Hey! Didn’t see a thread for this yet and wondering if anyone else applied or went to SIP before. How was the program like, specifically in Astrobiology and Astrophysics? Is admissions difficult and any tips?
Thanks!
I was an intern last year and did research in astrophysics. Here’s how the program breaks down:
You’ll be working in a classroom setting with no real adult supervision. The only tools that you’ll mostly be using are your laptop and Python IDE. You talk to your mentor/faculty advisor pretty much every day and they will you properly lead you throughout your research, although I would not really expect to work along side them. Also, although you’ll be in a classroom with a bunch of other astro interns, it was not really a social activity. You’ll become close to your research partner, but don’t expect too much with other people. That’s the life of a SIP intern … only if they do not try for themselves.
For me, personally, SIP was a life-changing opportunity. Everyday, I would go into deep discussions with my mentor or faculty advisor - make connections, understand, and see through the eyes of an expert. For the research, I spent hours upon hours studying on my own, not because my mentor would not explain it to me, but because I wanted to learn for myself. With my research partner, I became really close to him - communicating, discussing, and learning together. Even now, after a year, we’re still tight and communicate frequently. As for the other astro interns, I did get to know a lot of people but truthfully not that close. (If you want to make friends, live in the dorm. Everybody in there parties like there’s no tomorrow. Still tight with those guys too.) In the end, I can guarantee that you’ll accomplish a lot, you’ll learn a lot, and you’ll grow a lot.
For admissions, I think it was ~20% acceptance rate. Let me tell you something, the people there were smart but they weren’t incredibly smart. They worked hard (mostly) but none were true super geniuses, making it easier to connect with them. According to the director, GPA counts only 10% of the application. 45% comes from the essay and 45% comes from teacher recommendations. In those, what he wants to see is that the student does not fear failure. The key trait he wants to see is resilience. Show that regardless of the result, you’ll learn through the failures and successes to accomplish not a successful project but a successful researcher.
Anyone else have stories from the program?
DECISIONS COME OUT TOMORROW!
Have decisions been released yet? I can’t tell.
I don’t think so, decisions from previous years came out in late afternoon/evening… wonder if they will send out rejection notifications?
My friend refreshed the application website and he got in… I wasn’t on that list unfortunately.
How do you check if you got in?
Application portal has results. I saw them last night.
You have to log in with your credentials.
is there a list or just the application portal?
I don’t see any results on the portal. Does that mean I was rejected?
Oops, ignore this post.
anyone here get genecamp?
I logged into my account, I don’t see status of my application.
I don’t see anything either… congrats to those accepted btw
Did someone see a rejection update on the portal, or does the portal update only for acceptances?
Is there a list of people who got in? Or you see it in your account?
Hmmm, maybe this link from last year will tell us: https://ucsc-sip.applflow.com/Proj/private/InternAssignments.php
@ZetaIntegration are you able to log in?