2021 REU Programs

[raremeatsandcheeses]

Most REU application deadlines are now at most a month and a half away, and I figured someone should make an REU thread similar to last year's, for any discussion REU-related.

Some relatively big news is that the Duluth REU is not offering a stipend this year, although they are still covering housing/board, I believe. They encourage applicants to become familiar with what stipend/funding options might be available through their school. My own university unfortunately cannot offer me anywhere close to what most REUs already promise, and that's assuming I can even convince my school I deserve the funding. But oh well!

I myself am applying to ~6 REUs this year:

• Fields Institute Summer Research Program (FUSRP)

• SMALL Number Theory & Probability

• UVA Number Theory & Rep. Theory

• Ursinus Rep. Theory of Lie Algebras

• UChicago REU maybe?

• CSU San Bernardo REU

• Baruch Discrete Mathe Group REU maybe?

If any accidentally accept me, maybe I can share some of my info for future reference, and others could do the same.

Update, 4/19/2021

Some info: I am a freshman math major at a large public uni with a strong math program (T20). I have a 4.0. My completed undergrad math courses when I applied were number theory and linear algebra. My courses-in-progress were advanced analysis on manifolds and algebraic topology. My letters of recommendation were strong and personal. Got very lucky there.

I was accepted to the UChicago REU for the apprentice program unofficially on 2/27/2021. I was officially accepted on 2/28/2021.

I was accepted to the CSUSB REU officially on 4/19/2021.

I was either rejected, ghosted, or withdrew my application from all other programs.

I have chosen to participate in the UChicago REU. I had sent an email to Professor Dunn (CSUSB) to let it be known I made this choice, but maybe there was an error along the way.

[jjmb11]

Hmm, that is interesting news from Duluth. Pretty disappointing for anyone who would need to work in the summer to fund their studies etc.

From someone who has done two REUs in the past, many of the programs accept applications through mathprograms.org. This makes it a lot easier to apply since all your information is in the same place, and your letter writers only need to submit to one place. I highly recommend applying to a bunch of them, since apps are free and they are all highly competitive. Good luck with everything! The ones I participated in were very positive experiences for me.

[raremeatsandcheeses]

Ended up applying to:

• UChicago REU

• CSUSB REU for knot theory

• SMALL Number theory/probability

• Fields Institute

Lots of people say to apply to many programs, but really, I would not want to go to a program I'm not interested in, so I think only applying to four this year is fine. There were maybe 2-3 other programs I would have liked to attend, but their projects were too advanced for me. I'd rather wait 1-2 years then apply when I think I can actually contribute.

Applying to only 4 programs was also nice because I got to write personalized letters of interest/intent.

For the reference of future REU applicants, I'll give some of my 'stats,' which I would have found helpful when I was applying.

Year: Freshman
Institution: Large public, well-respected for its math department, I'd say T20 for math.
GPA: 4.0 (only a semester's worth of courses, though)
LORs: I got two letters, each from the professor of the two math courses I took last semester: linear algebra and number theory. The Fields Institute sent me my letters after they were submitted for some reason, so I got to read them. They were both very strong. One is from a 15+ year tenured professor who has done a large amount of work in number theory; it was very specific and supportive, put me among 'the top handful' of undergraduates he has worked with. My second letter came from a younger professor, but was similarly specific and supportive; best in class, top among students ever taught. Both wrote extensively on their trust in my ability to do actual research. So those were fun to read!
Research: I have no documented research experience. But, I did work with my n.t. professor last semester (which was what he talked about in the letter) and I ended up generalizing something related to random matrices and their eigenvalues, extending results for Q to Q(sqrtD). In my letters, I explained what exactly we did, and said a paper intended for publication on this work was in preparation.
My written submissions: Nothing unusual.

[crystal_math]

Ended up applying to:

• UChicago REU

• CSUSB REU for knot theory

• SMALL Number theory/probability

• Fields Institute

Lots of people say to apply to many programs, but really, I would not want to go to a program I'm not interested in, so I think only applying to four this year is fine. There were maybe 2-3 other programs I would have liked to attend, but their projects were too advanced for me. I'd rather wait 1-2 years then apply when I think I can actually contribute.

