r/REU

Hello, I usually don’t do this, but I hope someone reads this and maybe relates to it.
I’m currently doing an internship at a university that is not my home institution, so I don’t know anybody here. Recently, I had some serious trouble with a lab partner. For the entire month (June 2026), he was incredibly disrespectful, acting as if he were my boss. He started texting me in an imperative, demanding tone, and whenever I asked a question about the lab, he answered very rudely. On top of that, he would take off his shoes just to sneak up on me, whispering things in my ear to scare me. We are not friends this was the first time I had ever met him. If I was on my laptop or my phone, he would crowd my space just to see what I was doing.
Naturally, I felt very uncomfortable. The student who was training me in the lab noticed this and told me not to stay alone with him. He mentioned that this guy didn't usually act this way and recommended that I talk to our PI.
I let my PI know about the issue and told her that he was making me feel very uncomfortable, but she didn’t do anything. She just told me to "be happy." The student who was training me confirmed to her that the guy was being bossy and acting weird around me. My PI suggested that maybe he was just jealous, but again, she took no action.
The problem was that the student training me was graduating, and his last day was June 30. That was actually the same day I spoke with my PI (I had only seen her twice the whole month). Knowing I was about to be left completely alone in the lab with this character, I confronted him. I told him that he is an undergraduate student just like me and that he is not my boss.
He immediately went to the PI and played the victim. The PI called a meeting and told me that I couldn't tell him he is just an undergraduate (even though he is). She said I needed to understand that he was "just being sarcastic," that he is "tougher" than me, and that I was being "too delicate." She even claimed he was getting close to me because he was "trying to teach me something" even though the other student was the one training me, not him.
I felt like she just wanted me to leave the lab. She told me that if I couldn't get on the same page, I had to leave. So, I did. I spoke with my program coordinator, and she relocated me to another PI, but I feel like the stigma will always be there.
At the end of it all, the first PI told me to go see a psychologist because she claimed I must have "previous experiences" that prevent me from being a team player. That is a complete lie, because I worked wonderfully with the student who graduated and we never had any trouble. Later, I spoke with the student who left, and he finally confessed to me that this guy is a known misogynist, which was the real reason he didn't want me left alone with him.

I’m in the middle of week 3 of my REU. My mentor has gone away for two weeks or so, and I finished the only task he’d assigned me within a few hours of him leaving. I don’t have a co-mentor and no one in my lab works on the project we’re working on.

I’m still pretty early in my REU, so I don’t think I’m nearly independent enough to figure out the next steps without guidance. I do have some ideas, but I’m afraid I’ll just be wasting my time if I work on them, instead of making any real progress. How can I keep things moving these next 2 weeks?

hey everyone!! was thinking about how my REU is already almost half way done and was curious how far along other folks are and how its going. it was definitely hard to adjust at first but after getting into the swing of things i’ve definitely come to really enjoy my REU. how are peoples projects treating them? how do you like your town/university?

to those who are having a great experience, keep up the good work and make the most of your last few weeks! to those with a less enjoyable REU experience, i hope you are proud of yourself for pushing through as its really difficult. the end is in sight!

How could I start REU as an incoming sophomore? For reference, I study Statistics and Information Science, as I am trying to gain experience/research within the data analysis realm. Does anybody have tips for a rising sophomore who is trying to get research? All help is appreciated!

Hi everyone!
Over the past couple of years, I was fortunate to spend two summers conducting research at MIT through undergraduate research programs. Coming into college, I had no idea how competitive REUs were or what professors were actually looking for. Most of what I learned came from making mistakes, talking to mentors, and refining my approach over multiple application cycles.
Now that I’ve graduated, I’m thinking about offering 1-on-1 REU application coaching for students interested in summer research opportunities.
Some of the things I could help with include:
Finding REUs that fit your interests
Building an application strategy
Resume/CV feedback
Personal statement editing
Cold emailing professors
Preparing for interviews
General advice on maximizing your chances of getting accepted
I obviously can’t guarantee admission, but I can share the strategies that helped me earn research opportunities at MIT and avoid a lot of the mistakes I made early on.
Before I invest time into building this, I wanted to gauge interest.
Would this be something you’d actually pay for? If so, what would you want included?
Feel free to comment below or send me a DM if you’re interested or have questions. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I'm 5 weeks into my REU program and I'm having a horrible experience. My mentors keep giving me small tasks, usually just doing a little bit of analysis for data that will never be used, and I haven't been given an actual project to do. I come in at 9am, wait for several hours before the grad students show up, ask for something to do, and then they give me something that takes all but 10 minutes to complete. I ask for more and they "can't really think of anything else for me to do" with the promise of something coming tomorrow (it doesn't come). I'm not even allowed into the lab to clean or something. So I just sit at my desk and work on grad apps.

