LORs for REUs

Graduate School
1

<p>I'm asking here because I suspect that a lot of grad students have participated in REUs. I'm an engineering major looking to apply for REUs or other summer research programs for the summer of 2013.</p>

<p>I plan on applying to a lot. </p>

<p>I have a few questions:
1) Since I plan on applying to a lot, do the LOR writers need to change their letter for each program I apply to or can they basically use the same one? I don't want to cost potential writers too much time.</p>

<p>2) Are there any fees you need to pay to apply? From what I can see, there aren't any. </p>

<p>3) Would it be a good idea to apply to a lot? Probably a silly question, but idk how competitive they are.</p>

2

<p>Your references probably know how to write a letter of recommendation - don’t worry about that.</p>

<p>I don’t know about REUs in engineering, but REUs in math had acceptance rates between 5% and 30% a few years ago (there was an NSF report about math REUs that included admission numbers). My undergraduate department recommended that we apply to ~10 REU programs if we want to have a good shot at getting an offer.</p>