The release of the new 2017 Garcia application marks the beginning of a new CC thread. A group of garcia alumni from last year have decided to start it this year so that we can provide the most accurate answers to any questions. Feel free to ask and one of us will get back to you ASAP. Good luck!
bump
Is the program generally enough time to get enough done to submit to research competitions (ie Intel)? I know that some people do certain programs for two or three years in a row and submit, but I am a junior and I will only be able to do the research at the program and then maybe also afterwards. Will it be possible for me to submit a good project to a competition that can maybe get Semifinalist in Siemens or Intel?
(question open to information about other research programs as well)
Ideally, its better to be from Long Island because you can constantly go back to Stony Brook after the program and during the school year (thats what i do) but its really not necessary. The girls who won 6th place at Siemens this year did not stay after the program and still had an amazing project. The team that won 5th was also from Garcia and one of their team members commuted to Stony Brook after school. A lot of people just ask the grad students they worked with to do additional research for them and usually the grad student is willing to do it. The director of the program is also always available for any questions or clarification you need. I dont really know about other programs like RSI and their policy on additional research but if you work hard enough on your work then you will definitely have a good project. @turntopage394
@jsoksDNA thank you so much for the quick response! Also, if you don’t mind me asking another question, what generally are the stats (not necessarily test scores, but research experience, awards, etc) of people who attend the program?
also (sorry for the excess of questions), how does project selection work and how much time do you get to work on the project during the 7 weeks?
Dont worry about it, thats what we’re here for. The stats of students in the program are very high. Everyone was at the top of their class but research experience is not required. Although it is a big plus in the selection process, you wont get rejected for not doing any prior research. Only a handful had prior research awards. The first 2 weeks consist on lectures by professionals in their field and science and research in general. During the second week there is a mock lab to get familiarized with the facilities and a safety test that you must pass to begin working in the lab. After that you work monday-friday from 10am-3pm? (I dont remember the exact time as i stayed late pretty much everyday but the regular time was somewhere between 3-5pm. If you need/want to do more work you can stay as late as 10pm in the most extreme cases) Project selection is a very simple process. The projects are split up into groups such as hydrogen fuel cells and dental pulp stem cells and its first come first serve so the faster you pick what you want to do, the more options you have. Each group has a limit on people however so i suggest having a basic idea of what you want to do as soon as possible. The grad students/ PhDs then describe the projects they have available and you go from there @turntopage394
@jsoksDNA Hello, i was wondering about the fee that goes into the program. I had heard that the program was basically free but it seems that there is quite bit of money that goes into the program. Do you know anything about this?
@kauk The lab fee for the program is $1600. This covers everything in lab including an materials/chemicals used, personal protective equipment (lab coat, gloves, googles), and lab machinery. The program spend a great deal of money on disposable equipment such as glass vials, pippetes, kim wipes etc. and the supplies run out quick. The lab machinery also contributes to this amount. The machinery at Stony Brook is not free and the specialists who run the machines like the raman spectrometer or the electron microscopes charge by the hour. Usually these machines take 10-30 minutes per sample and with the prices for you samples to be run range from $20-$100 per hour (i know this because the program did not cover costs after and i still needed to run samples so my mentor was billed). The other fee for housing is from the university itself and is not affiliated with the program. The dorming fee covers room, gym access (although last year it was under construction so we did not have access), and the salaries of the CAs (they are RAs who study at stony brook during the summer. After working a specific amount of hours they are paid by the hour). Since the majority of kids who are dorming are under 18, there is a large liability risk and so the CAs supervise 24/7. The food fee is for any meals. The amount for meals is in my opinion a perfect amount (but i was the only one who finished it). Most people had $100 left on their meal cards but if you do end up going to Garcia i will show you a trick to get your money back that Garcia kids have been doing for years (im going to be a REU this summer). I felt like i got my money’s worth at the program not only in physical money but in knowledge, skills, and friends. Hope this helps clear any confusion!
For the project selection how does picking go specifically? If there are a lot of people who want to do, say hydrogen fuel cells, would it be like the first few people who turn in a form? Also, for recommendations, do you think it would be better to have 3 science teachers or, 2 science 1 english, or some other mix?
There are no forms. Its just first person to talk to the grad student running the fuel cell group will get a spot. Some groups like dental pulp stem cells may limit spots for people not in driving distance since dental pulp stem cells is a long project that usually requires students to come back after the program but for fuel cells it should be a problem. I think the stem cell group is the only one with a distance restriction but if you get to the professor running it first they will get you a spot. If you are one of the last people to approach about stem cells, they will probably not accept you if you cant travel there after. I had 2 science teachers and a math teacher for recommendations. I think STEM teachers are the way to go but if your english teacher can write a really good rec that will give the people reading your app a different perspective than your STEM teachers then get a rec from them. @turntopage394
Hi, do you think this program is suitable for students who want to do research mainly in computer science? @jsoksDNA
While the program mainly deals with material science, some projects involve heavy computer simulation and calculations. Some groups work exclusively in modeling material properties with computational tools such as LAMMPS. The amount of computer science knowledge involved in these groups are extensive. @Blocry
Sounds great! Thank you! @Kurisutina
Has anyone received any emails saying that their application has been received? Also does anyone know when acceptances/rejections will be sent out?
yeah i didnt get any confirmation about my application submission 
@BackOfTheBook @beast2718 No worries, they take a while to send out receipt emails. Last year, I got a confirmation from them after the first week of March, so anytime around then is still normal.
@BackOfTheBook Sorry didn’t see your second question earlier. Acceptances were
@BackOfTheBook Awk for some reason the rest of the response didn’t post… anyway, last year acceptances were sent out during the last week of March. More qualified applicants in the past have received likely letters in mid-March though.
Hey guys, I got an email saying that they got my application. The email said:
This letter is to inform you that your application file is complete. Due to the large volume of applicants we need more time for screening the files. The decisions for the first round of admissions will be send to you no later than March 27th.
We ask for your utmost patience during this time, we will not forget to contact you. Thank you for your efforts and we will be in touch soon.
So did everyone get the same email? Idk for some reason I feel like this is sorta like a rejection in a way.