Applying to only 4 programs was also nice because I got to write personalized letters of interest/intent.

For the reference of future REU applicants, I'll give some of my 'stats,' which I would have found helpful when I was applying.

Year: Freshman
Institution: Large public, well-respected for its math department, I'd say T20 for math.
GPA: 4.0 (only a semester's worth of courses, though)
LORs: I got two letters, each from the professor of the two math courses I took last semester: linear algebra and number theory. The Fields Institute sent me my letters after they were submitted for some reason, so I got to read them. They were both very strong. One is from a 15+ year tenured professor who has done a large amount of work in number theory; it was very specific and supportive, put me among 'the top handful' of undergraduates he has worked with. My second letter came from a younger professor, but was similarly specific and supportive; best in class, top among students ever taught. Both wrote extensively on their trust in my ability to do actual research. So those were fun to read!
Research: I have no documented research experience. But, I did work with my n.t. professor last semester (which was what he talked about in the letter) and I ended up generalizing something related to random matrices and their eigenvalues, extending results for Q to Q(sqrtD). In my letters, I explained what exactly we did, and said a paper intended for publication on this work was in preparation.
My written submissions: Nothing unusual.

you read your professor's lor?? Did you not waive your right?

[raremeatsandcheeses]

Ended up applying to:

• UChicago REU

• CSUSB REU for knot theory

• SMALL Number theory/probability

• Fields Institute

Lots of people say to apply to many programs, but really, I would not want to go to a program I'm not interested in, so I think only applying to four this year is fine. There were maybe 2-3 other programs I would have liked to attend, but their projects were too advanced for me. I'd rather wait 1-2 years then apply when I think I can actually contribute.

Applying to only 4 programs was also nice because I got to write personalized letters of interest/intent.

For the reference of future REU applicants, I'll give some of my 'stats,' which I would have found helpful when I was applying.

Year: Freshman
Institution: Large public, well-respected for its math department, I'd say T20 for math.
GPA: 4.0 (only a semester's worth of courses, though)
LORs: I got two letters, each from the professor of the two math courses I took last semester: linear algebra and number theory. The Fields Institute sent me my letters after they were submitted for some reason, so I got to read them. They were both very strong. One is from a 15+ year tenured professor who has done a large amount of work in number theory; it was very specific and supportive, put me among 'the top handful' of undergraduates he has worked with. My second letter came from a younger professor, but was similarly specific and supportive; best in class, top among students ever taught. Both wrote extensively on their trust in my ability to do actual research. So those were fun to read!
Research: I have no documented research experience. But, I did work with my n.t. professor last semester (which was what he talked about in the letter) and I ended up generalizing something related to random matrices and their eigenvalues, extending results for Q to Q(sqrtD). In my letters, I explained what exactly we did, and said a paper intended for publication on this work was in preparation.
My written submissions: Nothing unusual.

you read your professor's lor?? Did you not waive your right?

A few days after I applied to the FUSRP, I got confirmation emails that they received my LORs. They attached the LORs to these confirmation emails. I'm not sure why, and I don't remember the application form ever asking me if I would like to see/waive my right to see the letters. I thought it was pretty weird too.

[Jmr324]

Ended up applying to:
DIMACS (graph theory/algorithm projects) GHOSTED
UChicago REU (Mentioned interest in working with Laszlo Babai) REJECTED
Yale SUMRY (Hypergraph container project), poked and REJECTED
Carnegie Mellon SUAMI, Emailed by a prospective mentor asking about my interest in the program and I declined.
GaTech (Probabilitistic combinatorics with Warnke)
Ohio State WITHDRAWN
Twin Cities, poked and was told first round offers are out and my chances of receiving an offer are slim, so REJECTED
Maryland CS CAAR Reu ACCEPTED
CUNY Baruch (graph theory and additive combinatorics), interviewed , ACCEPTED
Brown REJECTED
UCLA RIPS, ACCEPTED
For most of the programs above, I applied to projects relating to graph theory, combinatorics, theoretical computer science.

