<p>[Log</a> In | Facebook](<a href=“SIMR 2012 | Facebook”>SIMR 2012 | Facebook) Facebook group! Join ittt :)</p>
<p>Okay awkkkk…it didn’t post hahah sorry. PM me for it</p>
<p>by the way, darksigma, are you a junior? =P i think i remember seeing you post a lot after creeping on the usabo forum for the last few weeks. i have a slim to almost nonexistent chance at making camp after getting destroyed on part B of the semifinal exam, but i guess i’ll be seeing you at stanford this summer</p>
<p>Hey guys, fellow SIMR '11 alum here. Congrats to all the admits, and for those who did not get a spot: don’t panic. Colleges look at what you take out of summer programs/internships, not necessarily the name. Those who didn’t get in can still contact profs at universities or labs and get an amazing experience.</p>
<p>For those who got in, major kudos. I loved the med school environment, and will be attending Stanford University as a freshman next year. SIMR is incredible; everyone around you is literally unbelievable and you will make so many friends. Make sure you look carefully at labs before ranking them in your preference to make sure they match your research interests (not because they may look good, etc.). I was in Immunology last year!</p>
<p>Do any of the alums want to give a little more information? Just a general description of the program? I am super exited 
Congrats on Stanford you guys!</p>
<p>Hey guys, congrats again! You are generally looking at 40 hour work weeks (most likely a minimum) or more depending on how you decide with your mentor. I worked 9 hours a day last summer, 5 days a week, including break and lunch times. SIMR has a lot of things besides research!</p>
<p>They send you a calendar of the activities distributed from June to August. Generally speaking once you finish some required training classes (only 1 or 2 I think) on the second week or so you can expect to get interesting institute-specific lectures on topics presented by students and professional researchers in the School of Medicine. For instance, Immunology has their own lectures, Stem Cell has their own, etc. You typically have 2 of these lectures every week for about 6 weeks.</p>
<p>There are also overall lectures where the entire body of SIMR students (all institutes) will attend together. We have fun activities like scavenger hunts, pizza breaks, walking over to Jamba Juice with previous alums and talking about college, a field trip to Agilent biotech company, and a poster session at the end of the program. Many of these activities (except the poster session and the Agilent trip) are pretty much optional, so you can plan accordingly.</p>
<p>Ahhh that sounds amazing! One last question (its kinda weird sorry lol): was there any sort of homework type stuff involved? Did your mentor send you home with a lot of reading/with a lot of work to do on the poster? I’m just trying to gauge if I can take an online math class at the same time, its not because I don’t want to do the work!</p>
<p>Also, how involved were your mentors? How directed were you? Did you feel like you knew what you were doing and work independently?</p>
<p>No homework (as in school-type homework), but you pace yourself! Generally, you have to read journal papers or publications by your mentor or other experts in the field to get a running background knowledge of the medical area you are working on. Sometimes you will be working at home if you are working on writing a paper, creating graphics, or writing computer software. I had a pretty good knowledge of the field I did research in, and learned along the way.</p>
<p>Mentors are generally pretty accessible and are willing to help you get started and if you have difficulties along the way. I was pretty independent throughout, and got permission from the lab to work even after SIMR was over! You will most likely be able to take the online class.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks for all the info! I am so. freaking. excited. I can’t even believe this is happening.</p>
<p>I think by diversity, Stanford meant much more than race. To have a “diverse” group of interns could be totally unrelated to what ethnicities they are (:</p>
<p>On the application form for SIMR, you have the option of ranking your top three choices from: Immunology, Cancer Bio, Cardiovascular Bio, Stem Cell/Dev Bio, Neuroscience, Digital Anatomy, Bioinformatics, and Genetics. Do I have a good chance of getting my top choice?</p>
<p>Can anyone who is a local of Stanford and is attending SIMR this year possibly rent me a room for the summer? I was accepted, but I need a place to stay. Or do some other SIMR people who aren’t locals want to rent a place together? PM me please. Thank you!</p>
<p>On an unrelated note, can past SIMR people from last year or previous years tell me the quality of research there? I noticed SIMR has a lot less Intel STS and Siemens Westinghouse Award winners than other prestigious camps of the same caliber, and was wondering why? Did any past participants in SIMR happen to place in these competitions, and if so, can you tell me what labs and mentors offer the best research opportunities and experiences, both for these competitions and just in general in terms of providing a great research experience?</p>
<p>I’ll post my stats so future applicants have the info.</p>
<p>Last year I applied as a HS junior and was rejected. Now I’m accepted to SIMR as a HS Senior. This year I was rejected from the research internships craig venter, jackson lab, and city of hope.
