<p>heehee, it's a small world...</p>
<p>As you know, I'm in the chem department at Stanford this summer, but I almost ended up doing the SULI program at SLAC (but I decided I was more interested in the project the Stanford prof was suggesting for me). Sorry I can't give you more info about it... I hope jmstnfrd08 can give you the info you want!</p>
<p>Athena,
Well, I guess since you got into SLAC...how does the application process go? What do they look for, and how can one increase his/her chances of getting into the specific lab that they want ?(I assume SLAC was what you wanted) These programs can be tricky. Especially since they expect us to know so much and are paying such great stipends. (Did you choose the chem project because you thought it would be more flexible and relaxed than the program?) I am interested in Lawrence Berkeley, Princeton Plasma Physics, SLAC, and Brookhaven. Of course I will be applying for the 16 week term during the fall so that may be a little different but just as competitive. Any info would help!</p>
<p>Jacobian, I'm actually in the SULI program at Argonne Nat'l Lab in Illinois. The experience has been somewhat mixed for different people I know in the program....it all depends on who you get for a mentor and how much responsibility they give you.</p>
<p>I should mention that I was in the pre-college summer research last year with the same mentor, so my work is basically a continuation of the research I did last summer. Last year, I helped design ice slurry for medical cooling purposes. Ice slurry is a cold fluid saline mixture that will one day be used (hopefully) in cardiac arrest victims and laparoscopic surgeries to internally cool down certain organs (brain, kidneys, etc.) that lose oxygen during strokes, surgeries, etc. Doing so decreases cellular metabolic demands, reduces cell death, buys doctors more time to operate, improves organ functionality after recovery, and above all, saves more lives. This summer, I'm working on improving the early designs for the procedure and the machine which will produce this slurry in its optimal form. It also involves some animal testing at the University of Chicago animal research center. (Argonne is operated by the university of chicago)</p>
<p>I commute to work everyday, though quite a few people are out-of-staters and live in the housing that they provide on-site... the workday is 8:30 am to 5 pm w/ a half hour lunch break, though hours seem to be very flexible. There is a LOT of free time. Also, they bring in speakers every week (professors and researchers from the lab and other universities) to talk about their work; these are all optional.</p>
<p>You are also required to write up a report on your research at the end, which will then be considered for publication in some undergraduate research journal.</p>
<p>They also do a pretty good job of organizing trips to the city on weekends (ex. six flags, shopping, beach, museums, taste of chicago/fireworks, etc.), though I haven't gone on any of these since I live near Chicago.</p>
<p>Do you know which other labs do things with applications to medicine? For the Semester the only labs that take students are SLAC, Brookhaven, PPPL, Lawrence Berkeley, Argonne, National Renewable Energy, Oak Ridge, and Pacific Northwest.<br>
Thanks in advance!</p>
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since you got into SLAC...how does the application process go? What do they look for, and how can one increase his/her chances of getting into the specific lab that they want ?(I assume SLAC was what you wanted)
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<p>Yes, SLAC was my first-choice lab. However, I'm not really sure I can offer you much advice in the way of how to improve your application. I think I got in because I (a) had much stronger coursework than they expected from a freshman (one of the people in charge of the program specifically mentioned this in one of the emails he sent me), (b) had really strong letters of recommendation, (c) showed a strong interest in both research work in general and in the specific research being done at SLAC (ie. I'd read some of the papers of people I would have been interested in working with, and mentioned some of bits I found especially interesting in the appropriate parts of my application), and (d) I'm a girl (SLAC & SULI programs really like applications from "groups underrepresented in the scienes"). I almost hate to include the last one, but I do think many of those programs look at whether or not you belong to a group that's traditionally underrepresented in the sciences; I just don't really know how much of an effect this has.</p>
<p>I suppose you definitely have to have strong coursework and recommendations, but what will probably set you apart from the rest of the applicants is a strong demonstrated interest in the research being done at the lab? I dunno...</p>
<p><a href="Did%20you%20choose%20the%20chem%20project%20because%20you%20thought%20it%20would%20be%20more%20flexible%20and%20relaxed%20than%20the%20program?">quote</a>
