<p>For those of you who were enrolled in Perspectives on Science and carried out a research project over the following summer, did you receive free housing from Yale or did you have to rent your own place?</p>
<p>hey i’m currently doing perspectives summer research. basically we get a $3700 stipend (although this is before taxes) to do what we want with. this includes renting a place. it’s pretty easy to do so though, because a lot of yale grad students are looking to sublet over the summer. you shouldn’t need to spend more than $2000 on housing for the summer, leaving you with over a thousand for food, fun, etc.</p>
<p>Wait, so it’s $3700 before taxes? Hmm, for some reason I thought it was $5000…and ~sigh~ having to pay for rent with that is a drag. It doesn’t seem right that you should only make $1000 or so to keep (and that’s excluding food!) for the summer. I mean, I made almost $3000 last summer, and that was as a junior in high school…</p>
<p>The offer is nice but I’m thinking a SURF or an REU might be the way to go here.</p>
<p>luckystar,</p>
<p>How would Perspectives professors take it if you were to tell them that you have changed your mind and would rather pursue research opportunities somewhere other than at Yale for the summer?</p>
<p>ginny weasley,</p>
<p>perpsectives students are not obligated to do research AT ALL over the summer, at yale or somewhere else. in that case, the 20 page paper that you have to write in april would be on a lecture topic covered during the year rather than an original research idea. you are not penalized if you choose not to research. i know someone who is not even majoring in science and is now working in washington d.c. for the summer, and she got an A in the course. however, a plus to working at a yale lab over the summer is that it gives you the possibility of working there during the school year as well, and also of finding a mentor who can write you a grad school recommendation.</p>
<p>guitarman,</p>
<p>unfortunately, a lot of yale students do not expect to make money over the summer. the perspectives stipend is probably one of the better deals you’ll come across, because there is no need for you to apply for the competitive Bulldog internships in the spring and worry that you’ll have nowhere to go over the summer. perspectives is great in that it pretty much guarantees you a job over the summer a year in advance, as long as you can find a mentor to work with (this is extraordinarily easy to do). many people i know who do internships abroad, although such trips are subsidized by yale, are happy just to break even. some people even end up paying a few thousand to work overseas.</p>
<p>luckystar, what exactly is the deal with the 20 page paper? And if we already have a 20-page paper on original research, can we just use that? :)</p>
<p>Anywho, I think I’ll apply for a SURF next year (better pay, a change of scenery, and better research, no offense to my Yale :)), and do the Perspectives research if that doesn’t pan out…</p>
<p>the deal is that the 20 page paper basically comprises your grade for the year. this is both a blessing and a curse. you can be lackadaisical in the course for eight months and as long as you do a great job on the final paper, you’re set. on the other hand, for most of us who waited until two weeks (or much much less in some cases) before it was due to write it, the situation was stress-inducing to say the least.</p>
<p>and as someone who also has written a 20 page paper on original research, boy do i wish the answer to that question were yes.</p>