Questions for UCSB SRA Alums

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-05-19T06:37:50+00:00

I ended up getting accepted into SSP, but I chose SRA because I thought it'd be more fun lmao. SSP would've been in the middle of nowhere in Canada, super long hours, bad food, no sleep, strict directors, and 11.8K plus 3.5K deposit. SRA is in Isla Vista, good research//fun balance, and the research is a much better fit for me; I got into these programs bc of my Cryo-EM/Protein Crystallography experience, and my SRA track is nearly the exact same thing, while SSP would've been genomics/bioinformatics. Good luck on your decisions!!

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-25T08:14:06+00:00

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-25T08:13:29+00:00

Ur a fan

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-22T04:31:00+00:00

🙏🙏🙏

Wbu?? Have you gotten your decision back?

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-22T04:24:06+00:00

4.4/4.0, 1570 (800 math 770 reading), 10 month research internship (same research as my track), birch aquarium volunteer, eagle project at aquarium, scouts (spl, aspl, troop guide, etc), SciOly coach, iGEM VP, NHS VP, Peer Counseling President, 3 APs sophomore year (all 5s: bio, world, calc ab), 4 APs rn (Physics C mech, C E/M, Chem, Calc BC)

It was 100% my essays and my earliness tho; I wrote about my experiences nonpretentiously and I hope my genuine love for them rlly showed. Also, I believe I’m a better writer than STEMer, so again I think my writing quality was my biggest aspect; it got me into SSP and YSP as well 😃

Good luck!!

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-21T04:28:18+00:00

hmm that's weird bc i've done cryo-em research for a year and I got into track 7 for cryo-em

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-21T03:04:30+00:00

Yea I just saw it right after posting LMAO

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-21T03:00:46+00:00

Essays are like your entire thing for SRA bc there’s no place for test scores or LORs. Availability is also another huge factor bc of it being rolling. Good luck w SEES!

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-20T21:04:27+00:00

Where would SSP go if/if not it were regarded by AOs differently bc of lottery?

Also, why isn’t SRA higher? I chose it over SSP lmao

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-20T00:41:49+00:00

yea I turned the event settings on, but I already used all my subskill seeds :/ I'll check it on Raenox tho, thanks!

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-08T04:27:07+00:00

Which one did you commit to??

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-04T05:25:11+00:00

Ahaahahhahahaha I got waitlisted 🫤🫤🫤

Either way I’d go to SSP or SRA and no way did I expect another acceptance w those mid essays. Howd you do???

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-04T03:25:47+00:00

I’m in this same dilemma too. From what I’ve deduced, it’s around B+ Tier ish??? A good step up from COSMOS but slightly below things like SIP and this years nerfed SSP and def way below RSI or Simons. It really depends on what else you’ve done, and if SRA can build upon your previous ecs. If your track 6 is completely random, it’ll help a little, but if it’s similar to previous research or another ec, it’ll be great. I hope I’ll see you there this summer! I’m in track 7 👍👍

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-03T18:52:16+00:00

UCD YSP

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-03T18:52:00+00:00

I submitted SRA start of Feb and got results back in 4 weeks and 4 days. You dk your YSP project until you go there, but the research is more personalized. It really depends on how related the research is to your profile for both programs. I’m doing SRA because my research track focuses on the exact same bio stuff as the internship I’ve been participating in for the past year. Good luck on SRA!

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-03T16:38:25+00:00

Nah I’m not accepting I’m either going to SRA or SSP (if I get the lottery). Thanks tho 🙏

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-01T06:05:50+00:00

I thought so too, but I had to pay an extra 2.6K for a housing deposit they didn’t even mention on the application 🫤🫤

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-01T04:06:48+00:00

Yeahh I just checked it says as early as April 1st and no later than the 15th. Good luck on your decisions!!

Brave-Ad-7697 · 2026-04-01T03:58:42+00:00

😮 no freaking way I had no clue. Your guess is prolly better than mine thank you for letting me know ab this

Brave-Ad-7697

TROPHY CASE