<p>Nah, this is a general "lets talk about whatever" thread. </p>
<p>All of the dorms are open during the summer (except in cases where one is being renovated or something), and when you apply for summer housing you rank your preferences just like you would in the housing lottery. Some people use this as a chance to try out another dorm they want to move to, or just think is cool. (The assignment is only for the summer, after that you move back to your original dorm.) Most people are lazy (me) and request to stay in their own dorm, which is usually granted- I don't think there's usually enough demand to displace anyone.</p>
<p>Sophomore year is mixed, I think. You get to take much cooler classes, but there's more pressure. That's kind of generally true in a lot of things, including sports and clubs as well as academics. Now that you know how it works, you feel like one of the cool kids, and you can take a more active role in things. More fun, but also more responsibility. Also there's a school of thought that college students don't enjoy their sophomore year because it's a weird limbo between general school-wide requirements and really interesting stuff in your major, which I've found to have some element of truth to it (for first semester, at least.)</p>
<p>ducktape - Certainly wasn't trying to exclude students who aren't at MIT. I was just trying to discuss something else beyond the other threads which are a variation on a theme.</p>
<p>High school summer internships are just as important. :-)</p>
<p>LauraN - thanks for the info about the dorms. I will keep that in kind if DD opts to do a UROP next summer. </p>
<p>Hope all of you enjoy your internships and learn a lot.</p>
<p>I'm in the running for a co-op at Fairchild Semiconductor (which is based in South Portland, ME, about 15 minutes from my house). I was encouraged to apply by my MIT Educational Counselor, who works there, so even if the waitlist doesn't pan out, I'll still have that connection from the application experience.</p>
<p>Biggest difference is that you definitely start into your major classes. This definitely made things more interesting as I really started getting into the classes I came here for. As for difficulty, it increases somewhat because you'll likely be taking more technical classes and less GIR's. Nothing drastic though :P</p>
<p>I think of sophomore year as a very fun year. Plus you move up a spot in the pecking order and have a new class to guide in the ways of MIT :)</p>
<p>I'm going to be in the lab all summer! Only it's going to be cooler than it is now, because I'm going to have picked a thesis lab, and I'm actually going to be Starting My Thesis.</p>
<p>Hopefully the thesis part will be enough to compensate for the fact that (as the lab manager informed everyone yesterday) we're not allowed to wear open-toed shoes all summer. :( Barbaric, yes?</p>
<p>"Internship at MSU for 9 weeks researching a transcription factor in the family C/EBP. I'm totally stoked."</p>
<p>Aha. I am stoked that I KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!! In fact, I called my mom today (who is a biologist, so is my dad, actually) and told her that I actually liked biology. I mean, not as much as they do, but not as little as I was afraid I would. :)</p>
<p>I'm really enjoying sophomore year. It was a huge transition year for me... transition from OHGOD I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I WANT FROM MY LIFE LETS DO AERO/ASTRO to OH GOD I HATE AERO-ASTRO MAYBE IT'S JUST THIS CLASS BUT I'M SO CONFUSED ABOUT EVERYTHING NOW to OKAY, COOL, I totally know where I'm trying to go and I'm in the very least on track :)</p>
<p>In terms of difficulty it is quite a bit harder than freshman year was. It's weird thinking back and remembering how much WORK I felt like I was doing when I was just taking 4 classes and now I'm taking 5 and feeling liek I have SO MUCH free time. A big difference is respect. I mean, maybe a lot of it is just me looking at myself, but I remember freshman year walking into labs and urop interviews having to say things like "yeah, I know I DONT HAVE ANY CLUE what I'm doing but I swear! I am a good learner and I won't embarrass your group at cocktail parties." and really feeling like I had some classes but I really had no clue whatsoever. I'm a lot more confident now, cause I have some experience under my belt and I know what I'm capable of and I've taken a lot more varied (and deeper) coursework and some hands-on stuff along the way.</p>
<p>Open-toed shoes?? pish-posh. I'm gonna be on the California coast in the middle of beautiful summer and I have to dress business-professional for work every day :(</p>
<p>Mollie (and all others to work in a bio or chem lab),</p>
<p>I'm glad your lab is enforcing its safety rules. You wouldn't want to spill any corrosives, radioactives, or otherwise toxic materials (such as heavy metals) on your brightly-painted toenails. I think safety has improved a lot in academic labs over last 10 years or so but it still lacks vigorous enforcement IMO. You probably are too young to remember the tragedy of Karen Wetterhahn, a professor at Dartmouth. (<a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/%7Etoxmetal/HMKW.shtml)%5B/url%5D">http://www.dartmouth.edu/~toxmetal/HMKW.shtml)</a>. </p>
<p>I know beauty comes first, but please exercise precautions in a lab.</p>
<p>I'm exercising precautions under extreme duress.</p>
<p>I guess I would be less annoyed if the lab also enforced other clothing rules -- if we had to wear lab coats, or if we weren't allowed to wear skirts or shorts. But the only rule that's enforced is the no cute shoes rule. :(</p>
<p>But it will be okay. My mom is sending a pair of cute tennis shoes with cherries on them, and I will keep them in my locker at the lab and change into them when I get to work every day.</p>
<p>As long as I'm still allowed to wear sundresses to work, I'm still happy with my life. :)</p>
<p>In CA (near SF) working in geospace research (plasma physics, focus on the aurora and data analysis). Maybe going to Alaska to use instruments!</p>
<p>I dunno, I'm probably one of the only people not excited about CA as a place. In the US, I way prefer the pacific northwest/Chicago/the desert or the top of a mountain or something equally remote/the MIT area. I really don't like CA that much, but hey, I get to see family and friends, so I guess it's OK.</p>
<p>BTW pebbles, I'm going between building spaceships and physics research too. I'm sort of confused -- the stuff that excited me most about aero/astro were 1) advanced propulsion/power and blue-sky mission designs, and 2) actually working on mission control. Any info on how I might decide/how MIT might connect me with opportunities to explore there?</p>
<p>0.001 mL is ca. 1/50 drop, assuming 1 mL = 20 drops.<br>
Plausible that 1/50 drop could have easily penetrated the latex glove, if there was 1 or 2 drops spilled on it.
Would have to assume ca. 1.5 drops absorbed through the skin to reach 80 times the toxic limit?</p>
<p>
[Quote]
It is described as having a slightly sweet smell, though inhaling enough fumes to notice this would involve significant exposure to the chemical.
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</p>
<p>Uh... ok?? Who was alive to tell that tale?</p>
<p>I'll be working an internship for 9 weeks at a software company where I also work during school. I hope I also get to start writing my diploma thesis (as I attend a technical school, top students may write a thesis). Last but not least I will attend a prestigious MUN and, of course, learn for the SAT. :-)</p>
<p>For those wondering about mercury - it is an extremely potent neurotoxin and the topic of much controversy as regards the MMR vaccine and the increased rate of autism diagnosis (1 in 150 ) over the past decade. Don't get me wrong - I am not getting into an autism/vaccine debate here. The neurological damage that can occur from mercury exposure is great.</p>
<p>Taking a few moments to minimize potential exposure in a lab to harmful agents is a very small price to pay for the research that you will be performing now and in the future. (Off my parental soapbox) :-)</p>