<p>Is anyone familiar with this particular program? I'm a junior and I'm immensely interested in getting some research experience as an undergrad. Here's a quick summary of the past three years in college: I transferred to USC from Penn State with an undergrad GPA of 3.74, comprised of classes such as Econ, Sociology, Statistics, Spanish, Writing, etc. I transferred to USC, hoping to major in Film, but I've become very opposed to the idea of working in Entertainment after interning at a studio. I've recently switched into Psychology after I discovered my passion for it. I'm also considering minoring in Sociology. Right now, my GPA here is a 3.53. My first year here was just mostly film classes and a course to fulfill my GE requirements. I actually dropped one of my TV theory classes because there was no purpose for me to take the course last semester, so I have ONE "W" on my transcript. </p>
<p>I guess the reason I'm explaining my grades is because I'm anxious that the "W" might be held against me for research programs (even though the course is irrelevant to my major). The Undergraduate Summer Research Early Identification Program allows students to apply up to three institutions with one application. If accepted, a student is provided with a stipend of $4,000 and all expenses will be taken care of as I research and present at a conference (and get published) over a course of 8-10 weeks. The schools that carry my interest in Social Psychology research AND I'm eligible to apply for are: Stanford, Princeton and Yale. Yup. Pretty much all crapshots. Due to the level of competition, I'm also applying for other summer research programs offered at USC, such as McNairs and SOAR/SURF. </p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with this particular program? Any tips and advice? Since I want to focus on Social Psych, I'm thinking about getting recommendations from both a Soc and Psych professor. Any advice and inputs? Thanks!</p>