<p>What kind of projects did people do?</p>
<p>@jelly765 – there really was an enormous range of different projects. I would say that none of the projects were really “busywork” though, as each generally had an interesting project for the student to carry out (I’m sure there were exceptions to this rule, though). You work towards a poster symposium at the end, so your mentor will make sure that you actually have stuff to present. If you want specific examples, you can message me – I have the abstract book from the past summer so I can look through it and give you a few titles. </p>
<p>were projects more of a “join mentor in their ongoing research” or “design project based on what mentor is doing”? …or none of the above, i guess</p>
<p>@science2015 – it was certainly more of a “join mentor in their ongoing research.” For most of us, the project was already designed and a lot of them were quite big (as in, people didn’t finish within the 6 weeks). There were some people who repeated an experiment that the mentor had already done, but most were doing some subset of their mentor’s research. </p>
<p>@Tanboyrunfast so would you say that most people were unable to use their research in any competitions? (not to say that the purpose of summer research is for competitions, of course)</p>
<p>@science2015 – that was certainly the case for me, though that was probably because I lacked the inclination to bother writing all the stuff up for those competitions (but it didn’t really matter, I still got into my top three college choices – and a lot of other RISE kids got into amazing schools, I will say). There were people who did enter these competitions, and several who were very successful and did move on to finalist or semi-finalist or whatever. But there were far more who went in saying “Yes, I’m going to do this” and then ended up not (like me). If you do want to enter into a research competition, I would recommend emailing your mentor as soon as you get your assignment, so that he/she can make sure that your project would be suitable for a competition. Communication will be your key to success. </p>
<p>I’m looking to enter into a research competition, so what do you mean by “assignment”?
I got into the program a few weeks ago (woohoo) and the acceptance email said that I would be assigned to a certain professor. Will I get a later email regarding what project I work on, or will that be revealed on the first day of RISE? Or by “assignment” do you mean the professor I’m assigned to? </p>
<p>@moneto – I meant your mentor assignment. You don’t find out your specific project until the first day of the program, when you meet your mentor at the luncheon. Browse around on your mentor’s webpage to see what kind of stuff they research and you’ll probably get a general idea of what you’ll be working with/doing. I would just shoot them a quick email introducing yourself, and mentioning that you are interested in entering a research competition - just to ensure that your project fits within those guidelines. </p>
<p>Huh, how long does it usually take for an applicant to get a decision?</p>
<p>well the website said max. 6 weeks, but pretty sure that would depend on how quickly they can match you up with a lab</p>
<p>@jelly765 I handed in my application late February and got my acceptance mid-March, but I think the time is really variable. </p>
<p>Anyone else attending RISE up for creating a Facebook group or something so we can get to know each other before the program? </p>
<p>hey i’ll make one! 
I was accepted for medical lab research this summer- i think it’ll be great if we get to see some faces and names before we spend 6 weeks together :))</p>
<p><a href=“BU Summer Session 2014 | Facebook”>https://www.facebook.com/groups/493710987399965/</a> </p>
<p>if you’re 100% going to BU RISE this summer, here’s a group where we can get to know each other a bit!</p>
<p>oops guess the link gets messed up on here- I guess you can DM me if you want the link?</p>
<p>ok figured it out- if you use the link from above (or <a href=“BU Summer Session 2014 | Facebook”>https://www.facebook.com/groups/493710987399965/</a>) just replace the **** with f a c e b o o k. c o m (no spaces obviously- that’s just to get through cc’s fb blocking software) - you should be able to access the group.
Yay problem solved!</p>
<p>Sounds great! Just requested to be in the group! I was accepted for Biomedical Engineering(:</p>
<p>Do they send out rejection emails or if I don’t get an acceptance email does that just mean I’m rejected? Cause I haven’t heard back from them yet. </p>
<p>Audrae, how long ago did you apply?</p>
<p>I got a confirmation email on March 28th</p>