Applying to Math REUs Summer 2009: Results & Discussion

[Clockward]

I don't think whether or not you contact them will affect your outcome.

Well, that's a relief. I'm really worried that the other six of my eight applications will be rejected, leaving me with a gaping hole of depression in my Summer. I will be entering my fifth undergrad year where I will be finishing my Applied Math and Physics degrees, but I don't have any relevant research experience to date. I wan to work in materials science or consumer electronics, and nobody is going to hire me if I don't get a materials science or electrical engineering PhD.

For anyone who may be rejected from all of their REU sites:

What are you going to be doing this Summer to improve your chances with getting into grad programs? I would think that studying for the subject GREs is a given, but there has to be something else besides internships. Do graduate programs give much weight to self-study or personal research?

 

[anaximanderma]

Do graduate programs give much weight to self-study or personal research?

I asked one of my professors this question, and he basically laughed in my face. Apparently, unless you manage to publish an interesting result, self-study is about as impressive as staring at the wall all summer.

Having been rejected from every single REU I applied to, my options look very bleak. I'm considering spending my summer in a rocking chair on the porch, yelling at passersby.

 

[Sheneron]

Did you hear back yet?

No, I haven't. In fact I haven't heard back from anywhere but one place which told me I had to wait longer to hear back.

This is from their site: "The target date for applications is March 1, applications will be accepted until all positions are filled. We begin reviewing applications in early February."

If they began their review in early February than either we should hear back soon, or, more than likely, we are rejected and they failed to email us, which seems to be quite common.

 

[qedcutie]

I didn't know Wisconsin was one of the more prestigious REUs...
I accidentally applied there without noticing that the program started before the end of spring quarter at my university. oops. So when they accepted me I had to reject their offer.
In any case, I applied to 9 programs and got into 4 so far, but based on the postings here I don't expect I'll hear from anyone else.
And regarding someone's question about Oregon State, I just got a second round pre-offer from them two days ago, but let them know I'd already accepted another offer.
Best of luck to everyone!

 

[RCA_0]

qedcutie what math courses did you have as a background when you applied to the REU sites this year?

 

[qedcutie]

qedcutie what math courses did you have as a background when you applied to the REU sites this year?

I've taken one quarter of Real Analysis, (And I grade the homework for that class this quarter),
Group Theory
Complex Analysis
Graph Theory
Topology
Ring and Field Theory (as a reading course).
Also, the standard lower division classes.
I will also take Advanced Linear Algebra and the second quarter of Real Analysis during spring quarter.

The project I will be working on this summer is in Algebraic Geometry, and the projects from the other programs I was accepted to were in Algebra, Analysis and Topology

I haven't had any prior research experience, and in my application I also emphasized my background as someone who struggled in math at a younger age and worked hard to make up for a lack of knowledge to end up excelling in math at the university level. I think this part of my background might not have been as appealing to some of the programs, but thankfully there were some programs that aim to give research opportunities to undergraduates like me who might not have those opportunities at their home institutions.
Throughout my college career, I've also cultivated relationships with my professors so that they've gotten to know me as a student, a tutor, a grader, a student in a reading course, etc. and this has (presumably) influenced the quality of my letters of recommendation.

 

[owlpride]

Congratulations, qedcutie. Enjoy the summer in South Hadley!

I am curious what the topology REU was that you got accepted to. I wanted to do topology this summer, but there don't seem to be too many topology programs...

 

[qedcutie]

Congratulations, qedcutie. Enjoy the summer in South Hadley!

I am curious what the topology REU was that you got accepted to. I wanted to do topology this summer, but there don't seem to be too many topology programs...

Thanks, owlpride!