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<p>Yup :p My hours <em>much</em> more flexible than they would have been at SLAC (maybe 10 to 5? or less? depends... though i do often spend some time at home in the evening working on my project as well, just because i find it interesting), and the project itself is something I can be much more autonomous about (ie. it's actually MY work, and not something that's having every step dictated by a prof or post-doc... the post-doc who's supervising me told me the basic phenomenon he waanted me to explore, but he's leaving it up to me to figure out how to look at/analyze the data... it's lots of fun. i get to play with it until i come up with something interesting, and then he looks at it and gives me a few broad suggestions, and then I get to go off and play with it some more and figure out the specifics :p</p>
<p>good luck with your apps to labs!</p>
<p>Thanks. My next question kinda stems from how you went about your application.</p>
<p>I am interested in the applied physics at pppl. If I mention specifics that interest me relating to the research being done there, does that limit my chances of getting in to any of the other labs (for the fall I send in one app that all the labs can see)? So basically, if pppl doesn't choose me, will the other labs look at me still (even though I mentioned research specific to another lab)?</p>
<p>And secondly, I am still toying with the idea of being pre-med and applying to med school (rather than grad school) and was wondering how research at DOE would look. I am doing other research thats very med related and was wondering if you think this would look odd since if my project would be more related to physics/energy matters rather than applied to medicine. </p>
<p>My mentalitly is research is research, and will be beneficial if you enjoy it and use it to help decide what interests you, and what doesn't. Other people I have talked to told me that if I am applying to medical school, everything should be done towards that, and not to waste time on the DOE internship. (The reason I want to apply to DOE is because it is a program with guaranteed funding. If I tried to get something elsewhere for 13-16 weeks during the semester, it would be tough to get funding because a prof wouldn't want to spend their grant money to a pay a student for such an extended period of time.) Any insight?</p>
<p>okay, i think i should have been a little more specific. SLAC specifically states (on their website about summer internships) that after you apply through SULI you should send a short email to the director of SULI at SLAC stating that you're applying, and you should use that email to supply any other information that you think is relevent. Hence, in my generalized SULI application, I didn't mention specific researchers/research groups that I found interesting - in fact, I think I specifically said something like, "Without referring to specific projects at certain labs, its hard for me to be any more explicit about the research activities Im interested in..." - but I did mention general areas of research that I find interesting (ie. a lot of the current research into the "structure" of water); then, in the email to the program director at SLAC, I mentioned which specific projects and research groups I was interested in.</p>
<p>I don't know if any of the other labs allow you to do this "extra" email... you might want to see if you can find any information on that. If they don't allow it, I suppose I wouldn't mention specific research groups (ie. don't say on the general SULI app, "I'm interested in prof. so-and-so's research because..."); that probably won't get you anywhere if your first-choice lab turns you down. Instead, you might want to mention relatively specific (but still somewhat general) research areas being investigated at both of the labs you're applying to... if Prof. Jones does research into field A at lab 1 and Prof. Smith does research in field B at lab 2, you could say, "I'm intrigued by current research in the area of A, and I also find some of the newest developments in B very interesting...". That way, you can show specific interest without compromising your chances at other labs.</p>
<p>As for the med school / DOE thing, I wouldn't think it would matter, but I really really don't know. I mean, you say that people say that if you're "applying to medical school everything should be done towards that, and not to waste time on the DOE internship"... I suppose in today's ultra-competitive admissions world, this might be true, but would you rather drive yourself into the ground so you can get into the BEST medical school, or enjoy yourself, do something your interested in (which med schools will probably notice), and get into med school number 2 instead of number 1? I don't know, I've never really put much stock in doing things just to up your admissions chances (I mean, in high school, I didn't think at ALL about what I "should" have done to get into college, and look where I ended up :p), and if it were my choice, I'd say to hell with med school admissions, I'm doing the DOE internship.</p>
