Math REUs 2012: When Can We Expect Decisions?

[deadsupra]

Yeah when I was looking I hardly saw any deadlines on march. There is definitely none on April.

You can always offer write a simple letter for your professors. I didn't do that but I know people who did and the professors accepted that plan too. Just have them read over it, mail, email it. Whatever.

It is worth an hour of research. You never know what you might find. Don't expect a high stipend from NYC or UCLA either. But if you can get some research done for money in the middle of Alaska or a desert, hell why not.

 

[jlombard314]

Yeah, I'm not sure if I'd want to pressure my professors because of my fault though, since I'm hoping to keep good relations for them for at least a couple more years until grad school apps. :]

I guess my only option at this point would be to
Plan A: Find any remaining programs that either have very very late deadlines, or open deadlines not requiring outside recommendations.
Plan B: Summer sessions with self-study/independent research courses.
Plan C: Summer sessions in general.
Plan D: Sit at home and do nothing.

Plan B seems like the most likely outcome, although I'll try to find any remaining programs; crossing my fingers!

If you are interested in applied mathematics the SAMSI institute Raleigh, N.C. still has an open application for their week long program. It's a pretty good place and I've done two of their undergrad workshops. Here is their website: http://www.samsi.info/workshop/interdisciplinary-workshop-undergraduate-students-and-faculty-may-14-18-2012

with the application for the summer program. What's nice is they are willing to help pay for flights. People at the workshop have come from the west coast before and been re-imbursed. Sounds like you are not graduating anytime soon so there is always next year.

 

[zombie_rb]

Cornell's fractals group is done. I got an email this morning at 7:30am saying that the first people to respond to the email would be an offered a spot on the project.

I did not see the email until 3pm today when the group was already filled, and as I have already accepted a position on UConn's fractals project, it doesn't really matter regardless. It would have been heart-breaking though for someone to not have a back-up plan as I do and not get to participate in Cornell's program because you do not check your email as your getting out of bed.

Bahahahahahahaha. This is something Strichartz would do.

This shouldn't be funny, but knowing him...it kind of is. Sorry to anyone who didn't get in!

 

[kamikaze1]

The hardest and most well known math REUs are, surprisingly, in small schools. Two notable ones are REU University of Central Michigan and Dululth REU, they mostly have students from H, MIT (mostly Putnam kids). The REUs vary by research topics tho, so choose wisely for ones that trulyu interest u

 

[deadsupra]

The hardest and most well known math REUs are, surprisingly, in small schools. Two notable ones are REU University of Central Michigan and Dululth REU, they mostly have students from H, MIT (mostly Putnam kids). The REUs vary by research topics tho, so choose wisely for ones that trulyu interest u

oh cool. that's interesting. i actually picked CSUCI and SDSU because of their past research topics. I can't really understand the research topics though. I don't know if it is the research lingo or I'm just stupid but I never have done an REU or even done any research.

 

[kamikaze1]

In my opinion, math research is by far the hardest research and least accessible for undergrads. Some areas are almost inaccessible because they require advanced knowledge that most undergrads haven't reached yet (after all this isn't bio, phys, or chem). The more accessible areas are number theory/combinatorics alike, graph theory, and abstract algebra (although depends on wat specific areas). If u want to do math research, u should at least have taken proof based, upper division courses like real/complex analysis, groups/rings/fields (abstract algebra), combinatorics, graph theory, and maybe some sequence in ODE (although u likely won't research in this area). Doing well on the Putnam should put u in a very good position to do research

 

[R.P.F.]

Bahahahahahahaha. This is something Strichartz would do.

This shouldn't be funny, but knowing him...it kind of is. Sorry to anyone who didn't get in!

It's actually quite unprofessional...I was going to apply to Cornell for grad school but now I'm having second thoughts.

 

[Mozartean]

Yeah I agree. I certainly don't know anyone involved so maybe there's something going on behind the scenes, but on the surface that looks very questionable.

 

[gcfb]

Not strictly speaking an REU, but has anyone else got a place at the Park City Mathematics Institute summer school?

 

[zooxanthellae]

It's actually quite unprofessional...I was going to apply to Cornell for grad school but now I'm having second thoughts.

Yeah. I'm not even a person that applied for the program, but that's just a terrible way of allotting positions.

 

[RicciFlow]

Cornell's fractals group is done. I got an email this morning at 7:30am saying that the first people to respond to the email would be an offered a spot on the project.

I did not see the email until 3pm today when the group was already filled, and as I have already accepted a position on UConn's fractals project, it doesn't really matter regardless. It would have been heart-breaking though for someone to not have a back-up plan as I do and not get to participate in Cornell's program because you do not check your email as your getting out of bed.

How quickly did you hear back from UCONN after applying? I applied through the mathprograms.org site, and was therefore unaware of this REU until late, but it still said the application deadline was the 20. So do you think all the fractal-DiffEq positions are filled now? I applied on the 17th and have not heard back. Which makes me sad. :/ I imagine that if I didn't get in it would probably be from how much later applied. How awesome was your app.?

Also, has anyone on this forum applied to/heard back from UW-Stout? I was certain I would get into that one, but sadly I have not heard back from them either.

