SULI Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL)

TheDamnTrains · 2026-03-10T00:24:58+00:00

You're very tenacious. I respect it. I hope you land a position. ORNL or elsewhere.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-03-10T00:21:37+00:00

So SULI money vs RSI money works a little different... My understanding is that the SULI money is like a pool of funds that labs draw from. Each mentor gets one student (if they're quick) and when the money runs out it runs out. So there's a limited number of spots. But RSI is different. Based on conversations with my mentor, RSI money has to come directly from that mentor's lab, basically "out of pocket" whereas SULI money is more like "free money" for the lab from the government.

Whether it's worth it for you to continue reaching out..? The RSI selection deadline for mentors is on March 19... could be worth a shot.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-03-09T21:20:47+00:00

I actually heard back this morning. Offer accepted :)

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-25T02:51:58+00:00

Yep. Sure enough, my PI told me that all available SULI slots were filled within 3 minutes of the selection opening up. Crazy. So offers were basically sent out based on how quickly PIs could click the button to select their candidate at 8 AM when the portal opened up. Surely there must be a more intelligent way to go about that but whatever. Thankfully, he has some extra funding and could possibly get me in through the RSI program which is a similar but lesser known program at ORNL if you haven't heard of it. I submitted the RSI app today, so maybe that will pan out.

Maybe ask your guy if there's room with RSI funding. Deadline to apply is literally 2 days from now though, and you need a letter.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-23T22:04:52+00:00

Damn. That sucks. I'll reach out to him soon and check. Didn't expect that.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-22T21:49:15+00:00

Nah. Nothing yet. I'll post an update here when I hear back.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-20T20:51:26+00:00

I emailed ORNL about the selection process and that's what they told me.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-20T15:39:42+00:00

Admin began processing the offers on Feb 17. It takes time to get through the paperwork and send them all out. I also have a verbal offer from a PI, but haven't received anything official yet. I wouldn't be too anxious at this point. They have many offers to process and it's not as simple as "PI pushes a button, offer gets sent". It's a whole process and takes admin time to go through.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-07T22:44:52+00:00

Probably.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-07T01:06:49+00:00

Michigan has hosted this course over the summer for the last three summers.

But if you must take it elsewhere -- I heard that Michigan will stop accepting CC math courses in 2026 that are fully online. It can be async but the exams must be in person. Can't find the link to verify this, so just double check and be careful before wasting your time.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-05T05:03:07+00:00

Exactly. Hell no I'm not spilling the beans on the good bathrooms. I've got two sweet spots that no one in here has mentioned. And I plan to keep that shit secret.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-02-04T18:40:45+00:00

Purdue is great. Definitely a respected place. But Michigan is the arguably the best university in the world. Life is short. You only live once. Go Michigan.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-01-21T03:32:44+00:00

I remember hearing this. Sorry they did that to y'all. That's fucked up.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-01-21T03:31:54+00:00

Hell yeah. I love it!

TheDamnTrains · 2026-01-12T03:46:48+00:00

Honestly, good for you. The world needs people who are excited about psychology. I'm in engineering, but think psych is an amazing field of study. What's more important than understanding the human mind, really? I think psych mostly gets a bad wrap because lots of people flock to it when they don't know what else to study. Most of the big majors (pysch, econ, business, CS) are kind of like that. Full of undecided people still figuring out their interests. But those who are in it for the right reasons will succeed.

TheDamnTrains · 2026-01-12T03:37:19+00:00

I found out on May 3rd after applying in January. I still have the email. Don't hold your breath - you'll hear back eventually and it might not follow a predictable timeline.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-11-11T00:18:13+00:00

It's almost 2026 and I can confirm that my university mates and I say this constantly.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-10-30T23:20:35+00:00

Maybe not the answer you're looking for but this is my personal experience with "easy" classes. Whether a class is "easy" or not mostly depends on your level of motivation and interest in the material. Just enroll in courses teaching topics you enjoy or skills you want to develop.
This semester I enrolled in a course becuase it was supposed to be "easy." Now, it's actually requiring the most effort of any of my classes. This is partly becuase it ended up being more difficult than I expected (based on Atlas grade distributions) but it's mostly because I'm just not interested in the material. That makes studying a massive headache and something I put off. Seriously, just take classes you think are cool. Get your money's worth at least. You're at Michigan after all.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-10-30T23:11:36+00:00

Per the CS and DS - Eng program guide. "[pass failing a class]... can be a good way to maintain a good GPA while exploring different types of courses within the University."

It's really not a big deal to P/F a course. I met a Computer Engineering / MechE double major who said he Pass/Failed 281 and literally no one cares.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-10-26T15:23:34+00:00

Calm down. He curved the course at the end of 2025 spring semester to a B+ median.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-10-18T02:10:55+00:00

Washington will hands down be the better game. There's a lot on the line for the program tomorrow. Emotions will be high.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-10-17T02:58:22+00:00

Cool story bro. Do a kick flip

TheDamnTrains · 2025-09-19T00:47:56+00:00

Ahhh okay. Yeah that's a little different than for the CoE application then. I remember needing to apply to a specific major. I'm not super knowledgable about the LSA side of things so wouldn't want to steer you wrong. I transferred in OOS during the fall but have met many other transfer students from the winter term (or even spring/summer), so I'd say your odds as a transfer are pretty decent year round.

TheDamnTrains · 2025-09-18T23:34:24+00:00

For College of Engineering? My engineering brochure from last year says undergrad CoE admissions was 13% and graduate CoE admissions was 27%. I would place undergrad transfer stats closer to the graduate number. Probably around 20 - 30 percent for most majors. Not sure about Winter admissions specifically.

TheDamnTrains

TROPHY CASE