<p>I've browsed through some biomedical engineering REUs for top universities (cornell, hopkins, MIT, Caltech, etc..) and they don't list cutoff GPAs. Do they have a cutoff? How selective is it to get into an REU?</p>
<p>I think most of them have an official cutoff at 3.0 or 3.3 (MIT has this). However, to be in the running, you should ideally have a 3.5 or a 3.7 (at a competitive school). </p>
<p>The REU’s at top undergrad. universities are not necessarily better; you would be better off looking at graduate rankings because you would want to have connections to faculty in top grad schools where you will apply.</p>
<p>I am sorry about the previous confusing post. You don’t need to be from a top school. If you are an outstanding student from a school with a mediocre research program or without one (i.e. community college), that might make a strong case to the program for why an REU would help you. </p>
<p>The professors recommendations important are also quite important, as they can suggest whether you are personally motivated enough for a possible research-oriented career.</p>
<p>Any top REU programs accept international students?</p>
<p>I don’t believe REU’s are open to internation students. They are funded by the NSF and are designed to get more American students into science and research.</p>
<p>You can try some programs at UIUC, Caltech SURF, or other non-reu programs which may welcome internationals, but your competition will be high and funding is not a guarantee. So, you are best off doing research at your school during the year and getting a job/internship over the summer.</p>
<p>What year in college do students usually apply for REUs?</p>
<p>Would they take into consideration if you have dramatically improved GPA wise after freshman year?</p>
<p>Our REU program has about 150 applicants for 12 slots, people in their 4th year are not considered because they won’t be students the following summer.</p>
<p>Make sure you signal a commitment to pursuing a research-oriented career in the area of interest.</p>
<p>Be open minded about the projects you are interested in.</p>
<p>It’s much tougher than I thought it would be. 
:)</p>
<p>That is just our program, they vary. Why not drop off your app in person, and then say, “by the way, how many apps do you get in a year on average”, and they will probably tell you.</p>
<p>how helpful those REU programs are when you apply for graduate school? </p>
<p>I have done math REU twice (last year and this year). Last year, it was a group work, and we had a paper published this year. This year, I am working with one professor. We have gotten the results, and I start writing up the paper. The prof. this year said that he would write me a recommendation and he said the paper would be a good one. </p>
<p>I will graduate from college next year, so I am kinda worried that I would not go to any graduate school next year…</p>
<p>I think that REUs were particularly competitive this past summer. My son is in one and the other students that he is working with are impressive. Most appear to be scholars and athletes.</p>
<p>I did see a University of Wisconsin REU that got some late funding late in the cycle (late April or early May) and they had a bunch of slots that were open - I don’t know if they filled them all. I mentioned it to a Professor that I work with and he said that it’s pretty hot there in the summer so maybe it wasn’t that attractive in some respects.</p>
<p>The main issue in getting in is the competition.</p>
<p>One of my nieces was offered two research internships at Harvard and she selected one of them. She did research at Amherst the previous summer doing things that most students would probably prefer not to do which probably provided her with experience useful to Harvard.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m doing a REU at a school that isn’t as well known as the ones you mentioned, but the students here are top-notch. Everyone’s GPA is > 3.5, with some holding 4.0 for three years.</p>
<p>I don’t know the general background of REU students in general, but here, they are mostly from state schools, liberal art schools, HBSU, or small private schools. I guess since their schools are less well known, REU is a more common way to get some research experience during the summer.</p>
<p>
Not totally sure, but there were REU students from Mexico, Germany, and Puerto Rico this summer.</p>
<p>If the REU is funded by NSF, students need to be citizens or perm residents.</p>
<p>If you have REU experience, publications, and a decent GPA, you will have many grad school choices.</p>