Year: Junior
Institution: Large public, not well-known for math.
GPA: 3.75
Letters: I submitted two letters for all of the programs I applied to. One of them is from my professor for undergrad analysis 1&2, where I got an A in both (he likes me so I think it will be a pretty good letter). My other letter is from my honors thesis advisor I have taken 4 classes with her (2 graduate-level), 1 independent study, and some research (we are finishing up a paper related to Ramsey theory).
Profile: By the time the REU takes place I will have completed: analysis 1&2, algebra 1&2, graph theory, combinatorics, graduate graph theory 1&2, graduate algorithm design & analysis (plus lower-level math courses). All A's in upper-level math courses, but some B's in lower-level math classes bc I was a lazy idiot. I am first-generation, which may help idk. I am hoping my strong-background in discrete math will help me get into REUs with projects in discrete math.

[of_a_hopeful]

Ended up applying to:

• UChicago REU

• CSUSB REU for knot theory

• SMALL Number theory/probability

• Fields Institute

Lots of people say to apply to many programs, but really, I would not want to go to a program I'm not interested in, so I think only applying to four this year is fine. There were maybe 2-3 other programs I would have liked to attend, but their projects were too advanced for me. I'd rather wait 1-2 years then apply when I think I can actually contribute.

Applying to only 4 programs was also nice because I got to write personalized letters of interest/intent.

For the reference of future REU applicants, I'll give some of my 'stats,' which I would have found helpful when I was applying.

Year: Freshman
Institution: Large public, well-respected for its math department, I'd say T20 for math.
GPA: 4.0 (only a semester's worth of courses, though)
LORs: I got two letters, each from the professor of the two math courses I took last semester: linear algebra and number theory. The Fields Institute sent me my letters after they were submitted for some reason, so I got to read them. They were both very strong. One is from a 15+ year tenured professor who has done a large amount of work in number theory; it was very specific and supportive, put me among 'the top handful' of undergraduates he has worked with. My second letter came from a younger professor, but was similarly specific and supportive; best in class, top among students ever taught. Both wrote extensively on their trust in my ability to do actual research. So those were fun to read!
Research: I have no documented research experience. But, I did work with my n.t. professor last semester (which was what he talked about in the letter) and I ended up generalizing something related to random matrices and their eigenvalues, extending results for Q to Q(sqrtD). In my letters, I explained what exactly we did, and said a paper intended for publication on this work was in preparation.
My written submissions: Nothing unusual.

you read your professor's lor?? Did you not waive your right?

A few days after I applied to the FUSRP, I got confirmation emails that they received my LORs. They attached the LORs to these confirmation emails. I'm not sure why, and I don't remember the application form ever asking me if I would like to see/waive my right to see the letters. I thought it was pretty weird too.

That's interesting -- I'm pretty sure that the emails confirming that they received my rec letters did not have the letters attached to them.

[raremeatsandcheeses]

you read your professor's lor?? Did you not waive your right?

A few days after I applied to the FUSRP, I got confirmation emails that they received my LORs. They attached the LORs to these confirmation emails. I'm not sure why, and I don't remember the application form ever asking me if I would like to see/waive my right to see the letters. I thought it was pretty weird too.

That's interesting -- I'm pretty sure that the emails confirming that they received my rec letters did not have the letters attached to them.

Maybe the recommenders dictate whether the letter gets sent to the applicant? I'd guess that's the case.

[Jmr324]

Does anyone know when DIMACS will release acceptances? It was due almost two weeks ago so I'm thinking maybe soon. Update: I poked bc I'm impatient and the organizer said that they will start sending out some acceptances in the next few weeks.

[crystal_math]

A few days after I applied to the FUSRP, I got confirmation emails that they received my LORs. They attached the LORs to these confirmation emails. I'm not sure why, and I don't remember the application form ever asking me if I would like to see/waive my right to see the letters. I thought it was pretty weird too.

That's interesting -- I'm pretty sure that the emails confirming that they received my rec letters did not have the letters attached to them.

