STRONG program (Science and Technology Research Opportunities for a New Generation)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Oberlin College
1

Has anyone done this? S is considering applying.

2

No responses? It looks like a great program, although we’re encountering some resistance from D who had been making other plans for July. She and Mom will be doing All Roads this Sunday and Monday, and she may get more info then. But it would be great to hear from somebody who went through the Strong program.

3

It’s a brand-new program. No one has done it yet.

4

Yeah it is a brand new program, but here is a conversation with President Krislov and Afia Ofori-Mensa, who designed the program:

https://oncampus.oberlin.edu/source/articles/2015/04/17/presidents-desk-q-afia-ofori-mensa-underrepresented-and-first-gen-college-students-stem

To me it seems like an incredible program! You get a stipend, you get acclimated with Oberlin, start forming relationships with professors, and get a winter term project set up. Since it is the first year, it could go poorly, but it seems like professors are volunteering themselves for the program, which I think would ensure that all students are going to be very welcomed and utilized in the labs. I also looked at the list of projects, and I’ve dealt with all the bio/neuro/cs professors on the list and they are really great. (I’m sure the physics/envs profs are good too, just no personal experience with them!) So I would highly encourage everyone to apply if they are eligible/interested!

5

Are you sure it’s the first year? S got a brochure with information and there were pictures from last year in it. Or at least, that’s what it looked like…

6

I agree with dec51995, the brochure materials made it seem that STRONG had been around for at least a year. And yet, the interview megame18 linked to is pretty clear that it’s brand new. The STRONG site itself (http://new.oberlin.edu/office/undergraduate-research/strong/) doesn’t explicitly address the point - my guess is that there have been past summer programs of one sort or another under the Office of Undergraduate Research, and that’s where the stories in the brochure came from. Whatever there used to be is now subsumed under the new STRONG program.

The interview did address one question I had, which was the size of the program. Answer - not large, at least not this year:

M
How many students do you think will be involved in the program the first summer?

A
Six to ten, to start.

M
But this program may well grow over time?

A
Yes.

7

Thanks for the information!

8

I can confirm that the STRONG Program is new for the 2015-2016 school year -An Oberlin College Admissions Counselor.