{"id":3642,"date":"2018-07-11T15:24:03","date_gmt":"2018-07-11T15:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/?p=3642"},"modified":"2018-07-11T17:02:21","modified_gmt":"2018-07-11T17:02:21","slug":"making-the-most-out-of-summer-off-campus-research-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/making-the-most-out-of-summer-off-campus-research-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the most out of summer off-campus research experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By: Shelly Gaynor, Class of &#8217;18<\/p>\n<p>After working in a lab for a few semesters, I found that I really enjoyed research. This passion for research made me realize I wanted to continue my education after I finished my undergraduate degree. Wanting to narrow down what I would want to focus on in graduate school, I applied for several summer research opportunities. Specifically, I looked at National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REUs). NSF-REUs are extremely competitive and \u2018prestigious\u2019. They are normally research positions that are fully-funded, more on the money later, which last 6-10 weeks during the summer. During my undergraduate, I was able to attend 3 different REU programs all over the country.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Things I wish I knew before applying for REUs:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>1. What is an <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/crssprgm\/reu\/\"><strong>NSF-REU<\/strong><\/a><strong>?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A summer off-campus research experience<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Typically between 4-11 weeks long<\/li>\n<li>Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)\n<ul>\n<li>Stipend ($3,000-$6,000)<\/li>\n<li>Travel, housing, and food may also be covered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3646\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3646\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_1.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3646\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_1.jpg 562w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3646\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shelly Gaynor and peers at Colorado-Boulder REU<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 16px;\">REU #1<br \/>\n<\/strong>Where:\u00a0 University of Colorado-Boulder<br \/>\nLength: 10 weeks (+ 1 week at a conference)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3647 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_2-e1531320571177-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_2-e1531320571177-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_2-e1531320571177.jpg 488w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>REU #2<br \/>\n<\/strong>Where: University of Florida<br \/>\nLength: 4 weeks<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_3.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3648\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_3-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Shelly Gaynor and researchers from NSF REU at the University of Missouri.\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_3.jpg 1089w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>REU #3<br \/>\n<\/strong>Where: University of Missouri<br \/>\nLength: 9 weeks<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. NSF-REU\u2019s are super competitive<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For my first year of applications, I applied to 15 schools and only was accepted into 1! One program I applied to let me know they had over 200 applicants and could only take 8 students. Have a plan B, for example <a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/forms\/surf-application\/\">SURF at UCF<\/a>. If you do not have a connection with one of the labs, acceptance is often luck or chance.<\/p>\n<p>Networking can help you secure REU\u2019s. Following my first REU, we presented our projects at a conference, Botany 2016, where I interacted with my mentors for REU #2 and REU #3. I met my mentors for REU #2 at the conference by inviting the mentors to stop by my poster. I \u201cmet\u201d my mentor for REU #3 on twitter (see below). I followed up with both of these faculty mentors after the conference and then applied to their REU programs the following spring.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3649\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3649\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_4.jpg.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3649\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_4.jpg-300x198.png\" alt=\"Twitter is great for networking in certain fields, including Botany.\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_4.jpg-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_4.jpg.png 635w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3649\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Twitter is great for networking in certain fields, including Botany.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Twitter is great for networking in certain fields including Botany.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. The two types of REU\u2019s<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There are two main \u201ctypes\u201d of REUs<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>REU sites<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li>Normally consist of multiple professors with a common focus<\/li>\n<li>Host about 2-10 undergraduate students each year<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>REU Supplements\n<ul>\n<li>Funding received by PI\u2019s (or principal investigator)<\/li>\n<li>Host about 1-2 students<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>All of the REUs I participated in were supplements.<\/p>\n<p>For my REU in Colorado, there were only two students! Luckily, the second student was awesome and we got along really well. A graduate student had recently started in the REU lab and explored Colorado with us.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3643\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3643\" style=\"width: 375px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_5.png.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3643\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_5.png-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"An ice wall in Rocky Mountain National Park during June.\" width=\"375\" height=\"211\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_5.png-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_5.png-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_5.png-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_5.png.jpg 1700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3643\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An ice wall in Rocky Mountain National Park during June.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For my REU in Florida, I was the only visiting student during my four-week position. Though I definitely spent time with students from this lab, I forgot to take pictures! So, if you are attending an REU, don\u2019t make the same mistake I did. However, during this REU I lived with my sister, who had just adopted a puppy, so every day after researching I hung out with Birdie and took lots of photos.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3644\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3644\" style=\"width: 359px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3644\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_6-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"My (dog) niece, Birdie.\" width=\"359\" height=\"202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_6-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_6-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_6.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 359px) 100vw, 359px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3644\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My niece, Birdie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For my third REU at Mizzou, there was an intern group with students from lots of different types of summer research. My roommate was taking part in a program from the National Institute of Health (NIH), her research focused on alcohol drink choice in relation to ethnicity. We had organized group events with our mentors and other students, including an <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Egg_drop_competition\">egg drop competition<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3645\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3645\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_7.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3645\" src=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_7-300x212.png\" alt=\"Egg drop event, our egg made it and did not break!\" width=\"300\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_7-300x212.png 300w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_7-768x542.png 768w, https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2018\/07\/Gaynor_REU_7.png 1008w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3645\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Egg drop event, our egg made it and did not break!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>4. Make the most out of an REU<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>REUs are ripe with opportunities to learn and network. Here are my tips to make the most of a summer off-campus experience:<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Build a tool box<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I learned so much during each of my REUs. Each REU focused on different questions, and each utilized different methods that I could then add to my skillset. Take good notes and learn as much as you can!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Presentations and Publications<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was able to present each of my REU projects, and I even received awards for some of these presentations. From my REU projects, I completed two manuscripts for which I am first author and will help write a third paper.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Graduate School<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Through my REUs I determined what I wanted to focus on for my graduate education and determined what graduate programs I was interested in. Attending REUs directly connected me with the lab I will be completing my graduate education with, in Fall 2018 I will be starting a Ph.D. program in Botany at the University of Florida (or REU #2).<\/p>\n<p>To find out more about summer-off campus experience: <a href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/current\/summer-off-campus-research\/\">https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/current\/summer-off-campus-research\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After working in a lab for a few semesters, I found that I really enjoyed research. This passion for research made me realize I wanted to continue my education after I finished my undergraduate degree. Wanting to narrow down what I would want to focus on in graduate school, I applied for several summer research opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":698,"featured_media":3646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[47,48,45,46],"class_list":["post-3642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-blog","tag-biology","tag-nsf-reu","tag-summer-research","tag-surc-member"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Making the most out of summer off-campus research experiences - Undergraduate Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/academicsuccess.ucf.edu\/our\/making-the-most-out-of-summer-off-campus-research-experiences\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making the most out of summer off-campus research experiences - Undergraduate Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After working in a lab for a few semesters, I found that I really enjoyed research. This passion for research made me realize I wanted to continue my education after I finished my undergraduate degree. 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