<p>Hello people. I am currently a freshman at a UC majoring in math, and I plan to eventually go to a top grad school and get a phd in math. I just had a question about REUs because I heard they are important for grad school admissions. I noticed that most REUs are funded by NSF, but to receive funding you need to be a citizen or permanent resident of US. Unfortunately, I'm a undocumented student. So are there ant REUs for math that I can do without me requiring to be a citizen or permanent resident. Also are REUs really important? Can I just do research under a professor throughout the year? Any other tips and advice are welcome. Thanks</p>
<p>As an undocumented student you are not going to have access to REU programs, just like all international students studying in the U.S. In your case, doing research on campus is fine and you will have plenty of experience if you do so. Most students will get into an REU only once or maybe twice during their undergraduate studies and they almost always do on-campus research during the academic year too.</p>