Well, I wanted to do topology this summer, too, and the some of the projects at Indiana University were topological problems, but when they accepted me, they didn't specify the project I'd be working on. (And some of them were not exciting to me at all.) I tried contacting them by email, but received no response, and well, I'm not really a phone person, so since Mount Holyoke specified the project and since they seemed really organized, and excited to work with me it made my decision a lot easier. But you're right, there really don't seem to be many topology programs. I wonder if it's because topology may be a rare undergraduate class. In the topology class I took, we didn't even have time to get to the fundamental group, and they haven't offered a separate class on algebraic topology for years, which is really a shame. I hope to take a reading course in the fall in Algebraic Topology or p-adic analysis.

Anyway, though, I'm really excited about the Algebraic geometry project at Mount Holyoke. Have you decided where you're going and do you know what project you'll be working on? (I'll look back in the thread to see if you've already answered this.)

 

[qedcutie]

Oh, wow, Cornell? That's fantastic. Congratulations, owlpride!
I applied there, but that was one of the programs I'm not sure wanted someone with my background. That's so amazing that you'll get to meet Robert Strichartz! And who knows? Allen Hatcher might be around for the summer... Do you know which project you're going to work on?

 

[owlpride]

Thanks! I am in Collin Bleak's group, "groups via actions." I am hoping that it will be very topological because all the groups we are working with have topological definitions or interpretations. I would have loved to join the algebraic geometry group at Mount Holyoke (it might be the only REU with a male/female ratio < 1), but my professors didn't let me go anywhere else once I told them I got into Cornell. *sigh*

Allen Hatcher... Somehow I still haven't quite realized that the people whose textbooks I am reading actually exist.

 

[qedcutie]

Thanks! I am in Collin Bleak's group, "groups via actions." I am hoping that it will be very topological because all the groups we are working with have topological definitions or interpretations. I would have loved to join the algebraic geometry group at Mount Holyoke (it might be the only REU with a male/female ratio < 1), but my professors didn't let me go anywhere else once I told them I got into Cornell. *sigh*

Allen Hatcher... Somehow I still haven't quite realized that the people whose textbooks I am reading actually exist.

When I got accepted to Indiana and Mount Holyoke I really thought about whether I wanted to go to Cornell because of the program, or because I would get to meet Robert Strichartz. It's a tough call (The group actions group sounds awesome!), so I guess it's good I never heard from them. I think I will be happier at Mount Holyoke anyway. I'm definitely excited about the male/female ratio, as I am usually one of very few women in my classes, and have never had a female math professor. I think this will be a great experience for me, for many reasons, and I hope you actually wanted to go to Cornell more than you wanted to go to Mount Holyoke, because I think it might have been very nice to work with you.

I know what you mean about the textbook authors. It took me a week or so to realize that Robert Strichartz was the Robert Strichartz.

I feel a little silly getting so "starstruck" over mathematicians... :)
Maybe I'll meet them at a conference someday.

 

[owlpride]

I am looking forward to Cornell! And in a way it might be good for me to get more exposure to the opposite sex since I am currently attending a women's college. I guess we are trading experiences for a summer :)

This might sound very silly... but... ignorant me has never heard of Robert Strichartz except in the context of the REU. I feel like a mathematical hermit... Can someone please enlighten me?

Are you going to the Joint Math Meetings next January? You can meet just about any mathematician there!

 

[Jacobpm64]

Rejected to Cornell today via e-mail.

 

[Sheneron]

So, uh, for all of us unlucky fellows out there what jobs are we looking into?

Grocery mart, construction, fast food, restaurant, amusement park?

I know being a waiter pays good money but I just don't think I can say my name that many times every day. I hate saying my own name. And working in a kitchen is horrible. I have worked at an amusement park and fast food which was horrible. I would work construction but I think I would hate everyone that I worked with, so I am kind of leaning towards grocery.

In reality my summer will most likely consist of a few days of work and then a phone call telling them I am quitting. Can anyone here honestly work at a normal job and be happy?

 

[qedcutie]

Rejected to Cornell today via e-mail.

Me too. At least they sent out emails.

