Math REUs 2012: When Can We Expect Decisions?

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The discussion centers on the timing and communication of decisions regarding Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), with participants expressing interest in sharing updates about their application statuses. Many users are applying to various programs, notably SMALL and Nebraska-Lincoln, with some reporting rejections and others celebrating offers. The competitive nature of REUs is highlighted, with one user noting a significant increase in applicants compared to previous years. Participants share their experiences with interviews, short-list notifications, and the pressure of making timely decisions on offers. There are discussions about the varying acceptance processes among different programs, with some users seeking advice on how to handle multiple offers and the importance of notifying programs if they accept an offer. The conversation also touches on the emotional toll of waiting for responses and the uncertainty surrounding funding for certain programs. Overall, the thread serves as a supportive space for students navigating the REU application process.
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should we start a thread posting when we've started hearing from REUs? so people know roughly when to expect decisions
 
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Surprisingly, no one is discussing this.

I'm applying to SMALL and Nebraska-Lincoln.

I made the short-list for the former, hoping to actually get in!
 
I submitted applications to 11 math REU programs. I've heard back from Emory (rejection), am waiting for SMALL, and the other deadlines have not passed yet. The rejection letter from Emory stated that there were more than twice as many applicants as last year... :frown:

@L'Hôpital: Was the short-list for a specific group or for the program in general? I also applied to SMALL but received no response as of yet.
 
I too made the short list for SMALL :D

I hope I actually get in too :/

Since this probably varies from school to school, does anyone know how many applicants some REU's get?
 
l'Hôpital said:
Surprisingly, no one is discussing this.

I'm applying to SMALL and Nebraska-Lincoln.

I made the short-list for the former, hoping to actually get in!

doubleaxel195 said:
I too made the short list for SMALL :D

I hope I actually get in too :/

Since this probably varies from school to school, does anyone know how many applicants some REU's get?

:cry: heart-broken..
 
@76: I think it's very project-dependent. Mine was for the Ergodic theory group. I messed up the interview though haha. So, we'll see.

@doubleaxel: Good luck!
 
@l'Hôpital: Thanks. Why do you think you messed it up? Did you have a phone interview or something? I'm on the short-list for the Number Theory and Probability project. He wants us to read a few papers and write up what we think of the proofs, describe the paper, any related questions,and how we would approach them.
 
Yes, I had a phone interview and we talked for a bit. I kinda psyched myself out, and probably sounded like an idiot haha. Such is life though. He also asked me if I had any questions and I said no, which was probably a bad idea too.

EDIT: Wait no, I lied. Just got an offer from SMALL! Woot!
 
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I probably would have been so stressed out and freaked out if they called me on the spot! Where else are you applying? Or just Nebraska?
 
  • #10
Congratulations, l'Hôpital! I expressed interest in the Number Theory & Probability, Knot Theory, and Phylogenetics groups and have not heard back from any of them, so I'm inclined to believe that SMALL is a no-go for me.
 
  • #11
Congrats l'Hôpital! Maybe...possibly I'll be seeing you over the summer? :)

How long you have to decide to commit to SMALL?
 
  • #12
@76: Thanks! Sorry to hear that. : (. Maybe next year?

@Double: They said I have to make a decision by Thursday morning. I'll probably send an e-mail tonight or tomorrow. So yes, hopefully we'll see each other this summer!
 
  • #13
l'Hôpital said:
@76: Thanks! Sorry to hear that. : (. Maybe next year?

@Double: They said I have to make a decision by Thursday morning. I'll probably send an e-mail tonight or tomorrow. So yes, hopefully we'll see each other this summer!

congrats! My credentials are as strong as I can make them. Why can't I get into the program I want...:frown:
 
  • #14
@l'Hôpital: Well, this time next year I will hopefully be awaiting grad school admission results, so... :biggrin: But I'm pretty confident that I'll get into at least one REU. I'm playing the pity card (if there is such a thing), i.e. I go to a small liberal arts school with limited research opportunities, but have a near-perfect math GPA and am motivated enough to have done multiple directed independent studies.

@R.P.F.: Man, I understand what you're talking about; my credentials are about as strong as they could be, given the limited resources at my school. I hope you'll hear some good news soon though. :smile: Which other programs are you applying to?
 
