How people found Summer research was a mystery to me when my D started college. I asked around and the responses were pretty vague. Lots of kids “know someone” I found out, but there are real opportunities out there if students know where to look. I’m sharing what my D found after asking her professors, looking online, and trying to network over the last few years.
My daughter was offered paid research positions at her LAC for the last 2 summers. The first time she turned it down for an REU (your daughter might want to look into apply for one of those) and then last summer she turned it down so that she could work in a lab at a university close to home (which saved her paying for room and board). That work led to her being able to present her work at a medical school conference next month.
The REU was a fantastic experience because she was in a group of like minded students in a new area of the country she had never been to before. She enjoyed the work and had a great time exploring the area on the weekends. She was pretty worried about turning down a summer position with her advisor twice, but in the end it worked out well because there were other students who really wanted to stay for the summer. Both decisions were tough.
The REU came with a set stipend plus room, board, and travel expenses. Last summer’s research was going to be unpaid, but her advisor told her to apply to her LAC for funding. They would have funded her but instead she won a fellowship/grant that paid for her work (through her college) so they didn’t need to. With what we are paying for tuition we will not do any “pay to play” summers, but told her that she should at least break even. In the end she’s been able to make money all 3 summers.
I suggest your D ask around campus, and check the REU applications for next summer. Also, since I don’t know the dept it’s hard to say but there are also similar depts that might have something to offer (my D is studying BioChem (the 2 opportunities I mentioned were in the biology dept) but was offered another chance for paid lab work in a neuroscience lab). I say this because there are so many opportunities out there, although it’s not always easy to find them. Best of luck to your D.
@MamaBear16 – your post is very timely as my D just sent me two listings for REUs that she’s interested in for next summer. She’s just a first year. I’m assuming b/c they are paid plus offer room & board they are very competitive? Do you know if rising Sophomores have shot?
If you know anywhere she can learn more or have insights, that’d be great! She’s a bio major on a PhD track. Very interested in plants, genetics, and budding (ha!) interest in intersection of math and biology. Would love field based opp.
Thanks for any thoughts you might have or resources you can point her toward!
@AlmostThere2018 I have heard of rising sophomores getting them, but I think it’s more common after sophomore year. My D’s was after that year, but her college has Biology students take chem the first year, so she wasn’t really competitive for a biology REU after the first year. And yes, they are quite competitive. I’d suggest finding more than 2 to apply to because of that. I don’t know how exactly how many my D applied to but I know it was more than 10.
Okay – really helpful. Thanks so much!
@MamaBear16 , forgive my ignorance. What is an REU?
Here you go @Lindagaf – Research Experiences for Undergraduates – supported by NSF
https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/
Sorry, I just saw your question, but I see it’s been answered. REUs are a great opportunity for kids to do some research outside of their home institution.
Some (all?) are very competitive. My daughter applied to a few that had over 4000 applicants for about 200 positions.
@twogirls - wow, that is competitive! Not sure if my D realizes that yet…
Thanks for the info!!
I don’t know if all of them are that competitive…hopefully not… but I do remember my daughter telling me those numbers ( one was a little better) for at least 2 that she applied to. Good luck!
My daughter did REUs during the past two summers. Neither were at her college though she applied to the program on her own campus both years. She applied to about ten programs each year. The applying was quite a bit of work, though great preparation for her grad school applications that she recently finished. Great experiences. Got room and stipend. Got an all expense paid trip to present a poster at a conference from one of them. Fun to try living in two big US cities rent free. (Rushed 9 Broadway shows last summer!)
Update:
My D has ended up getting a summer research position in a lab at a large university a couple of hours away from home. She is much happier about this arrangement than the first position she was offered, which involved her doing research remotely.
She looked up summer research programs she was interested in and contacted the professors. She had to do middle of the night interviews from her study abroad location. She has applied for a stipend from her college, which should be a routine thing. She says it’s extremely difficult to get paid research positions in her area of study, and she thinks it’s more important that she research something of genuine interest to her. She is excited about her plans, so I’m happy for her.
Great news!!! Congrats to your D!!!
My D ended up applying to 4 of the REUs related to her interests. I think she should hear in the next week or two? She feels like they are all long shots, and her backup plan is to work as a summer camp counselor which, honestly, is where her heart is right now.
She’s just a first-year so I think ( hope? ) that’s okay. It seems to me that summer after sophomore year is more important to start building some research experiences that can feed into her grad school plans… Though honestly I don’t really know much about bio grad programs and their expectations.