<p>i've been accepted to this program and wondering how it is......</p>
<p>i still haven't heard back from this program...</p>
<p>i just got accepted too and was wondering the same thing...i heard about half are offered placement...</p>
<p>I emailed them asking how many people apply and stuff....so this year 72 kids applied and they are trying to offer placement to 26...so it seems selective around ssp level. Also even though we only have to present the research at the end, we can also write a research paper if we like.</p>
<p>kenny did you email them asking when decisions come out? that might help</p>
<p>they said they're still figuring out placements and students for like 3 or 4 students.</p>
<p>I went to the program last year and I had a blast. All the people who went there were really, really, really smart, and we were all a very tight group. According to the director, the program started some 40 years ago and so has a long history. People from all over the country came, though most were from Northeast and Iowa.
The atmosphere is very relaxed and we were a very close group. On evenings when there aren't workshops we generally went down to Iowa City. Weekends are especially nice because the RA's (who are the coolest peoples) plan great trips such as canoeing and camping. There's never a dull moment. I haven't heard anything bad about the research from others, and my professor and lab people were all really nice. You do have to write up a paper and do a formal presentation, but it wasn't hard nor did it take any time.
It is a really nice experience, I definitely recommend it.</p>
<p>NoxLuminis what was a typical day for you at sstp? Also did you work with a grad student rather than the professor? </p>
<p>The director said you have to only write an abstract, but it is possible to write a research paper if you want. I guess I'm going to this program. Is anyone going? What are you guys researching in?</p>
<p>A typical day, we get up anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30. Some people have to go to their labs really early at like 7:30, some don't. My lab started late so I always had time to sleep in. Once I get to the lab, I usually just get back to what I was doing the day before. Some days I have tons of gels to run and analyze, some days I might just sit there with barely have anything to do. There is a lot of waiting involved if you are doing research in bio areas so if anything goes awry it's hard to fix it in the time frame. There's always a 1 hour lunch break (the food is good if you are across the river) and then you go back to your lab. I usually finish at 5, again that depends, some days you might have to stay back, some days you might just get out at 3. After dinner it's generally free time. There are lectures by university professors once every week and some of them are very interesting. One of the RA's had a huge box of DVD's so we always spent the rest of the night watching movie. So if you have a laptop you can bring it, but there's no internet in the dorm but there's a computer lab in the building so you can access it almost anytime. After the 3rd week or so after everyone has gotten some sort of data, the we start writing our abstract and there's less movie watching, but it didn't consume our entire time.</p>
<p>I worked with a post-doc who basically does everything in the lab because my professor is always so busy. If you want to do an independent project for science fairs I suggest you talk to your professor in the beginning otherwise you'd just be doing an existing project. If you work hard and put time into it, you can definitely get good results and be able to write a paper. </p>
<p>Oh yea, I suggest bring a pair of really worn sneakers that you are planning to throw away. I think you'll get to go caving too this time and while it is really fun, you'll get splashed with mud, if you are an adventurer.</p>