National Science Foundation ( NSF)

Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2018 • Menomonie, WI

What I liked

The opportunity to do a master's level economic research project, learning to utilize stata.

What I wish was different

I wish we had more time to complete our projects.

Advice

A NSF REU is the best summer experience you could hope for.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

May - August 2018 • Madison, WI

What I liked

It was a great experience to learn how to work in a lab and see what a larger university was like. It helped to give me a lot of insight into what graduate school will be like, and what my future career options are.

What I wish was different

I wish I would have spent longer than 10 weeks there.

Advice

Apply early, work hard on personal statement.

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Research Intern

June - August 2018 • Menomonie, WI

What I liked

I worked with a group of 8 interns all working on advancing the same environmental issue in the town of Menomonie, WI. I liked that the program was very interdisciplinary and not everyone was focusing on the same project but we all had the same goal.

What I wish was different

I wish I had had a different mentor who worked better alongside the rest of the interns. The other three mentors were much more helpful than mine, but my resulting project was still very important and helpful.

Advice

I would advise people to research who they are looking to work for more than I did. I was very excited to work with my mentor until it actually came time to work with him. Make sure you do research on the place and the person you want to work under.

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NSF REU Research Intern

May - August 2019 • Provo, UT

What I liked

I absolutely loved being able to conduct graduate-level research in an area that was very applicable to what I would like to do in the future.

What I wish was different

Nothing. It was wonderful.

Advice

Just go for it. It's worth it.

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Lab Assistant

June - August 2019 • Lincoln, NE

What I liked

The experience was a necessary in helping me realign what I want my career to be.

What I wish was different

The research felt very meaningless and that my time was wasted.

Advice

Apply to multiple REU’s since they are very competitive.

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Undergraduate Researcher

May - July 2017 • Athens, GA

What I liked

NSF REU programs are a great way for undergraduates to get summer research experience and test out different fields of interest. You also get great mentorship and sometimes even get publications from a summer's worth of work.

What I wish was different

Advice

Apply to everything you can. Apply to things you don't think you're qualified for as well as things you maybe think you are overqualified for. You never know where you'll end up fitting best, and it can't hurt to try different things.

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Undergraduate Research Assistant

June - August 2018 • Ellensburg, WA

What I liked

This was a part of the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program. It was a great opportunity to gain experience in research, working with a professor and other undergraduates in a field that you are interested in. During my time, I did both field work and lab work and learned a lot about how scientists study the past environment. I also am going to get to present my research at the Northwest Climate Conference in October and the research will eventually be published in a scientific journal. I would highly recommend it!

What I wish was different

Advice

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Engineering student research intern

May - August 2018 • University, FL

What I liked

I enjoyed the people I met: - I had two fellow interns from the program who were also my roommates for the 10 weeks we were in Florida; we became very good friends. - I enjoyed befriending the graduates students and workers. They guided me and gave great advice. - I really liked my advisor, he is the one who assigned me my project and he is also the one who would tell me what to do. I appreciate gaining experience in an enormous post-processing laboratory. I appreciate that I completed a research paper, research poster and did a research presentation. I enjoyed learning about hurricane data collection towers (what my project was about). I loved being in a new environment, I loved that I lived on campus and got to have limited access to the University of Florida's student services. I loved hanging out with my roommates and co-workers, we drove to different places (Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, the beach, snorkeling, etc.)

What I wish was different

I wish there was more structure to the NHERI REU program. I liked how there was structure towards writing the research paper but at Florida, I expected there to be a set day-to-day schedule and instead, there were days where I felt lost and unproductive. I didn't like how most of the work for the research paper, research poster and research presentation was done in the last two weeks of the program.

Advice

Become friends with your co-workers. Be open to doing things with your co-workers outside of work, try new things. Fill out your time sheet at the end of every day so you don' t forget what you did. Ask your co-workers about their work experience.

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Biology Research Intern

May - August 2018 • Albuquerque, NM

What I liked

This cohort offered me the opportunity to live and work beside undergraduates from around the country as well as learn from the mentorship of full time professors and researchers at the University of New Mexico. I learned valuable lab and field research techniques, as well as science communication methods.

What I wish was different

I would not change this experience.

Advice

I do not think that enough students at Villanova are aware of or apply to National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates. They are competitive internships offered across the country geared towards students who are interested in pursuing graduate school for science (not pre-med). I would love to see more students share their network of researchers to help the next generation of scientists navigate the world of research.

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Biology Research Intern

May - August 2018 • Albuquerque, NM

What I liked

What I wish was different

I would not change this experience.

Advice

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Laboratory research internship

June - August 2018 • Buffalo, NY

What I liked

I had learned a lot of knowledge from the research. Many of the works were related to my classes that I can applied with what I had learned from the previous lectures.

What I wish was different

I wish to get some more hands on experiences.

Advice

It is a great chance to get to know about research, which is the main daily life of graduated students. If you have any plan for pursuasing master or PhD degree, this will be a excellent start.

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Government Affairs Research Intern

May - August 2019 • Potsdam, NY

What I liked

I loved the people that I met and the experiences I had academically, professionally, and socially!

What I wish was different

Advice

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Undergraduate Researcher

May - August 2018 • Fort Collins, CO

What I liked

I gained valuable experience in a research lab setting, which will help me greatly as I enter into graduate school. I also liked the outdoor life in Fort Collins; it was a great place to spend the summer.

What I wish was different

Advice

Apply early and apply to many REU programs, they are very competitive. Don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions!

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Tutoring Intern

June - July 2018 • Kingsville, TX

What I liked

It was great exposure to be able to work with a variety of students from different backgrounds.

What I wish was different

I wish we had been allowed to teach more of our STEM content.

Advice

This experience is not only good for the interns to learn to work with students, but it's also a great program for the kids.

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Student Researcher

June - August 2019 • Santa Barbara, CA

What I liked

Doing research in mathematical cosmology!

What I wish was different

Advice

Take a semester off

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Icthyologist/ physiologist REU/MARC fellow

June - August 2019 • Friday Harbor, WA

What I liked

I loved it all

What I wish was different

I wish I didn’t have to come back to California

Advice

Don’t get on the ferry back

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Research Fellow

June - August 2019 • Orono, ME

What I liked

Housing and a meal plan were provided with the job. I had a lot of independence and was able to learn a lot in a lot of different areas through the project I was working on (i.e. designing a custom printed circuit board, modeling in solidworks, 3D printing with the Formlabs 2 printer, animal testing, etc.)

What I wish was different

Advice

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Undergraduate Researcher

June - August 2019 • Pittsburgh, PA

What I liked

It introduced me to the world of research.

What I wish was different

I wish I could have known about it freshmen year.

Advice

Try to plan alot of things.

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REU

May - July 2013 • Baton Rouge, LA

What I liked

It was an awesome experience. I learned that conducting research is multidisciplinary.

What I wish was different

I wish it was mandatory to meet up with your mentor several times a week.

Advice

Open up your mind and be creative.

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Undergraduate Researcher

June - July 2019 • College Station, TX

What I liked

I was able to conduct my own research as an undergraduate, with the help of a professor and graduate student at Texas A&M University. I was also able to travel to New Orleans, Louisiana to present my research at the Southern Demographic Association 2019 Annual Meeting.