Summer research undergraduate programs

<p>Our daughter has applied to several summer research programs for Science areas. Today she found out she was accepted at one of three she applied to.
This is at U of AZ . Does anyone have experience with this program or any other programs ?
This program has sent recommendation of a summer housing apt. I have gone to some reviews and I don't like what I am reading. If anyone has any thought on this subject or experience please post.</p>

<p>I feel a call to the director and I will ask for female attendees for maybe the past two summers as references and also if there is on campus housing. </p>

<p>She is currently a Sophomore.
Thank you in advance.</p>

<p>Our son is applying to several REUs (Research Experience for Undergraduates) in math. Many of these programs have been in existence for many years, so there should be a track record and previous years’ participants. We have not thought much about housing yet, we are just hoping he gets admitted to one of the programs. (I had thought that the students would probably be housed in dorm rooms vacated by students, but perhaps this varies by the type of institution offering the REU.) I would think that the director or administrator of the program would have the best info.</p>

<p>Our daughter applied to three programs and the other two have housing in dorms on campus per the web sites. This program clearly states room and board allowance.
This program is her first choice and she was not suppose to hear until March first so this was earlier than expected. Her deadline to letting them know if she will accept this position is March 16.
My husband and I will put together some questions and will contact the director of the program. There is much to be said to staying with the other participates during the programs duration.
I do have information on the suggested apartment and that is what caused concern when I did a search on “reviews” issues that red flagged me were safely concerns and Internet reliability. We also understand there is always two sides to all stories.
We also have direct contact information to the manager of the apt. so we will be able to contact that person also.</p>

<p>I’m not sure which U of Az program this is – they have several. A call to the director by you or your daughter is definitely a good idea. I’m surprised that they are not using their own dorms. If your daughter is permitted to choose her own housing, most universities have summer housing available, so even if that is not officially part of the program she may be able to stay in a dorm. On the other hand, she will probably want to be with all the other students in the program. You are smart to check out the apartments on your own.</p>

<p>Spoke to the director who was extremely helpful and a good listener. Plus was the parent of a child my daughter age. </p>

<p>The University was unable to offer dorms this year (Have in the past) had something to do with dates and availability. The “recommended site” has been used for other groups in the past . The director apologized for not having personal experience with this new arrangement.</p>

<p>We felt it was important to “stay with the group of 13” but the group will be distributed over the campus and there seemed to be more importance of being with that group she will be working with.There will be contact with this core group of course on the first three days with orientation etc and then they will work in their assigned lab. Some contact on weekends with some schedules field trips and outing’s.</p>

<p>She said even though dorms have been used in the past (20 Years) some stayed there and some stayed off campus.</p>

<p>I was able to be placed in touch with some possible subletting arrangements.</p>

<p>Anyone have any experience with this?</p>

<p>Any one familiar with Tuscon?</p>

<p>I was able to have contact with the owner/manager of the apts. and I did get some conflicting information , from what was on the web site . </p>

<p>I did get a prompt reply when contacted by email.</p>

<p>I did call this to attention of the director who was happy to get this information (shuttle service safely issues.) This information was from a search on apt. reviews.</p>

<p>Thank you all in advance.</p>

<p>No offense intended, but why are you calling the apartment managers and talking to the directors, etc? Is your daughter a sophomore in high school or college? If your daughter is in high school and is mature enough to participate in a program such as this, the calls should be made by her. If in college, well certainly the calls should be made by her… :eek:</p>

<p>anxiousmom- I respectfully disagree. A parent of a high-school sophomore (9th grade-15/16 years old!) 1. has every reason to be concerned about such issues, 2. will have more experience in handling these conversations, 3.will be better able to evaluate the information he or she receives.</p>

<p>Daughter is sophomore in college and normally would do all the “grunt work” but she is dealing with a very difficult situation regarding a good friend who is having a crisis now and we have offered to do this for her. With much reluctance she passed this to us after she realized her energy now must be devoted to her friend. Right thing to do believe me. We were happy we were able to help her. </p>

<p>We ask for her input up front and proceeded with her direction. I expect that the crisis with the friend resolved in the next week but some of these concerns had to be addressed as there are deadlines etc.</p>

<p>She might need to do the grunt work but, will she be old enough to sign a lease on a sub-let or apt? Kudos to parents for being involved. We are facing a similar issue with an internship in a city in which we know no one and our student will need to find housing as well. As parents we have been helping in the search thru craigslist and a local uni which offers a site for students for off-campus housing. We are most concerned about safety and as atty-spouse pointed out, we will likely be signing the lease as our student is under the age of 21 and has no previous landlord experience to offer as references other than campus dorm living. How can parents NOT be involved at this point?</p>

<p>Even though this specific program won’t be housed at the university this summer, are you sure there are no individual dorm rooms available at all? U of Az is a huge school, and I would look into summer housing options on campus first.</p>

<p>Another possible summer option is to live in a sorority house. They often have vacant rooms in the summer, cheap. And it’s a known entity so you wouldn’t have to worry about the landlord.</p>