Applying to Math REUs Summer 2009: Results & Discussion

[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!

 

[Bel_Oubli]

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

REU = Research Experience for Undergraduates
They're generally summer programs that allow undergraduate students to get hands on experience in a field related to their major.

 

[Clockward]

I was accepted by this program on Tuesday:
Pennsylvania State University (Physics/Materials Science)

I am still waiting to hear from these programs:
Johns Hopkins University (Haptics/Prosthetics/Robotics)
Carnegie Mellon University (Materials Science)
Princeton University (Materials Science/Engineering)

I was rejected from these programs:
University of Washington (Physics)
Cornell Center for Materials Research (Nanotechnology)

If I am accepted to JHU, CMU, or Princeton, would the programs be more prestigious/advantageous than Penn State? I am fairly unfamiliar with the rankings of these schools. I want to attend an R1 University for my PhD in Electrical Engineering or Materials Science.

And good luck to anyone who is still waiting! I know how bad rejection emails can be.

 

[qedcutie]

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.

Wow, I'll have to check that out. That's great that your school will pay for that. Times are pretty tough for the math department here.

 

[mathhhh]

I got an offer from BYU, but decided to go to SDSU because first, being in a town with a population that is about 90% LDS does not sound like a fun summer to me. Second, coffee and mathematics go hand in hand for me. Lastly, a beer once a while during the summer is nice. However, caffiene and alcohol are strictly prohibited, so I chose to go to SDSU.

The projects though sound very interesting though, especially the one involving complex planar functions. Best of luck Sharon_stoned.

 

[pjfoster]

I got into the following programs:

01) Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute (Physics)
02) University of Alabama at Birmingham (Physics)
03) Purude 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!

Damn you got into alot! Do you already have a ton of research experience?

 

[Vid]

For anyone going to BYU's REU, spoilers ahead:

There's beer at the grocery store. It's watered down pretty heavily. The only liquor store in town is about a 2-3 mile walk from the apartments you live in. Our doors opened into basketball court:
http://www.cinnamontreeapts.com/?page_id=8 (apartments we stayed at)
so drunken basketball on the weekends or just shooting around was a fun way to relax. Except during the afternoon. It's way too damn hot to play basketball until evening. This isn't a typical off-campus apartment either. It's got more of a dorm feel where everyone living there knows each other and they hold weekly movie night and dessert night. Movie night was always Saturday night so I'd usually be in my apartment getting a little liquored up to play basketball when the movie was over. The mormons around you may notice your drunk, but the key to interacting with mormons is realizing that they won't say anything to your face. They do kind of a quite judging where they might whisper to each other whatever blasphemous thing you're doing, but if you keep doing it they'll never say anything. The more ballsy ones might say something if you're yelling profanities (drunken lay-ups aren't very easy). Overall, the limitations might sound bad, but it reality no one cares and no one will say anything. I kept my long hair (past shoulder length) all summer without anyone on campus saying anything. There's a coffee shop right by the apartments, by the way. There's a trip to Moab to go rafting near the end of the summer. It's one of the funnest things I've ever done. Also, part of the trip is going to arches national park and hiking through the desert in the middle of the day to see a rock formation. It's one of the least fun things I've ever done. Also, there's was a lot of random praying. There are a pretty good number of decent restaurants within walking distance including sushi and indian. If you happen to live close enough where driving is an option, I would recommend it. Having a car all summer would your life infinitely easier.

 

[qedcutie]

However, caffiene and alcohol are strictly prohibited, so I chose to go to SDSU.

Caffeine is prohibited? What? This is a math REU, right?

 

[Bel_Oubli]

Damn you got into alot! Do you already have a ton of research experience?

LOL, thanks. I'm not sure why I got into so many; maybe because I didn't apply to very competitive ones or something. I graduate next year, so I applied for a lot since it's my last chance for summer research. Last summer, I only applied for one (Georgia Tech), and I was rejected. Although, back then I had only taken introductory physics, so that could explain it.

 

[sciboinkhobbes]

Dang, so, just got rejected from Hawaii and the Smithsonian (astrophysics)... so this puts my rejection count up to 3/6, with no word yet from the other three. I'm a little more apprehensive now, since I don't know that I have a very good chance of getting into the other ones, and I really need to do research =/ I think a lot of us are in the same boat right now.

Does anyone know of any other REU or REU-type programs with really late application deadlines, that might be available back up opportunities?

 

[sciboinkhobbes]

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!

Congrats on all of those acceptances! That really is quite something.

Concerning the choice of going with Fermilab, I don't think that's wrong at all :) A good friend of mine had a great research experience there a few summers back, and another of my classmates will be joining you this summer. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity, I wish you the best!