I'm lucky enough that I have a ton of research experience back at my home lab, but I feel like I'm just wasting the summer. Any ideas of productive things to do so that I can have at least something to show for this summer?

Hey, I just want to get a quick sense of the situation. A week ago, I applied for a student job at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig. They replied that I was too late for the position (they had already conducted the interviews), but that I could do an internship instead (full‑time, paid, 3 months) if I am interested.

The problem is that the timing of this internship is not ideal for me (although still possible).

So here is my question: Is this more of a very good offer that I should definitely take, or is an internship at an MPI something for which I am likely to get another chance?

Some context: I am studying physics, finishing my Bachelor’s degree this semester, and I am writing my thesis in a field related to the MPI group I would work with during the internship. I struggled a lot during my Bachelor’s, so I am very happy to finish it at all, and I am wondering whether it would be very stupid not to take the internship offer.

I would appreciate any advice :)

(Also: I am new to reddit: I hope this is the place for this kind of question. If there is a better subreddit for it, please let me know)

I'm currently at an REU, and our research is...well, going. I'm wondering how everyone thinks about all the ups and downs, and how your REU, so far, has influenced your choice to pursue graduate school.

Do you like what you're doing? What is it about research that fits you/doesn't fit you? Do you think you could do it 9-5?

I'm transferring from CSULA to UCSD this Fall and I am very interested in getting a PhD. Since I have ~1.5 years of research experience with a professor at CSULA and am going to be doing research at UCSD once I get on campus in the Fall that means I'd need 1 more recommendation letter for a PhD. To my understanding, if you do a summer REU and do well, it is good to ask your advisor for a letter, which is what I hope to do. I'm hoping to apply for REUs for next summer (especially hoping to get into any Amgen Scholars program, but I know it's very competitive), and I am curious what you need to do to be a strong applicant. Are the essay and recommendation letters most important? Or is it more focused on grades and stuff like conferences or extracurriculars?

TLDR: I want to self study some common concepts that are studied in biomedical sciences wanted to get ideas from people on some interesting topics that they’ve covered, whether it be through their research or coursework or even just for fun. If you have ideas and can share a good review article on the concept that would be super helpful:)

Hi! I’m a rising senior double major in psychology and neuroscience and I am interested in pursuing a PhD in neuroscience. I’m currently working in a lab for the summer through the Baylor SMART program and while this is super fun and exciting, I also find that I sometimes struggle to keep up with presentations during lab meetings because I only have a basic understanding of the topics that are discussed. I also had the same issue when I took a proseminar on neural development last semester and while I did well in the class, I had to record lectures and go back to them a lot during my study sessions. I know this is a common study technique for a lot of people and my intention isn’t to discredit anyone that does that, it just isn’t my preferred way to study. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about how I can build up my knowledge of some of the deep ended topics that span all across different fields of biomedical sciences research and came to the conclusion that I want to pick a topic to research and add to my neuroscience “journal” (journal as in my writings, not the research publishers). I’m still working out specific details for how I’ll do it but rn I’m thinking I’ll start with a new topic every other week and see how that fits with my schedule and adjust accordingly.
Im here because I wanted to get ideas from people on some topics that they’ve covered, whether it be through their research or coursework or even just for fun. I’m looking for topics that are relevant to building my understanding subcellular, cellular and systemic functions so things like genetics, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, research methods and techniques, and any other topics I may have missed. To give you more of clear pictures of what exactly I’m thinking, I’m going to start off with learning about senescence because that was recently brought up in a lab meeting and I thought it was really interesting. After that I’m going to look into cell division. Or maybe I should switch the order now that I think about it, I think understanding cell division before senescence makes more sense but I digress. Also if you do suggest a topic and you know of a good review article on that topic, I would appreciate it if you shared the link to the article. Thank yaaaa!

Im an applied math major with a 3.8 ish GPA who will be a senior this coming year, and I want to go to grad school in math. I'm looking at some masters programs at USC and MASDS programs.

I have NO research experience and all the REUs ive looked at are only over the summer, while grad school applications are due early next year. I have some job experience but it isnt super relevant for grad school.

What should I do over the next 3 months to solidify my chances of getting into grad school? Or is it too late for me?

Am I the only one who feels like every friendship depends on my effort? Whenever I stop reaching out first, people seem to disappear. After years of this, I've started wondering if genuine long-term friendships are actually rare. Has anyone else experienced this?