<p>Idk which one I want to do. I still have to take some classes in the summer, but I also want to live somewhere else in the summer. No, both cannot be done simultaneously. Which one do grad schools prefer? I heard from professors that it really doesn't matter as long as you do research, but the pay for REUs are nice. The problem for me is there are very few REUs for aerospace engineering, I could only find a few. Typically, are REUs really that much more important than research at your university in the summer?</p>
<p>It really truly doesn’t matter. </p>
<p>REUs are a great asset for students from small colleges or teaching universities, where there’s very little research activity. Research at your home university, if it is available, has the advantage that you have the option to keep working beyond the summer and that you don’t need to go through the stressful REU application process. (REUs have acceptance rates as low as 10%. It’s like applying to college all over again.)</p>
<p>I’d agree it doesn’t matter; choose the project that’s more interesting, where you’ll learn a lot, and where you’ll have more fun (both in project and in the social environment).</p>
<p>However, the process of applying for REUs is a useful exercise as it’ll prepare you for grad school applications. You don’t have to accept their offer if they give you one. I got rejected from all but one of my REUs, but I learned how to not make the same mistakes for grad school.</p>
<p>Also, don’t worry if you don’t get into any REUs. I came from a large research university and, during REU season, got turned down by all of them except for one (from a school I hadn’t even heard of before applying). I still managed to get into a couple of top-10 schools at the grad level. :)</p>