 

[SpiffyKavu]

I just emailed Professor Liu at AMNH, and he said that they "will not be able to offer me a position ... this summer." Oh well, it would have been nice. I also got a response from Stony Brook University, and they apparently are somewhat behind on reviewing files, and they have made no offers.

So I am probably going to formally accept U. of Oklahoma's offer tomorrow.

 

[Bel_Oubli]

Congrats on all of those acceptances! That really is quite something.

Concerning the choice of going with Fermilab, I don't think that's wrong at all :) A good friend of mine had a great research experience there a few summers back, and another of my classmates will be joining you this summer. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity, I wish you the best!

Thanks! The only one I'm sad to say no to is UCF because I'm really interested in mathematical physics. I am also considering going there for graduate school, so I hated turning them down.

Is it true that when you turn an REU program down you decrease your chances of getting in for graduate school? That's what some of my fellow classmates have told me...I don't know if they're right, though.

 

[Bel_Oubli]

I just emailed Professor Liu at AMNH, and he said that they "will not be able to offer me a position ... this summer." Oh well, it would have been nice. I also got a response from Stony Brook University, and they apparently are somewhat behind on reviewing files, and they have made no offers.

So I am probably going to formally accept U. of Oklahoma's offer tomorrow.

Sounds like you're making the right choice. That's probably what I would do, too.

I hope you enjoy the University of Oklahoma!

 

[tannenbaum]

Is it true that when you turn an REU program down you decrease your chances of getting in for graduate school? That's what some of my fellow classmates have told me...I don't know if they're right, though.

That sounds like a myth, unless you are so rude that the people will remember you. Most programs have to go through a lot of offers because most students won't attend. (Unfortunately, it seems like most acceptances go out to a relatively small group of students who have 5 or 7 programs to choose from.) Of course the converse might be true: attending the REU and making a good impression on faculty might increase your chances of a grad school acceptance.

 

[Clockward]

I was accepted by this program on Tuesday:
Pennsylvania State University (Physics/Materials Science)

I am still waiting to hear from these programs:
Johns Hopkins University (Haptics/Prosthetics/Robotics)
Carnegie Mellon University (Materials Science)
Princeton University (Materials Science/Engineering)

I was rejected from these programs:
University of Washington (Physics)
Cornell Center for Materials Research (Nanotechnology)

If I am accepted to JHU, CMU, or Princeton, would the programs be more prestigious/advantageous than Penn State? I am fairly unfamiliar with the rankings of these schools. I want to attend an R1 University for my PhD in Electrical Engineering or Materials Science.

And good luck to anyone who is still waiting! I know how bad rejection emails can be.

Does anyone have any advice on this? I still haven't heard back from the three undecided schools, even though they said they would contact me very soon.

 

[pjfoster]

Does anyone have any advice on this? I still haven't heard back from the three undecided schools, even though they said they would contact me very soon.

Well, as far as Princeton goes, I have a friend who did that REU last summer, and absolutely hated it. As a matter of fact, his experience there was so bad he decided not to go to grad school, and to go to law school instead.

 

[Clockward]

Well, as far as Princeton goes, I have a friend who did that REU last summer, and absolutely hated it. As a matter of fact, his experience there was so bad he decided not to go to grad school, and to go to law school instead.

Wow, was there anything that he hated in particular? Was it his project or his research adviser, or the whole internship in general?

 

[pjfoster]

Wow, was there anything that he hated in particular? Was it his project or his research adviser, or the whole internship in general?

From what he told me, he didn't feel like he was doing any actual research. He spent his time researching and finding different components to buy instead of doing something hands on. He hated his advisor, and tried to switch to someone else, but he got tangled up in the bureaucracy and no one was willing to help him.

 

[Clockward]

I just emailed Johns Hopkins University and Anita Lakshmipathy told me they told me that all positions for their REU have been filled. And that was the one I really wanted! I hope to hear from Carnegie Mellon and Princeton in the next two days.

 

[Bel_Oubli]

I just emailed Johns Hopkins University and Anita Lakshmipathy told me they told me that all positions for their REU have been filled. And that was the one I really wanted! I hope to hear from Carnegie Mellon and Princeton in the next two days.

I'm sorry! ): Well, everything happens for a reason. I'm sure you'll have a great experience this summer even though you didn't get into the program you really wanted. Maybe you'll learn something new.

Good luck!

 

[Clockward]

I think I was just rejected from Carnegie Mellon, although they worded the reply email in a way that could be construed as either "no offers have been made yet" or "you will not be offered a position." I will post the information I get from my clarification email.