  • #15
764527 said:
@R.P.F.: Man, I understand what you're talking about; my credentials are about as strong as they could be, given the limited resources at my school. I hope you'll hear some good news soon though. :smile: Which other programs are you applying to?
i am only applying to a small number this year. Other than small, the other one that I'm passionate about is cornell. I have a perfect math GPA and a publication. I also go to a liberal arts college. I got good letters this time. I really don't know what else i could do to improve my chances. Whenever i apply to research programs i just feel i will never get into grad schools...
 
  • #16
"I'm on the short-list for the Number Theory and Probability project. He wants us to read a few papers and write up what we think of the proofs, describe the paper, any related questions,and how we would approach them."

Will you post when you hear back? I'm waiting to hear from that project as well
 
  • #17
Anyone received an offer from Small's Geometry group??
 
  • #18
ghjk said:
Anyone received an offer from Small's Geometry group??

Are you on the short-list?
 
  • #19
Nope, I haven't heard anything from Small yet. Did u hear from this group?
 
  • #20
ghjk said:
Nope, I haven't heard anything from Small yet. Did u hear from this group?

Nope. I was actually just wondering whether each group has a short-list or some group just sent out offers without making a short-list.
 
  • #21
I'm pretty sure the latter is the case for Geometry group.
 
  • #22
ghjk said:
I'm pretty sure the latter is the case for Geometry group.

Ok. Stay calm then. Don't stab anyone(I'm actually saying this to myself...). They are probably going to have all the positions filled by the end of Feb.
 
  • #23
Ah, finally someone made this thread.

Does anyone known whether DIMACS has announced anything yet?
 
  • #24
so has anyone gotten an offer from small's number theory and probability?
 
  • #25
I will let you guys know when I hear from them. Our response is due tonight. :/
 
  • #26
I applied to 12 REU's. UNL, Chanel Islands, UCSB, Mt. Holyoke, NC State, OSU, Clarkson SUNY POTSDAM, Rose-Hulman, Penn State, Michigan State, Claremont College, and Northern Arizona University. Boy was it fun! Hoping to hear back from some soon.
 
  • #27
I received an offer from University of North Carolina Greensboro's REU (Algorithmic Combinatorics on Words) but have a very short time to accept/decline. Anybody have any advice?

I would ideally like to see what other programs I get into, but this time frame doesn't allow for that =(

Oh, also, does anybody have experiences that they'd like to share with me from UCLA RIPS? Its part of the reason that I am hesititant to accept my current offer.
 
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  • #28
mathchick said:
I received an offer from University of North Carolina Greensboro's REU (Algorithmic Combinatorics on Words) but have a very short time to accept/decline. Anybody have any advice?

I would ideally like to see what other programs I get into, but this time frame doesn't allow for that =(

Congratulations on the offer! If you're still waiting to hear back from programs higher on your preference list, you can send them an e-mail politely asking about your application status, indicating that you have already received an offer but are more interested in their program. But if you don't hear back from anywhere else, I think you should accept the offer just to be safe. After all, REUs are extremely competitive and there's no guarantee that you'll receive further offers.

Also, to everyone: if you accept an offer to a program, please withdraw your other applications to streamline the process for the rest of us who haven't received offers yet. Thank you. :smile:
 
  • #29
R.P.F. said:
Ok. Stay calm then. Don't stab anyone(I'm actually saying this to myself...). They are probably going to have all the positions filled by the end of Feb.

I just got the confirmed news: the Geometry group was done, so if you haven't heard anything, then you should forget about SMALL. I didn't get an offer (2nd time), and I really wonder how to get into this group, considering that I have two publications when applying this year, one of them was on "Involve" (co-author with another prof.), the journal in which the professor being in charge of this group is the editor:P

Anyway, anybody hears back from the Combinatorics REU program at UMN?
 
  • #30
ghjk said:
I just got the confirmed news: the Geometry group was done, so if you haven't heard anything, then you should forget about SMALL. I didn't get an offer (2nd time), and I really wonder how to get into this group, considering that I have two publications when applying this year, one of them was on "Involve" (co-author with another prof.), the journal in which the professor being in charge of this group is the editor:P

Anyway, anybody hears back from the Combinatorics REU program at UMN?

Oh I actually heard back from the group I was interested in but it was bad news. Are you a sophomore? If yes, then you can probably get in next year.
I actually don't know why a math journal would be called "Involve", as I don't understand why a mathematical object would called an 'ideal'.
 
  • #31
R.P.F. said:
I actually don't know why a math journal would be called "Involve", as I don't understand why a mathematical object would called an 'ideal'.

