is the chance that I’ll just be rejected from BU bc they can’t find a mentor and I end up with no summer program. 
I’ve emailed them a couple days ago and gotten no response…maybe I’ll try again tonight.
I’d be less leery of just breaking my commitment to the other program if it wasn’t tuition free and required TB testing/special vaccinations and formal training sessions before anyone being allowed to work (it’s in a medical facility/hospital). I’m p sure that if I vacated my position they’d just have an empty spot this summer and I feel really really really bad about it…but BU RISE is preferable in all regards, save tuition prices.
@rraconteur Oof, that’s a tough situation. RISE is extremely prestigious and is an amazing research opportunity. If your other program is not as selective and is only something along the lines of a “summer job”, I would definitely opt to wait for RISE.
@rraconteur I actually emailed them last week because I’m stuck in a similar situation. So most matches will he made by the end of April, and they will continue to find placements for unmatched students into May. Unfortunately, unmatched students will likely receive notification in early June that they were unable to find a match for them
I got email this morning, I am matched!
Congrats @Apple349 !!
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Just called them. They said that the current ratio is 2:1 students to faculty that are looking, and the wait is mostly on professors taking their time choosing which students they want in their lab (that’s why it could take until May). I asked if she could clarify it as a 50-50 chance, and she said “with variables” depending on the area of interest/existing research groups, and I asked if she could say which areas are of greater likelihood to be matched/have more spots available, and she said that they don’t have information on that. But I get the impression that it definitely isn’t guaranteed, when in the matching phase.
I think I’m just going to go with the local program. It’s a CIRM SPARK program at UC Davis and its tuition free…I’ll just have to figure out how to stay sane at home for eight weeks of summer
@rraconteur I just browsed CIRM Spark program, it looks super good, stem cell research? wow! other than going away from home :-), any other reasons that you think RISE is better than CIRM Spark?
Yeah, the main reason I’m preferring BU is that I would be missing my orchestra’s performance trip to Carnegie Hall at the beginning of summer…also my mental health has been rocky this year and staying home while all my friends are away at their own programs/vacations might end up badly. But academics wise, SPARK might be equivalent to BU, especially because it’s entirely tuition free lol. If I got a position in the areas of chem/biochem that I had asked for at BU that would make it more ideal than SPARK though, just because I’m not hugely into stem cell research either…it’s all a toss up.
Congrats! Can I ask what area of research you matched in? How long did they give you to provide a deposit and commit?
Bioinformatics, two weeks.
@Apple349 did you originally receive an email about being in the matching phase? And if so, when did you receive it?
I just heard back and I have been matched! So excited to spend my summer in Boston!
congrats @queenc1020 !!
might I ask what area lol