 

[Ai52487963]

I think I was just rejected from Carnegie Mellon, although they worded the reply email in a way that could be construed as either "no offers have been made yet" or "you will not be offered a position." I will post the information I get from my clarification email.

Maybe they didn't get NSF funding this year? I wonder how many programs had to be canceled because of that...

 

[Spartan Math]

Anyone going to the Cornell Summer Math Institute?

 

[Clockward]

Carnegie Mellon clarified that they didn't want me. At least I'm going to Penn State's program, which is pretty awesome in of itself.

 

[pipie]

I'm starting this up to find out who else is applying to math REUs for the summer of 2009. That way, we can talk about when we got acceptances/rejections and what not.

I've applied to:
Williams College
LSU
Indiana University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
College of William & Mary
University of Minnesota-Duluth
Cornell


So far, I have been rejected to University of Minnesota-Duluth, and I haven't heard back from anyone else (but the deadlines are not up yet on most of these).

Anyone apply to any math REUs? How is it going? Hear anything back?

I did REU last summer, and I was worried that I would not get into any REU program this year, so I applied about 10 programs.

1. BYU
2. UCLA - BJ
3. Cornell (accepted)
4. U conn. (accepted)
5. NC State (accepted)
6. NKU (accepted)
7. OSU (accepted)
8. Penn State
9. Central Michigan
10. WiVaM

So far, I know 5 schools accepted me. I have not heard from other schools yet. I guess that they will either reject me or ignore me. NKU was the first school accepted me. They gave me a week to decide whether to go or not. So, I sent emails to all the programs I listed above and asked them about my application status. Some of them did not reply me, and some of them accepted me...

Anyway, I have decided which one I'm going...

BTW, do you know how important is REU experience in graduate school applications?

GOOD LUCK!

 

[pipie]

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?

It is not very competitive admission into MASS program. (MASS PROGRAM AT PENN STATE). I went there. I guess that they take most of people who apply to that program. It is a really tough program, but it is excellent and great! When I was there, I suffered a lot, because I did not know a lot of things or had not taken some classes which I should have taken before I went to Penn State. However, after finals, I felt good, and I was very proud of myself.

 

[pipie]

i think the main reason i got into the cornell reu was that my background was very well suited for the project i applied for, which was in logic. i had done the penn state reu/mass program the year before, and one of the courses i took in the mass program was in computability theory, which was taught by one of the more famous logicians; i did well in that class and had that professor write me a recommendation letter. otherwise my stats were good but not necessarily phenomenal: i come from a very good small liberal arts school, my math gpa at the time was probably about 3.8, and beyond the introductory math classes i had taken 2 terms of combinatorics, 2 terms of abstract algebra, and 1 term each of number theory, odes, complex analysis, computability theory, geometric topology, and analytic probability theory, in addition to 3 terms of cs. my only real research experience at the time was the penn state reu i had done the year before, and i did not have anything published. i think i wrote a pretty good personal statement more geared toward why i was qualified to participate in the reu rather than why i really wanted to participate in the reu, though i did at least mention the latter.

I did MASS program last semester. One of my courses is dynamics. So, when I applied for the REU at cornell, I asked the prof. of that course to write me a recommendation. Yes, I got accepted by the REU program. I'm glad that I did MASS. When did you participate in MASS?

 

[pipie]

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?

Do you know Robert Strichartz? I will work with him this summer... I know that he wrote a book about fractals. He actually has mailed the book to my home. However, I'm oversea right now, so I cannot read it. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[pipie]

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

Yes, I did... I got accepted by the MASS Program. However, I may not go there... I did MASS last semester. Now I am in BSM program. I'm away from my home school for a year now. I want to go back and finish my thesis and prepare for graduate school applications.

Have fun in Penn State if you decide to go to MASS. It is really a great program. you are going to make a lot of SMART and cool people!

 

[RCA_0]

pipie my impression was that MASS is competitive and they don't accept whoever applies on a first come first serve basis (they actually reject a lot of people). When were you accepted pipie because I didn't know they made any official offers yet? I received an e-mail stating that they are planning to make me an offer. I wonder when they will make official offers and who else here has been accepted? pipie even though you felt like you were under qualified for the MASS program (going into the program) how much math do you feel like you learned after you completed it? When you returned to your home institution were you able to skip the basic introduction to algebra/analysis (assuming those were the courses you lacked) or any upper intro level courses and take the more advanced section of those courses due to the MASS program? I'm really excited about this opportunity and I feel like by the end of this summer I'll be prepared to take the courses they offer. I am taking several math courses over the summer to prepare.