Arrival and Settling in

My program is at Montana State University, located in Bozeman, MT.  A few weeks before the start of the program, I got my airline ticket and information about arriving and settling in.  I was so excited because every step brought me closer to Montana and the program.

I was flying from Milwaukee to Bozeman, with one layover in Denver.  Despite all of the excitement that led up to my departure date, I had a very groggy morning.  I had some personal things on my mind that were bringing me down.  I nearly missed my flight, getting nasty looks from the flight attendants.  I sat next to a woman going to Texas to visit her family.  A very nice conversation that lasted the whole flight. The second flight was delayed by two hours, but I did not care too much.  I slept as much as anyone can sleep on a plane.

A very beautiful set of clouds seen from the Denver terminal

When I landed and walked out of the plane, it suddenly hit me.  A rush of excitement and a beautiful view of the mountains greeted me at the airport that day.  I must have been obvious, because Dr. Brendan Mumey found me nearly right away at the baggage claim.  Once we found the other student we were picking up, a student in the transportation engineering REU, we went directly to the dormitories.  After getting my key, I went right up to my room - room 419.

Right away, I really liked the room: a comfortable bed, a fridge, a nice view from my window, and plenty of space.  Most other pods are twice the size of my room with two beds.  But I really like where I am.  I have never really lived in a dorm before.  At UWM, I live in an apartment with my sister.  In Taiwan, I was in a four-person room with one other person for three weeks.  But this time, it would be ten weeks, and I have the place all to myself.  It is small, but I really love it. 

My dorm, after settling in

The view from my room - notice the mountains

This dorm has a kitchen, a piano, and a rec room.  Anything you want can be checked out at the main office.  Each floor has a washer and dryer which you can only use with a Cat Card.  Unfortunately, the card office is closed until Monday, so no laundry till then.  The bathrooms are shared, but every time I have taken a shower, it has been completely empty.

After arriving on the first day, I showered and went shopping for all of the liquids they took from my at the airport.  I also got some fruit and milk.  The store is two parking lots away from the dorms, so the convenience can't be beat.  We had dinner at a Mong place near the dorms - the food was excellent with plenty of leftovers.  Then I went over to the union and talked to information for a long time about things that go on in Bozeman:

• Music on Main: several blocks of Main street are blocked every Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 for people to gather round and listen to local musicians play and bar-hop.  June 28 - Aug 16.
• Shakespeare in the Park: free performances of  Hamlet (June 20-23) and Twelfth Night (June 27-30) at 8:00 pm.  Did I mention it's free?
• Sweet Pea Festival: Artists show off their work on main street (dates not yet determined)
• Recommended Restaurants: Over the Tappas has great Plantains and bacon-wrapped dates.  Bachuss Pub serves pasties and spiced peaches.  Plank has good wine and cheese.  All of these are on Main.
• Free Bus Rides: There are four bus lines that will take you around for free.  It's even possible to get the arrival times via text message.

That night, of the other girls in the same REU program as me (Sabina) and I played a game of Yahtzee.  I finished off the day with a few phone calls.  The next day was very calm.  Our group met for breakfast.  Then I blogged and napped.  And we met again for pizza and games.  The rest of the time I called a few people, texted with Adib (a baha'i student here in Bozeman), and blogged.

Tomorrow is the first day.  I plan on getting up early and getting my CAT card.  Then off to orientation at 9:00 AM.  Although other REU programs have been taking place for years here, ours is brand new and I expect a few rough edges.

The Application Process

Applying for REUs can be a challenge.  REU deadlines run across the board, starting as early as February and going as late as August.  Of course, the more competitive ones will have earlier deadlines.  Applications will require you to get up to three letters of recommendation, write an essay on a specific topic, give all of your applicable credentials, mention jobs and research positions you have had, give your classes and grades, and personal information.  There is just so much to do, especially if your interests are broad. 