 

[SpiffyKavu]

I just got accepted into the physics REU at U. of Oklahoma. I have a week to respond. I have gotten rejected from Cornell and Smithsonian, and ended up not being accepted at the SARA program. I applied to 7 other places, but haven't heard from them. I was going to email them to check my status by mid-week. I was wondering if anyone here applied to American Museum of Natural History and if they have heard back from them yet?

 

[Ai52487963]

I was wondering if anyone here applied to American Museum of Natural History and if they have heard back from them yet?

Supposedly they were to send out acceptances March 10 or later, from the e-mail response I got from Prof. Liu. If anyone's been accepted to the AMNH, they should make themselves known, I'm still biting my nails here!

 

[qedcutie]

This might sound very silly... but... ignorant me has never heard of Robert Strichartz except in the context of the REU. I feel like a mathematical hermit... Can someone please enlighten me?

Are you going to the Joint Math Meetings next January? You can meet just about any mathematician there!

Not silly at all. He wrote The Way of Analysis, which is a great Real Analysis textbook I read along with my assigned reading from the more terse text by Rudin.

I had never heard of the Joint Math Meetings before. So who's the mathematical hermit now? :) Sadly, I don't get out of my home state much, and might not get to go to the Joint Math Meetings next January... but maybe.

 

[owlpride]

I had never heard of the Joint Math Meetings before. So who's the mathematical hermit now? :) Sadly, I don't get out of my home state much, and might not get to go to the Joint Math Meetings next January... but maybe.

Have you heard of the George Washington Summer Program for Women in Mathematics? Once you participate, they will pay for you to attend the Joint Meetings every year in college and graduate school until you finish your PhD! Anyway, I will be begging our math department for money to go to the Joint Meetings :) Luckily they have funds to support a few undergraduate students each year.

 

[Spartan Math]

Anyone going to the Cornell Summer Math Institute? It's not their REU, but an algebra course.

 

[mathhhh]

Did anyone here apply for the Penn State MASS program for the fall, and if so have you heard back?

 

[owlpride]

Did anyone here apply for the Penn State MASS program for the fall, and if so have you heard back?

I didn't apply, but isn't their application deadline sometime in April?

 

[mathhhh]

You are right Owl, thanks. I assumed it had the same deadline as their REU. Do you know anything about how competitive admission into MASS isl Owl?

 

[mathhhh]

Anyone here planning on participating in the SDSU math reu?

 

[qspeechc]

Sorry for sounding thick, but what are REUs? I am an international student btw.

 

[kp44]

I applied to 7 Physics/Astronomy REU's

UCLA -- accepted
MIT Haystack Observatory -- accepted
Harvard SAO (astronomy) -- high on wait list
Indiana -- high on wait list
Caltech (LIGO) -- declined (by email)
Cornell Astronomy -- haven't heard
University of Chicago -- haven't heard

 

[Vid]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_Experiences_for_Undergraduates

 

[sharon_stoned]

hi guys... so for the lucky few of us who managed to get into an reu, does anyone have any advice for how to make it a good experience? i haven't done one of these before, i don't "know the ropes" at all.

i'm going to the byu program, in case you're curious

 

[Vid]

I did BYU last year. Being constantly surrounded by mormons is a little unsettling. Also, keep in mind that the apartments you stay at are a 10-15minute walk from the math building and it's ****ing hot in Utah. No clouds, no rain, just blazing sun. Also pretty much every business in town is closed on sunday for church, except for the little caesar next to the apartments.

 

[Bel_Oubli]

I got into the following programs:

01) Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute (Physics)
02) University of Alabama at Birmingham (Physics)
03) Purdue University (Physics)
04) SULI Internship at Fermilab
05) University of Central Florida (Mathematical Physics)

& I applied to 6 others (Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina, IBM, Washington State, University of Washington) that I haven't heard back from yet.

I'm sad that I had to pick one. I ended up going with Fermilab. Does anyone think I made the wrong choice?

Good luck to everyone who hasn't heard back yet!