<p>Here is a question my friend asked me (I think he saw it on Grad Cafe or something):</p>
<p>I am also considering applying to the Caltech Amgen Scholars program, but the due date for the Caltech Amgen Scholars program is February 15 whereas the due date for the UCSD Amgen Scholars program is February 1.</p>
<p>If I submit my UCSD Amgen Scholars program application on January 31 and put down “No” for the following question:
Are you applying to any other Amgen Scholars site(s)? If yes, which one(s)?"</p>
<p>and then on February 2 (I change my mind) and I decide to apply and submit the application for the Caltech Amgen Scholars program.</p>
<p>Would I still be in trouble for lying?</p>
<p>Also let’s say UCSD Amgen Scholars Program did know what other Amgen Scholars program you are applying due to you telling them, would that lower your chances of getting into the UCSD Amgen Scholars Program due to you not showing dedication and commitment to the UCSD Amgen Scholars Program?</p>
<p>Hi, I am a rising sophomore, and an international student at a top 50 private university. I want to apply for an REU for summer 2013. However, since this year('11-'12) was basically my freshmen year and ('12-'13) will be my sophomore year, I believe I won’t have much research experience to get into REU. Or is there anything I could do? I am in an honors double degree program and have a GPA of 3.99. Should I try getting involved in research right now in my sophomore year? I don’t believe I can get into research during classes at my university since i’m just a rising sophomore now and don’t have a lot of classes under my belt. Or should I still try getting into one? And the past REU applications I have looked at, all of them ask for research proposal, abstract and stuff and I have no clue what those are or how to write one. How do a newbie start? I am really interested in attending grad school and so I really want to get involved in research but I am not sure how. Ohh, this summer(right after my freshman year) I got an internship at a small hardware company where my tasks include designing company products in SolidWorks, and reading/writing Hardware design, and sometimes, visiting foundries and understanding the process of manufacturing. Would a Letter of Recommendation from my boss help more while applying to REU or one from a professor that I took/will take a class from?
Can someone give me detailed explanation of what and how I should start for next summer REU?
I’d greatly appreciate it.
thanks.</p>
<p>The purpose of the REU is to expose undergraduates to research so not having research isn’t a limitation.</p>
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<p>One of my nieces did paid research work for a professor when she was a freshman. There is work where you do support work for the professor or a grad student that is doing the research. It might be programming tasks, putting electrodes in lab rats, doing statistical analysis on results, etc. She had a lot of APs in high-school but she also went around and asked.</p>
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<p>I’ve never seen that. Could you post a link to an example?</p>
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<p>Many REUs want two (or more) LORs so you could do one from your former manager and one from a professor. Your professors may have more experience with research environments than your manager, so they might be able to write a better LOR targeted to the research opportunity.</p>
<p>Keep an eye on the NSF site that links to REU sites in the fall and look on Google for REU opportunities. You can look at 2012 REUs to get an idea as to the schools that may offer REUs in 2013.</p>
<p>Caltech’s SURF program requires a proposal, and their SURF website says:</p>
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<p>considering i have no research experience before, and not a lot of knowledge about the project itself (because of lack of classes), how am I suppose to write a proposal with technical and specific detail, or even a gist about the procedure to do the project?</p>
<p>@everyone else, please give me some more suggestions. thanks.</p>
<p>I’m not familiar with SURF and it doesn’t seem affiliated with NSF REU programs.</p>
<p>The format that you posted reminds me of Google Summer of Code. They list a number of problem statements and problems to be solved and you write up a proposal on how to solve it and describe your skills to show that you can solve the problem.</p>
<p>I think that you would need someone that has been through the program or an adviser to provide more details.</p>
<p>The Caltech SURF program is mostly used by Caltech undergrads as a way of funding their stay over the summer. Many of them have already been working in their labs for at least a term, and have some sort of idea as to what they want to be doing over the summer.</p>
<p>How am I suppose to write a proposal with technical and specific detail, or even a gist about the procedure to do the project?</p>
<p>Also can someone answer my question?</p>
<p>Here is a question my friend asked me (I think he saw it on Grad Cafe or something):</p>
<p>I am also considering applying to the Caltech Amgen Scholars program, but the due date for the Caltech Amgen Scholars program is February 15 whereas the due date for the UCSD Amgen Scholars program is February 1.</p>
<p>If I submit my UCSD Amgen Scholars program application on January 31 and put down “No” for the following question:
Are you applying to any other Amgen Scholars site(s)? If yes, which one(s)?"</p>
<p>and then on February 2 (I change my mind) and I decide to apply and submit the application for the Caltech Amgen Scholars program.</p>
<p>Would I still be in trouble for lying?</p>
<p>Also let’s say UCSD Amgen Scholars Program did know what other Amgen Scholars program you are applying due to you telling them, would that lower your chances of getting into the UCSD Amgen Scholars Program due to you not showing dedication and commitment to the UCSD Amgen Scholars Program?</p>
<p>First off, before we get too far, are you a US Citizen? If not, when will you become a US citizen? Some programs are for US citizens only, so I don’t waste time giving you programs that are for US citizens only when you are not yet a US citizen.</p>
<p>no, i’m not a US citizen. i’m an international student here at Lehigh University, and i am no where near getting a US citizenship. Although some people have told me that despite REU are funded by NSF, the colleges might allocate fund for international students in the US. So could you please give me answers to my questions mentioned, regarding the little chances, and other non-REU programs like SURF?
thanks a lot.</p>
<p>What are your majors? What country is your citizenship from? Some programs that I know of only give opportunities to students from certain countries. Also space out your questions and number them accordingly so people can read them easier.</p>
<p>My only advice is if you are on a semester school system, apply to like 25+ programs. If you are on a quarter system, apply to 15+ programs. Normally, I would tell you to apply to 25+ programs also, but quarter system students have fewer opportunities due to most SURF / REUs starting too soon (with non-flexible starting dates).</p>
<p>To clarify my question: I’m a mechanical engineering major and US citizen.
Do you have any advice for someone trying to get into a REU after freshman year?</p>
<p>What university do you attend? What is your gender and race? I know a few REUs / SURFs that target females and minorities and students from certain schools only.</p>
<p>Also for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years, when do you start and finish the school year?</p>
<p>Villanova. African American. Male. I’ll just be done with my freshman year next summer. We generally finish early may and start the end of august.</p>