I started applying pretty late, and ended up having a lot of stress.  The NSF provides a website where you can search for REUs in your major.  Not being very confident in how well I would be received, I decided to apply to as many as were left.  By the time I started, about half of the deadlines had already passed, or were too close to get done.  Yet my list was still fairly long - about 13 applications in all.  The first thing I did as I went from one REU website to another, was create a spreadsheet online that included information I thought would be good to have:

• A link to the specific website
• The name and location of the university
• Its deadline
• Number or recommendation letters
• Where the letters should be sent
• Type of transcript required
• What the essay entailed
• Other documents asked for
• Things about the program that would help me create a ranking list for myself
• Projects in that program that interest me 
• University Ranking
• Weather
• If I had been accepted or not

It may look cumbersome, but it was amazing to have everything in one place.  Later, I even filled some squares at the bottom with information that was constantly asked for on every application, like classes I have taken along with their grades, or my extracurricular activity.  As I applied, I would alter the colors of the squares so that at one glance I would know what I have left to do.

I recruited my sister and boyfriend to help me fill in the forms, sharing with them them resume and general essay I had written.  This is where the spreadsheet really proved its worth.  Sitting around my apartment staring into our respective laptops filling forms until nearly 11:30 PM on a night that about half of them were due.

One thing I would really urge for people applying would be to approach professors early - as much as a month before the deadline - to get letters.  This is where most of my stress came from.  I didn't want to be pushy, but I really needed letters.  Luckily, I was able to pull together two professors to write a general letter and make several copies of it for me.  One of them just sent me the letter and told me to do all of the sending. 

The application process really shouldn't be too stressful.  But if I were to do it again, I would do the following: 

1. Start early - it gives time to write essays and ask for letters
2. Use that spreadsheet, especially if its hard to find your top choices
3. Use the writing center to make my statements look better
4. I would not apply to as many, but just to my favorites.

Some specific notes on me and how I look on applications.  I am a minority and a woman - a hard find in the computer science field in the US.  Also, I have a very solid GPA and almost all A's in my computer classes.  Having just won a competitive scholarship, I was able to alter my essay for most of my applications.  As for the results: I got into almost everyone I applied to.  I got into my second top choice first, and accepted that offer since it would not be known if I would get into my top choice for the summer.

And so, I accepted the offer from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT.  This place is in the mountains (I love the mountains) and has beautiful weather for the summer.  The project is specifically Green Networking.  It was the green part that attracted me.  I don't have much experience in networking, so it should be a great learning experience as well.

What is an REU anyway?

I was first introduced to the idea of REU through a professor of mine at UWM, Christine Cheng.  As an undergraduate looking to prepare for graduate school, I would often ask professors and graduate students for advice on what I can do to prepare and how I should go about the whole process.

I was, and still am, going for my Computer Engineering bachelors, looking to do my graduate studies in Computer Science.  I approached professor Cheng regarding a double major, but once I was in touch with her, the conversation could not help but go in the direction of preparation for graduate school.

Among the numerous pieces of advice she gave me, one was to attend an REU.  Of course, I had never heard of such a thing, but the idea sounded great: an NSF funded program that will pay you to do research for the summer.  After that, I found out that a few friends of mine had done such programs and recommended it highly.

After some research, this is what I found:  A Research Experience of Undergraduates (REU), is a program that is funded by the Nastional Science Foundation. In their own words, and REU "supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation".  Luckily for me, Computer Science is one of them.

There are several universities across the country that offer these summer programs, ranging usually from 7 to 10 weeks.  The student is provided housing, given a food stipend, and paid a about $5000.  In return, the student works about 40 hours a week on a research project.  Normally they will accept only 10 students into a program, working in pairs under a certain professor.  Additionally, the program may hold other bonding activities.  Depending on the program, a sample schedule my be provided.  Although most programs start in June, the application deadlines start as much as six months before.

So the next thing for me to do was to apply ...