<p>I think that what you wrote here</p>
<p>
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My mentalitly is research is research, and will be beneficial if you enjoy it and use it to help decide what interests you, and what doesn't
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<p>is EXACTLY my mentality, and if I were you, I'd stick with it. But as I said, I'm not the best person to ask about this. I suppose it really just depends how high a top-of-the-line med school is on your priorities list... and that's a decision you need to make for yourself. (but who knows, you could do a DOE program in applied physics, fall in love with it, and ask yourself why the heck you ever thought you'd be happy with medicine... :p)</p>
<p>well, whatever you do, good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the support Athena. I think I am going to apply and play it by ear.</p>
<p>Getting off this research topic, let me ask you how you like Yale? I mean, in what short time you have spent here, would you be able to compare the two schools? Its kinda hard to see why one would leave the familiarity of the relaxed west-coast lifestyle (and great weather) to be caught up in the 100 mph commotion of the Northeast "prep school" culture. Your thoughts? (If I do take time off, Yale might be a school worth applying to although transfer admissions are hideous)</p>
<p>Since you have had a taste of both schools, are their sharp differences in the people or anything else?</p>
<p>Well, I haven't spent any time as a student at Stanford, so it's a little hard to compare the schools on that level, but I can definitely tell you that I love Yale :P. </p>
<p>I'm actually sort of bothered by stereotypical difference of the "relaxed west-coast lifestyle" vs. the "100 mph commotion of the Northeast 'prep school' culture"... I really didn't notice much of a difference when I moved accross the country; in fact, most of the people I've met at Yale are just as reasonable, relaxed & well-rounded as the people I went to high school with (though I suppose that this may have been because I went to a very competitve public high school :p). I suppose if Yale (& other east-coast schools) feel a little more fast-paced, it's because Yalies tend to be going a mile a minute involved in all sorts of way cool extra-curricular activities, but I think this is something you find on most college campuses. One thing's for sure though ~ you (sorry, I mean west coast students in general) have to forget about the stereotype of east coast prep-school students/Ivy league students as "stuck-up" or "snobby"... the people I've met this year are some of the most wonderful, kind, down-to-earth people I've ever met, and I really don't think I've met any more stuck-up or snobby people at Yale than I would have at any other private school (Stanford included).</p>
<p>As for weather - it was nice to move to somewhere that actually has seasons :p. It might get a little cold in New Haven in the winters (actually, the worst part is the wind walking up science hill), but I've been told it doesn't get nearly as cold as some other parts of the east coast (the witnesses: my friends at Cornell and MIT?), and it's so wonderful to see the daffodils poking their heads out of the ground come spring that I think it's worth it. I suppose the weather thing really depends on what you're looking for... just, if you come to the east coast, bring a nice warm long wool coat. They're ever so useful...</p>
<p>Does that help?</p>
<p>Indeed it does. Thanks athena. I am in the process of figuring out what I want to do with my life; whether I should take time off from school, apply as transfer next fall (2006) somewhere, go to med or grad school...and I am just trying to gain insight from actual students at the schools I am interested in....once again thanks!</p>
<p>By the way, hows the chem going? Please tell me a little more about reaction dynamics. What problem are you trying to solve in your research, and more importantly, what kinda math and physics are being applied to the chem?</p>
<p>Hey Jacobian,
I'd love to tell you a bit about my chem project, but since this doesn't really have to do with CC stuff (colleges, apps, etc.), we might be better-off switching over to email (or at least PMs). PM me (with your email addy, if email's more convenient for you than CC PMs) and I'll see if I can come up with a good way to explain it.
:D</p>
<p>Though it has a been a while, I figured I would update you guys. I did in fact decide to apply to the SULI Program and take the semester off this past fall. I ended up luckily getting accepted to SLAC and just had an amazing experience working in the Synchrotron Radiation Lab. I think it is pretty ironic since we were talking about it earlier in mere speculation. Thanks for the heads up guys!</p>