For colleges, I’m accepted caltech and stanford, rejected/waitlisted mit/hyp. </p>
<p>Stats:
White male from the east bay area, both parents went to college (ie no hooks)
GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.4 W
Tests: SAT 2380, PSAT 231, SAT II’s: Chem 800, Math II 800, French 800</p>
<p>Awards:
Honors list chem olympiad (top 150 nationally)
National merit finalist
Student of the year 5x in high school
AIME qualifier
(some other minor awards)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars etc:
SHARP Research Internship at UC Berkeley in nanophotonics (4 weeks paid, 2 weeks from home unpaid) 11 summer
Science Bowl (President 12; Treasurer 11; top scorer all four years) 9,10,11,12
FIRST Robotics (Vice President 11, 12) 11, 12
Marching Band (Section Leader 11) 9,10,11
Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout; Senior Patrol leader for 6 months; ~150 service hours in high school through Scouts) 9,10,11,12
Track (Varsity 1600m runner 11)
Programming Club 12 (Co-founder; experience with Python).
Genetics Course 3 weeks @Johns Hopkins University through CTY, summer 9</p>
<p>AP/honors courses:
AP Calculus AB (AP test score: 5) 11
AP Chemistry (score: 5) 11
Honors English 11
Honors Physics 11
AP European History (score: 5) 10
AP French (score: 5) 10
con’t
Honors Trigonometry 10. Grade 12: AP Biology, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics B, AP Economics (Micro and Macro), AP Literature & Comp.</p>
<p>Science courses:
AP Biology (grade 12) A+
AP Physics B (12) A+
AP Chemistry (11) A,A
Honors Physics (11) A,A
Chemistry (10) A,A
Biology (9) A+,A+</p>
<p>Math courses:
AP Calculus BC (12) A
AP Calculus AB (11) A,A
Honors Precalculus and Trigonometry (10) A,A
Adv. Algebra II (9) A,A
Geometry (8) A,A</p>
<p>Essays: #1 was good but not godly. I talked about my research internship last summer, and how I continued working after the program to get results.
I mention my research interests as well.
My second essay I had used for college apps, I wrote about a family member’s illness and what it taught me. I have been told it was a very strong essay.</p>
<p>I did not expect to get into SIMR or Stanford, I’m not really sure why they chose me… admissions to these competitive programs/universities are to some extent a crapshoot, be sure to apply to LOTS of internships and colleges and the odds are that you will be accepted to somewhere you’ll like (I applied to 8 research internships and 16 colleges this year…)
Best of luck to all future applicants! If you are a junior and were rejected, I was in your place last year, don’t be too discouraged, you have another shot, and there are tons of great research programs available.</p>
<p>^Sooooo I feel like crap in comparison to those stats! Haha, really confused as to how I got in now…</p>
<p>BTW I got accepted for SHARP and SIMR this year and was debating between the two! Can you tell me a little about how SHARP was for you last summer?</p>
<p>Well, I am certainly not that impressive… I am also confused about how I got in.</p>
<p>Can anyone who is a local of Stanford and is attending SIMR this year possibly rent me a room for the summer? I was accepted, but I need a place to stay. Or do some other SIMR people who aren’t locals want to rent a place together? PM me please with confirmation that you were accepted. Thank you!</p>
<p>@dchenfire I PMed you. If anyone else has these questions PM me or anyone in the program for the facebook page, where we are sorting out a bunch of the logistics.</p>
<p>I am looking to apply for SIMR next year.
Do you guys have any tips as to how to get in?</p>
<p>be a boss 
no really. there’s no formula; it’s really just pursuing what interests you to the best of your ability</p>