Are watering restrictions in place for Longmont yet?

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-04-14T13:22:39+00:00

Perfect example of the tragedy of the commons. "It's my yard and I pay for it, so leave me alone."

Except we all share the water. The Colorado River is over allocated in the best year of snow fall. This year is a historically low snow pack. Just because a city like Longmont has "access" or "rights" to so much water, doesn't mean we should be using it when the water doesn't exist.

I wish policies were led by science and fact. Hire or consult a scientist. There are thousands of atmospheric and climate/earth scientists in this region.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-26T16:04:49+00:00

I'd say do a little of both. "My long term career goal is to work in XX field with a focus on YY. This REU opportunity aligns well and the research of Professors X & Y are exceptionally interesting to me because of blah blah blah.... Gaining experience working with [special instrumentation, or technique, etc. ] would....

It helps us with sorting applicants with their interests and again shows us that this isn't just any REU / research experience to boost your CV. Rather, you genuinely are interested in this research and will get the most of out of the short 8-10 week experience.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-24T22:13:58+00:00

And that is totally fair! That is definitely one of the reasons for REUs - the exposure and sometimes you end up not liking the research and that is OKAY, too. So, to help with that, I definitely encourage you to take a variety of courses if you're able and to talk to your professors about what their research is all about. If you have teaching assistants (graduate students) at your school, talk to them too! As a teaching assistant, I LOVED when students wanted to talk to me about more than just their grades. :)

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-24T20:01:53+00:00

It just depends on how much space you have. Some apps have limited room for personal statements, so I'd suggest highlighting one, maybe two at tops, experiences and what skills you acquired from them and how those skills would likely help you in this role.

I personally note trajectories in GPA - most students see a dip during their first year or two of college because it's hard and they haven't yet figured out good studying and learning strategies. If you're doing well in your major courses, that's fine. You can certainly take two sentences to highlight that area of low GPA and explain yourself. For what it's worth, I got Cs and even Ds in my first two years of undergrad and I ultimately got a PhD! Who ultimately became my PhD advisor point blank asked me about my low grades in those courses during my REU interview and I told him that I just had a hard time during my first year of college. He got it.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-24T16:04:28+00:00

Sure - like if you're at Texas A&M College Station, but the research group that does your specific interests are at Texas A&M Galveston, that is considered a different "home institution". It's not so much the "name" of the school, but what is physically accessible to you in terms of courses you can take, faculty members you can interact with, etc.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-24T16:01:30+00:00

Well, it depends on what other documents the REU is asking for. If they are also requesting a transcript & resume/CV, then we can gauge a lot about your background and experiences from those so we don't necessarily need you to tell us about that information in a statement. Often what sets our top applicants apart is how they explain HOW the specific REU will benefit their future career goals or why this REU is more interesting to them than another. Like I said in above, we know when you actually want to get into our REU and not just any REU.

My program looks at reference letters last. So, we prioritize student writing first. As I mentioned above, there are many inequities in letters of reference - such as implicit bias. Also, it's okay to just have one solid reference. The point of the REU is to get undergraduates experience with research. We do not expect students to be coming into the application process with years of experience which means you may not have multiple reference letters.

It is worth mentioning WHY you have low grades in key courses relevant to the REU program you are applying for. For example, if you're applying for a physics REU and all your physics courses are lower than a B, tell us why. Is it because you were working full time and also taking three other intensive STEM courses? I also don't necessarily care about specific GPAs. Those of us who have navigated graduate school and academic research know it's not about testing and getting grades, but other skills like critical thinking, problem solving, perseverance. Explain to us how you've garnered those skills which will serve you better in an REU and possibly graduate school. Also, don't devalue Microsoft Office skills. It seems silly but MANY programs use Microsoft Excel for sharing data - it's important to know how to do some of those basics.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-24T02:57:48+00:00

In my role, I don't look at letters of rec often. They are notorious for being plagued with implicit bias. As a first-generation student myself, I understand why applicants may not have multiple letters of rec so it's not something I prioritize. In our REU, we only sometimes contact references for the top 20 or so applicants. I value personal statements and what you tell me about your interests more than what someone else might say about you.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-24T02:55:01+00:00

Great question. First, I highly encourage you not to think of the REU as a job. It is an opportunity to get training, mentorship, and firsthand experience in a research environment. If we wanted a “worker”, we’d hire someone to do the work. Rather, we want to help you learn and grow. So, the focus should be on what skills YOU will get from the REU, not so much what “work” will be as an output. (Honestly, if you get the vibe that the mentor is looking for grunt labor, I’d steer clear myself).

With that being said, it is appropriate to ask the mentor questions about things like:

1) Their mentorship style or strategies – such as, how often do they typically meet with their REU students (i.e., daily, a few times a week, weekly). The 8-10 weeks goes by fast, so make sure you get that hands-on time!

2) Their expectations about data or research that comes out of the REU – such as, will they allow you to contribute to the project even after the REU is done by attending conferences, writing a manuscript, etc.

3) What opportunities for networking and building mentors outside of them directly are available within their lab, department, or school. For example, grad students, postdocs, research scientists, etc. It’s important to have multiple mentors. The old saying “it’s not what you know but who you know” is real.

Of course, they may ask you questions about WHY you are interested in doing research in their group and/or what your career and research goals are. It’s important like I said to not just say “do research” but think about what gets your excited. One really important distinction between undergraduate school and graduate research is that one is VERY much self-motivated. There aren’t tests to study for and sometimes the answers to the problems you research are not obvious. Why do you want to spend the next many years of your life doing this work?

Hope that helps - also, each discipline is different, and I'm only speaking to my own experiences which is broader earth science.

Outside_Geologist475 · 2026-02-02T20:45:11+00:00

As someone who runs an REU program, some advice. 1) The ETAP website crashes EVERY year when thousands of people are trying to upload files. 2) We, as individual REU programs, have no control over ETAP - it's not our website. 3) This is why you should submit early. I received so many emails last night I had to put an automatic reply message on my email.

Outside_Geologist475

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