It's because this journal requires a verified interactions between a professor and a student when writing up the paper(the student basically has to write a paper under the guidance of his/her professor in order to get the paper published). However, the editorial boards include many good mathematicians, so you should check it out for reference.

Regards to Small: Yes, I'm a sophomore but I will likely graduate next year, so this was my last shot. In fact, I don't even believe I can get in if I re-apply, since my profile won't change much compared to what it is right now (maybe 1 or 2 more publications on well-known journals and some graduate courses). Admittedly, this program is too tough for me to get in:)
 
  • #32
Just got accepted by UMN Minneapolis REU! Have to get back to them by next Wed, I think. I'm still waiting on SMALL Combinatorics group though. Did anyone apply to that group?
 
  • #33
Just got accepted for SMALL's probability and number theory! :) I am probably going to accept. They want to know by Friday morning. Good luck to everyone else!
 
  • #34
t3ss said:
Just got accepted by UMN Minneapolis REU! Have to get back to them by next Wed, I think. I'm still waiting on SMALL Combinatorics group though. Did anyone apply to that group?

Congratulations! May you mind sharing with me your mathematical backgrounds(upper level courses, awards,etc)? Are u a junior btw?
 
  • #35
Just letting you guys know that I got accepted to UCLA RIPS today (by phone), so they must have started looking through applications. Good luck to any other applicants!
 
  • #36
I got rejected from SMALL and the statistical genetics REU at Dort College. I hope I get in somewhere this summer! :/
 
  • #37
I'm writing to let you all know that William and Mary has begun sending out offers. I have a week to decide. :)

By the way, has anyone here attended the W&M math REU? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience and overall thoughts.
 
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  • #38
764527 said:
I'm writing to let you all know that William and Mary has begun sending out offers. I have a week to decide. :)

By the way, has anyone here attended the W&M math REU? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience and overall thoughts.

Same here! I have the same question, too, haha.
 
  • #39
Anyone heard back from UCLA Logic summer school?
 
  • #40
ghjk said:
Anyone heard back from UCLA Logic summer school?

Yes.
 
  • #41
markiv said:
Yes.

You got the offer? If you did, congrats:) When did you hear from them btw?
 
  • #42
Yes, I did. Thank you. Actually, I just heard from them today.
 
  • #43
Just got an acceptance letter for the NC State REU! Awesome! They want to know if I am going by March 9th, so hoping to hear from other schools. I can just e-mail them to know if I am in or not? NC State was not at the top of my list but I would definitely like going there.
 
  • #44
Thought I'd let you guys know, I just got accepted into Hope College's REU.
 
  • #45
I was just invited to the CSU Channel Islands REU! :) I have six days to respond.
 
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  • #46
What were some of your qualifications, if you don't mind me asking, Baroudeur?
 
  • #47
(Updates in italics.)

Offers: W&M, ETSU, LSU, Lafayette
Rejections: Emory, Williams (SMALL), SUNY Potsdam

A week ago I was worried that I wouldn't get into any REUs, and now I'm dizzy from thinking about which one to attend!
 
  • #48
dreamer32 said:
What were some of your qualifications, if you don't mind me asking, Baroudeur?

I might be something of an unconventional applicant. I've always liked math, but I was a disinterested and angsty civil engineer until a year ago... that's when I finally dropped engineering for math. Since then, my grades have been perfect, but for the first 1.5 years of my college experience, I got B's in math and other subjects. My recommendations were good, and I wrote good essays that address my past and look to the future.
 
  • #49
764527 said:
(Updates in italics.)

Offers: W&M, ETSU, LSU, Lafayette
Rejections: Emory, Williams (SMALL), SUNY Potsdam

A week ago I was worried that I wouldn't get into any REUs, and now I'm dizzy from thinking about which one to attend!

First off, congratulations! Choices are good!

How did they contact you for acceptances/rejections? I've applied to ETSU and SUNY Potsdam and now am a bit worried I haven't heard anything yet...

In fact, I haven't heard back from anywhere! Should I start making alternative summer plans?
 
  • #50
Derivate said:
First off, congratulations! Choices are good!

How did they contact you for acceptances/rejections? I've applied to ETSU and SUNY Potsdam and now am a bit worried I haven't heard anything yet...

In fact, I haven't heard back from anywhere! Should I start making alternative summer plans?

Thank you! I was contacted through e-mail at all places I listed. If you haven't heard back, then there's still hope since you haven't been rejected. :wink:

I don't think there's any reason to make alternative plans so soon; from what I've heard, some programs won't have completed their selection process until around the end of April!
 

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