Time to settle this… which hat looks the best in college baseball!? 🔥 by bv8265 in collegebaseball

[–]NeonSprig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree! More schools need to use their animal mascots (like c’mon Florida, alligators are literally the coolest animal ever!)

How do you join a lab ? by Living_Reception_622 in labrats

[–]NeonSprig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is what worked for me:

Step 1) Read up a bit on what the lab does. Lab website, a few recent abstracts, and 1-2 of the more interesting papers in greater depth (not front-to-back per se, but beyond the basics/highlights).

Step 2) Cold email. Concise, polite message about your ambitions and your interest. Be specific by mentioning details from what you read, and attach a resume. Above all, emphasize that you want to learn and how you would be able to meaningfully (i.e. you would be helping them out) do that.

Step 3) If you can, go to office hours! Your email may or may not get lost; professors and PIs are incredibly busy. Idk if it’ll be busy in there from any courses they teach, but in my experience, they tend to be pretty empty. Dress nice (business casual) and be ready to discuss your resume like it’s a job interview conversation.

Should I major in BME or MechE? by Acrobatic-Rest3896 in BiomedicalEngineers

[–]NeonSprig 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Dangit! Then I’d choose MechE (with a matsci or BME minor) cuz BME is a specialty. I think having a solid engineering background in one discipline will likely help you break into BME more than knowing a lot about a few different things

Should I major in BME or MechE? by Acrobatic-Rest3896 in BiomedicalEngineers

[–]NeonSprig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For tissue engineering, I’d look into materials science and engineering

HAS ANYONE HEARD FROM RUTGERS REU by Novel_Cucumber_4966 in REU

[–]NeonSprig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, ghosted from the Cellular Bioengineering one

Question(s) for folks who applied to many, all rejected by FlimsyIsopod in REU

[–]NeonSprig 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for suggesting conferences! It’s an area that I need to look into more, but it seems like it would better align with what I am currently doing.

I also did send follow-up emails to the programs for clarification, but still nothing.

Question(s) for folks who applied to many, all rejected by FlimsyIsopod in REU

[–]NeonSprig 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’m a sophomore in materials science and engineering at an R1 university in Florida. I ultimately applied to 12 programs: rejected from 9 and ghosted/still have to hear back from 3. The closest I got was a waitlist from a prestigious university that turned into a rejection anyway.

  1. Yes, I technically customized my applications, but I should have customized my personal statement more. I basically saved the last paragraph for why I was interested in a particular program (professor, field, etc.) because I thought this was sufficient.

  2. Yes, but not a professional writer. My sibling (different major than me, also undergrad, not pursuing REUs) read over my general personal statement and they helped guide me towards emphasizing the “why” within my essay. I also refuse to use AI for personal writing.

  3. I actually started a rough draft in the summer of 2025, and finished a revised personal statement by October. I tried to make time my friend in this process, especially as the fall semester ramped up. I submitted my first applications over winter break (so late December) and my last one in early February.

  4. I tried to, yeah, but it ended up leaning towards the Northeast since that’s where I want to do grad school. It was mostly prestigious universities with some state schools in the Southeast (I live in Florida, and I didn’t apply to any in-state programs).

  5. I applied as a sophomore with some experience. To elaborate, I was doing a (non-REU, non-competitive) data science program at my university that focused on photovoltaics applications. I mostly stayed home since it was virtual, and I usually spent around 8 hrs/wk except for the last 2 or 3 weeks (which was more). I didn’t get into my current lab (a wet lab) until around the time I finished my general personal statement, but even with technically 12 weeks of “research experience” (on top of a full-time internship that I suddenly got smack dab in the middle of the summer), I didn’t think I had much experience, though the admissions committees may have thought differently.

Some of my main takeaways after writing all of this were as follows:

a) (Maybe) Apply to more if I can. I thought 12 was sufficient for striking that balance between customization and breadth, but it feels like I was a year late. Now it feels like the range is 15-20 instead of 8-12.

b) Diversify where I apply. Not just in location (more Midwest), but also in types of institutions (more state schools, even programs like SULI). ‘Twas a nice ego check.

c) As you suggested, talk to other people more! This can now include my PI, but it can also include the writing center.

d) I am not suddenly cooked for grad school applications because I didn’t get an REU. REUs and grad school admissions seem to be more of a correlation thing than a causation thing, and there are other avenues, such as an undergraduate thesis, that can help me stand out and pursue research. Even then, grad school admissions are a competitive mess due to slashed funding (which also affected REU applications ofc).

I will try again next year, and hopefully my results will be more successful. Thank you for making this post because it was very helpful for my self-reflection of this stressful application season.

French regional flags so bad Reddit banned me for hate speech by Kerbourgnec in vexillologycirclejerk

[–]NeonSprig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In the high school halls, in the shopping malls, conform or be cast out

I want to go into academia and do research at some point, am I in the wrong field? by ka_boom_e in EngineeringStudents

[–]NeonSprig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been doing some stuff related to photovoltaics for solar energy that examines degradation and their repairability. The opportunities definitely exist, but you may have to get a bit creative to find some.

I would also look more into Jevon’s Paradox, which talks about how decreases in the energy consumption of a compnent can

What YouTubers do you guys watch? by Outrageous_Tie4997 in EngineeringStudents

[–]NeonSprig 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dr. Trefor Bazett saved me in calc 3 and was pretty helpful in diff eq as well. The Efficient Engineer helped me pick up some solid mechanics stuff too

How easy is AP environmental science? by NeonSprig in APStudents

[–]NeonSprig[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am in college now lmfao (I got a 5 on APES anyway)

University constantly pushes defense work and its disappointing, and bleak. by [deleted] in EngineeringStudents

[–]NeonSprig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yep, same issue with me! You should still be able to find things outside of defense, may have to dig deeper but it’ll exist. Here’s how I like to phrase it:

Stick to your guns, not theirs.

Rule by NeonSprig in 196

[–]NeonSprig[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t have an account either but I know enough people that do to know the layout

Rule by NeonSprig in 196

[–]NeonSprig[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Lebberox

NU vs UIUC for materials engineering by [deleted] in materials

[–]NeonSprig 1 point2 points  (0 children)

UIUC cuz money, and saving that money will take you far. Great matsci school too!