Maybe the recommenders dictate whether the letter gets sent to the applicant? I'd guess that's the case.

Rarely is it that case

[lettuce]

Anyone get into SMALL Number Theory & Probability yet (after getting the shortlist)?

[raremeatsandcheeses]

Anyone get into SMALL Number Theory & Probability yet (after getting the shortlist)?

Shortlist is out? Bummer, if they've all gone out I probably am not in. Was the notification by email?

[lettuce]

Yes, the shortlist for Number Theory/Probability was released a little over a week ago. We got an email. afaik the other groups have not made their selections yet, though, but don't quote me on that.

[yfxkele]

I am a second year student, and I am really concerned with my profile.

What's the usual stats to get into an REU program?

[raremeatsandcheeses]

Has anyone heard from UChicago or CSUSB?

[Jmr324]

Has anyone heard from UChicago or CSUSB?

No, but I'd imagine we will start hearing back by next week.

[lettuce]

Anyone hear from UVA yet?

[kuz]

Anyone hear from UVA yet?

Offers haven't been made yet.

[of_a_hopeful]

Anyone hear back from Fields? They said they'll release decisions around 3 weeks after deadline, and it's past that.

[jalgebra]

has anyone heard back from UVA, Georgia Tech, Chicago, Brown, SMALL Topology, CSUSB, DIMACS, Yale, or Michigan?

[Jmr324]

has anyone heard back from UVA, Georgia Tech, Chicago, Brown, SMALL Topology, CSUSB, DIMACS, Yale, or Michigan?

No, I am hoping that chicago, yale, dimacs, gatech release decisions soon.

[cashew29]

Anyone hear from UVA yet?

Offers haven't been made yet.

by any chance do you know when offers are going out?

[serafinowicz]

Anyone hear from UVA yet?

Offers haven't been made yet.

by any chance do you know when offers are going out?

I received an offer from UVA Number Theory this morning.

[selbergsieve69]

Offers haven't been made yet.

by any chance do you know when offers are going out?

I received an offer from UVA Number Theory this morning.

congrats

[hu_bryan]

Has Baruch REU results come out yet?

[Jmr324]

GaTech has gotten over 450+ applications for their REU!

[jalgebra]

GaTech has gotten over 450+ applications for their REU!

Wow, how did you find this out?

[Jmr324]

GaTech has gotten over 450+ applications for their REU!

Wow, how did you find this out?

A gatech prof on twitter

[statisticky]

About how long does it usually take for programs to process REU applications & present awards? More importantly, when would it be socially acceptable to start nagging colleges by asking them about the status of my applications - two weeks, three weeks, or longer from application close date?

[cauchycoffee]

It seems like SMALL has sent out acceptances for multiple projects now. Anyone hear from Brown, UMich or UVA topology?

[enthalpty]

It seems like SMALL has sent out acceptances for multiple projects now. Anyone hear from Brown, UMich or UVA topology?

If you don't mind me asking, do you know if SMALL chip-firing games has sent any offers or rejections?

[cauchycoffee]

[quote=cauchycoffee post_id=25738 time=<a href="tel:1614023590">1614023590</a> user_id=35639]
It seems like SMALL has sent out acceptances for multiple projects now. Anyone hear from Brown, UMich or UVA topology?

If you don't mind me asking, do you know if SMALL chip-firing games has sent any offers or rejections?
[/quote]
Yes, I know of someone that got accepted in chip firing

[Aftermath]

Applied to:

CSUCSB
UCSB
Georgia Tech
Yale SUMRY (Accepted 2/20) First choice project: Homogenous Dynamics
Second choice project: Diffusion Geometry and Topological Data Analysis

Applying to: ( I know it's really late to still be applying but I'm in Texas and my power's been out T_T)

Cornell SPUR
UConnecticut

Stats: Non-graduating Senior math major @ T20 Public Research Uni, 3.8 gpa, 3.84 math GPA, no prior research experience, done directed reading programs in Gauge Theory and Hodge Theory, black/white male with disability if that matters. I have taken Algebraic Topology, am currently taking Differential Topology and Riemannian Geometry, and have cobbled together enough conference courses and reading programs for a functional knowledge of smooth manifold theory.

