<p>So I was looking through the URAP open projects and found a few that intrigued me. I was curious though, on the “personal statement of interest” part of the application, where you state why you want to position basically, what do you say? For example do I just state why I am interested in the subject and what I hope to achieve with this position? Also, what about formatting: How long should it be? Do I write it to the professor like you do a hiring manager for a regular job? etc.</p>
<p>If you guys could give me some insight on this process I would greatly appreciate it. </p>
<p>I don’t think a lot of people are willing to help because these positions tend to be competitive - the less people the better. </p>
<p>But, I think your statement of interest shouldn’t be too long. If you need things to write about just follow the adivce given on the URAP page: In your statement, make sure that you address each project specifically: Why are you interested? Why are you qualified? What skills can you bring to the project? What classes have you taken that relate to the project? What do you hope to get out of this research experience? Each statement of interest should be about 400 words long.</p>
<p>Answer the above questions in the best way possible. I also would recommend reading some of the professors’ publications and make sure to incorporate their work into your statement. I HATE brown nosing, but sometimes it is inevitable.</p>
<p>Well thank you for your insights. I will consider all of that.</p>
<p>I cant believe people wouldnt answer my questions because of the competitiveness…I mean I’m still going to apply either way, and will get my answers somewhere whether from here or from the school, and it is all based on the applicant that fits best whether more apply or not… That’s kinda immature…lol, oh well.</p>
<p>THANK YOU so much then if that is the case, that was very kind of you. ( :</p>
<p>you’re not gonna get many replies because brown nosing is the only way to go. Express your interest, suck up to them, blah blah blah. It’s a terrible procedure really to obtain a research position (at least that’s what a certain counselor said to me ahem ahem), but it is a fast one.</p>
<p>hmm…doesnt sound very fun then. I’ll prob still apply but I dont want to do extensive research on just the professor before I apply…I’d rather just explain why I’m interested in the research, because, well…I really am interested in the research lol. How would i even find out information about the professors anyways?</p>
<p>You don’t need to do extensive research – just read a few recent papers (use googlescholar or professor’s webpage) by the professor, get a general sense of what s/he is doing and frame your previous working/academic/research experience in your statement of interest accordingly. Further, it is always great if you can further express some original suggestions as to the future directions of the research or novel applications of it to different fields (often, you do not need to be an expert to do that, though it certainly depends on the field). Next, most professors have a page with profiles of people in the lab – be careful to check it out to get sense of what type of people the professor might be looking for.</p>
<p>Also, I wouldn’t say that you necessarily need to be brown nosing. In fact, when I went to the interview with the professor, I might have been quite a bit opposite because the professor started to talk about something I had no idea about and I was getting really desperate (thinking whether I should just apologize for wasting his time) and actually started to think about what he was saying and why it didn’t make much sense to me, and consequently disagreed with him on a few points. At the end of the interview, I was quite surprised when he told me that he needs people who feel free to disagree with him and would like me to join his team :-)</p>
<p>I think artinka really hit the nail on the head. I wish I did more of that when I applied because it’s certainly helpful to know who you could potentially be researching with. Last semester I applied for a URAP position in the social sciences and was accepted. It’s been a really good experience and I’m continuing on for another semester. </p>
<p>I would say it’s somewhat similar to a cover letter, but also a bit different. The purposes is the same because you want to 1) convey your enthusiasm for the position and 2) show the reader (hiring manager/professor) why you’re the most qualified candidate. Reading up on a professor is not brown-nosing. If you were applying for a job, you would absolutely (or at least should) look up background information on the firm as it will either confirm your interest or make you reconsider applying there and save you time in the long run. </p>
<p>I think URAP is pretty good in that most professors don’t have the mindset of looking for somebody who already has research experience. I think what they’re looking for is a candidate who is genuinely interested in the research topic (and not because s/he is looking for a research experience for resume-padding). Showing genuine interest can be done by talking about classes, extracurricular, internships, volunteer experience, etc. Another key quality professors look for is diligence. My first URAP experience last school year was basically cleaning and manipulating excel sheets (needless to say it wasn’t that thrilling). Even though my research experience this year has been a lot more interesting and intellectually engaging, there are still times when I have to do a routine task such as pull articles online into a database, where it’s really important to be careful and not make minor mistakes. I’m not as sure about how you can convey your diligence, but a possible way, IMO, is talking about professional work experience. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what field you are applying to, but in the social sciences, one thing that a lot of professors like is seeing students with quantitative coursework and familiarity with statistics and statistical software. Obviously it’ll be really hard to do either of those things before you apply, but if you’re really serious about URAP, I would recommend taking the time to take those useful courses (which have a lot of value on their own right) and/or learning some of those topics on your own. Personally, I would recommend the former as it’s probably going to be a lot more in-depth than whatever you can teach yourself. For other fields, it could be something else such as having lab experience (kind of like a chicken-and-egg problem where every position seems to want prior experience). However, for a lot of fields (esp. social science), the professors often times want upperclassmen because they’ve taken the methods course for the major.</p>
<p>Finally, I would recommend you send in 3 applications! It can only improve your chances and it’s just about putting in a little more work in the application process. For example, last semester the project I got into was actually my 2nd choice, but it turned out to be a great experience.</p>
<p>Do most of you guys have amazing GPA’s then? I am wondering how much of a factor it plays in getting a position and if they take anyone with anything less than 3.5</p>
<p>I think its pretty obvious why they want a schedule…</p>
<p>But if you really need your question answered: its to look at your avilability. Earlier I had an interview for a research assistant job and the grad student interviewing me said that the most important deciding factor was my schedule. The interview mattered, but they want someone who is going to be there 6-10 (+) hrs as opposed to 4-6 hrs. In URAP, since the professors act as your mentors, they want students who fit into THEIR schedule. Unless an applicant has a bomb ass application, professors will NOT adjust their schedule to accommodate yours.</p>
<p>Did you attend any of the research workshops this past week? They really helped me get a grasp on URAP and research in general.</p>
<p>GPA is not that big of a factor, and yes schedule is a large factor. I got a research position in a PMB lab with a 3.2 gpa; have a bomb essay, play up your classroom lab experience if you’ve not had any research experience.</p>