 

[jacksonwalter]

Has anyone heard back from UNCG? I applied there, Bard, and UCSB. At this point it seems like plently of people have heard back from Bard and UCSB so I doubt I'll be getting into either of those, but I think I was probably best suited for the one at UNCG anyways so fingers crossed.

 

[deadsupra]

So I got rejected from CSUCI. I suspected it once I heard that math REUs require a lot of upper division math courses.

Did most of you guys who applied to math REUs know this? I had no idea. And as a sophomore with a 4.0 in all math courses, I thought I had a for sure thing here.

Haven't heard from SDSU but I'm drop dead confident I'll get rejected as well.

Funny thing is that any other science, it is easy to get accepted. My sister did an REU last year at CSULA and another applicant wasn't even a biochem major. He was a business major with average grades and didn't even take general chem! *insert rage meme here*

 

[camilus]

How quickly did you hear back from UCONN after applying? I applied through the mathprograms.org site, and was therefore unaware of this REU until late, but it still said the application deadline was the 20. So do you think all the fractal-DiffEq positions are filled now? I applied on the 17th and have not heard back. Which makes me sad. :/ I imagine that if I didn't get in it would probably be from how much later applied. How awesome was your app.?

Also, has anyone on this forum applied to/heard back from UW-Stout? I was certain I would get into that one, but sadly I have not heard back from them either.

I got into UW stout, did anybody else?

I reallllly wanted to go to Emory, but I found the project way too late.

 

[jlombard314]

So I got rejected from CSUCI. I suspected it once I heard that math REUs require a lot of upper division math courses.

Did most of you guys who applied to math REUs know this? I had no idea. And as a sophomore with a 4.0 in all math courses, I thought I had a for sure thing here.

Haven't heard from SDSU but I'm drop dead confident I'll get rejected as well.

Funny thing is that any other science, it is easy to get accepted. My sister did an REU last year at CSULA and another applicant wasn't even a biochem major. He was a business major with average grades and didn't even take general chem! *insert rage meme here*

Well you have another year to apply so you should not worry. And yes, I figured that they would need upper division classes. A lot of them say that. It also makes sense since it is a bit easier to compare people if they have taken the standard upper division classes like analysis and algebra. Unless you come from a very good institution, then it will be difficult to compare the other courses you have taken unless you have taken upper division classes that are pretty standard across different curriculums at colleges.

 

[deadsupra]

Actually I don't remember seeing anywhere that on most math REU sites saying a requirement of classes. At least not CSUCI or SDSU.

 

[jlombard314]

Actually I don't remember seeing anywhere that on most math REU sites saying a requirement of classes. At least not CSUCI or SDSU.

Of the thirteen I applied to I know at least 7 required it.

 

[RicciFlow]

I got into UW stout, did anybody else?

I reallllly wanted to go to Emory, but I found the project way too late.

Ah that stinks. I really wish I had my applications together sooner. I didn't think offers were going to be made to people in most of these programs before the actual application deadlines.

Also, I'm just curious, what kind of courses/research experience have you had? haha, I guess I'm just feeling a bit confused as to how I didn't get an offer, as I did feel pretty confident about my application.

 

[James LeBron]

Who else is going to Bard? I am going there.

 

[riemannia]

After rejections by Boise State, UNC-Asheville, Fairfield, Indiana, Channel Islands, SUNY-Potsdam, and six weeks without any sort of notification from Oregon State, I was accepted to the University of Washington REU this morning, three days after submitting my application.

 

[feuxfollets]

So I got rejected from SUNY, Cornell, William&Mary, Fairfield, Indiana, UW-Stout. Haven't heard from Ursinus yet. so 6/7 rejected and I'm pretty sure I'm not getting into that last one.

What do you need to get into these things?... I did a year of algebra and analysis, topology, differential geometry, and also graduate algebraic topology. Most of the REUs I applied to were topology/algebraic topology ones so I think I had enough background for those? Also one of my recs is from my topology professor who likes me a lot..

so I don't have research experience in math since I did some kind of theoretical neuroscience/applied math thing the summer after freshman year. does everyone who gets into these things already have significant experience doing math research? I don't see how I could have done anything useful in math after freshman year, I didn't know nearly enough stuff back then.

anyway I'll be working with a prof at my school on algebraic topology, so hopefully things will still work out fine. I really wanted to do an REU though... I guess I still have next summer but I wanted to apply for the NSA thing then.

 

[zooxanthellae]

Anyone know what's up with the UMichigan REU? I sent an email yesterday and haven't heard anything since submitting my app.

 

[longtm1989]

I emailed Umich and they told me my application is still under review

 

[zooxanthellae]

I emailed Umich and they told me my application is still under review

Interesting, they actually responded and said I didn't make the cut (very kindly - something like "you're qualified to do an REU somewhere, but it just didn't work out here, sorry!").

 

[snowfox2004]

After rejections by Boise State, UNC-Asheville, Fairfield, Indiana, Channel Islands, SUNY-Potsdam, and six weeks without any sort of notification from Oregon State, I was accepted to the University of Washington REU this morning, three days after submitting my application.

I was just accepted to the University of Washington REU 2012! I look forward to seeing you there!