[yfxkele]

I heard back from UMich this morning

[INeedToBurn]

Seems like lots of people have heard back already. I've got no acceptance or rejections. What does that mean? Do REU programs send out rejection letters at all?

[Hallauer]

Seems like lots of people have heard back already. I've got no acceptance or rejections. What does that mean? Do REU programs send out rejection letters at all?

Many REUs have not sent out any offers. Last year, I got accepted to three (out of like 20) and none told me until March 5 or something like that. Some REUs send rejections, but many more don't. Certainly, rejections usually do not come until later, as they have to wait to see if people turn down initial offers, etc, and then eventually just send out an email saying "we have selected everyone. If you haven't heard, you are rejected."

[raremeatsandcheeses]

Seems like lots of people have heard back already. I've got no acceptance or rejections. What does that mean? Do REU programs send out rejection letters at all?

I think it depends on the programs you applied to. Some programs accept applicants right away (i.e. SMALL), others take time (i.e. CSUSB). At the same time, some will notify you if you're not admitted, while others don't. Myself, I only applied to a few programs--I have heard back from none so far, but I know that means only one so far (SMALL) did not accept me.

[associatesalad123]

DIMACS and William & Mary offers are sent (first round anyways)

[cccait]

Has anyone heard back from UCLA?

[jalgebra]

I have applied to 10 and am 0-5 right now. Is it unlikely I’ll get into one at this point since I haven’t heard back?...

[Jmr324]

I have applied to 10 and am 0-5 right now. Is it unlikely I’ll get into one at this point since I haven’t heard back?...

You have plenty of time to hear back... applications for most programs were due at most 1 week ago. Most people haven't heard back. You say you're 0-5 what 5 places did you get rejected from?

[jalgebra]

I have applied to 10 and am 0-5 right now. Is it unlikely I’ll get into one at this point since I haven’t heard back?...

You have plenty of time to hear back... applications for most programs were due at most 1 week ago. Most people haven't heard back. You say you're 0-5 what 5 places did you get rejected from?

Good to know, thanks. I was 'rejected' (meaning haven't heard back but they have released acceptences) from DIMACS, Yale, SMALL, UMich, and Georgia Tech.

[Jmr324]

Where did you hear that all those schools released all acceptances? I heard that Yale released them for some groups and GaTech hasn't released all acceptances I know that for a fact. Also, plenty of people get later offers and you may hear back in early March. You apply to a lot of REUs for a reason.

[Jmr324]

Has Baruch REU results come out yet?

I think Baruch is starting to release results, I was emailed yesterday.

[yfxkele]

I have applied to 10 and am 0-5 right now. Is it unlikely I’ll get into one at this point since I haven’t heard back?...

You have plenty of time to hear back... applications for most programs were due at most 1 week ago. Most people haven't heard back. You say you're 0-5 what 5 places did you get rejected from?

Good to know, thanks. I was 'rejected' (meaning haven't heard back but they have released acceptences) from DIMACS, Yale, SMALL, UMich, and Georgia Tech.

I think even in the same program, the dates of response are different because they review apps separately from topics to topics(I think).

[spicyguava]

Has anyone heard back from UCSB?

[lettuce]

Has Baruch REU results come out yet?

I think Baruch is starting to release results, I was emailed yesterday.

What did they say? was it an acceptance?

[Jmr324]

Has Baruch REU results come out yet?

I think Baruch is starting to release results, I was emailed yesterday.

What did they say? was it an acceptance?

They didn't say for sure but I am hoping it is. The email was from a potential mentor they said that I am on a list of a few people that they are interested in working with. They said if I am interested in working with them, to take a look at their research and let them know what I am interested in working on. We are meeting today for what they said is not an interview or a test just to talk and see if I am a good fit.

[enthalpty]

Anyone heard back from Twin cities? They said they would release some decisions this week.

[enthalpty]

Anyone heard back from Twin cities? They said they would release some decisions this week.

Did you poke the DGS?

Yep