Research was once intimidating to me, but that changed when I took a “Research Methods in Sociology” course the first semester of my sophomore year (Fall 2017). It was a very interesting class that introduced me to research and allowed me to learn more of about what that encompasses. I learned that there are two major subgroups of research: qualitative and quantitative. This ended up being one of my favorite classes ever taken at Ohio State.
I have blogged about my eight weeks at University of Iowa through the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Summer Research Opportunities Program. I separated the blog posts into two parts: part I (June 2018) and part II (July 2018). This specific blog post will be dedicated to sharing my experiences of APPLYING to the program, and my experiences with rejections from several programs. I hope to help others in their academic journeys towards graduate school and professional school!
(The following information are my own insights. Feel free to follow the advice laid out, but I do not guarantee acceptances.)
Source: http://www.sjhemleymarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/iStock_000041965580_Full.jpg
Research comes with a multitude of rewards: enhanced reading and writing skills, stronger critical thinking, better evaluation of sources, patience, networking, enhanced analysis skills, and more! By participating in a SROP, I prepared myself tremendously for graduate school and my junior and senior years of college. Through the SROP at University of Iowa, I was able to conduct research for eight weeks, attend workshops on topics related to research and graduate school, write a strong personal statement and CV, study for the GRE, and present my findings at a conference.
I am speaking specifically about the Summer Research Opportunities Program through the Big Ten Academic Alliance.
Here are the steps that I took in applying to and being accepted into a SROP:
During my first year of college, I heard about SROP from a current graduate student in public health. He discussed how he participated in two SROPs and enjoyed both of the experiences, as it helped him strengthen his skills and build his knowledge of public health and biology. They helped inform him of his career goals and aspirations. I kept “SROP” in my mind, and wanted to develop more as a student and scholar before I applied for one.
1. Around October of 2017, which was my sophomore year, I attended a grad school event in the Union. (I like preparing myself early, and even though sophomores may not really concern themselves over graduate school, it was useful for me.) This was like a career fair, and events were scattered in different rooms of the Union. During the one session I attended, the presenters talked about SROP and provided some handouts on SROP and graduate school at OSU in general. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, take notes, and ask for handouts, which contain helpful info! In my personal network, almost nobody had completed a SROP. None of my peers had participated in one, but some staff in Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) had. Ask around on your social media networks too. Somebody may know somebody who did partake in a SROP.
2. During winter, I did more research on SROP on the Internet, and asked people questions to see what they knew about it. I asked around at my own college to see if faculty typically have the time to be mentors for SROP at Ohio State. Looking at the SROP website and exploring its pages, including viewing videos and testimonials from past participants and faculty mentors, was incredibly beneficial for me.
** View the Eligibility Requirements before even starting an application. **
3. I began a Google Document to keep track of the SROP requirements and deadlines. Sometimes transcripts and letters of recommendation are due at different times than the actual application. SROP has a Common App-like application to fill out, and then some schools that have a SROP require their own supplemental applications. In this document, I wrote down my username and password for the application.
4. During winter break, I began brainstorming my content for the essays. This entailed free-writing for me, and typing out whatever popped into my mind that I thought could be used for my essays. There is a PERSONAL STATEMENT and a STATEMENT OF RESEARCH INTERESTS. These are different essays, and you should take the opportunity to showcase different sides of yourself in these essays. Try not to repeat information in these essays. You also do not just want to list out your achievements like you are just writing out your resume or CV. You do want these essays to tell a story! It also should not read like a formal paper; it should still feel like it is your voice that is coming across to the reader. It can be hard to explain what to do and what not to do with your essay, but I hope that my advice makes sense, at least a little bit! Also, there is no magic formula for writing a stellar essay.
https://www.papermasters.com/images/personal-statement.jpg This can be helpful for people in crafting personal statements. Keep these tips in mind! (This infographic is targeted to people who want to go to law school, but you get the idea.)
For my 250-word-limit personal statement, I tried to give the readers a glimpse of who I was, and how I was shaped into the scholar and resilient individual I am today. Additionally, I painted a picture of my background, because that is fundamental in my development. I wrote about why I was motivated to seek a research experience. I included how SROP can help me reach my goals. I also mentioned some experiences of mine, like participating in a college prep program from the sixth grade onwards, and earning 55 college credits during high school. This statement was short and sweet. I had a friend proofread this for errors. Never would I submit a piece of writing before a friend or two scan it over.
For my statement of research interests, which was also a 250-word-maximum, I mentioned my upbringing in the inner-city, and how the challenges/issues I witnessed and faced prompted me to study public health, sociology, and gender studies. With my range of academic interests, my studies would help me address multidimensional, or interdisciplinary, issues, especially health disparities, which I am most passionate about. Then I mentioned how a Research Methods class allowed me to get firsthand experience with research, and I wanted to do more research, which was why I intended to participate in a SROP! My last paragraph consisted of me saying that I wanted to immerse myself into research and what I hoped my future research will be.
** I would share my actual essays, but decided not to in order to avoid the potential for plagiarism. Do not plagiarize. Do not steal/appropriate ideas from others’ essays. Your writing has to be your own. **
5. When spring 2018 started, I made time to work on my essays on the weekends. I was unemployed, but still volunteered at least eight hours a week, and spent eight to ten hours a week for student organizations as well. Many hours of brainstorming, writing, and re-writing were spent. The easiest part was filling out the application with my demographic information. It is important to take breaks and revisit your writing the next day. Give yourself time and space to write. Writing in my dorm room was my preference.
** You may need to send official transcripts to the school and/or SROP. This will come out of your own pocket! **
6. I believe in January, early on in the application process, I asked for letters of recommendation from two sociology professors, since I developed relationships with those two people well. Ask professors/instructors well in advance, at least a month before a deadline. Be sure to ask if they can write a strong letter of recommendation. Do they feel like they know you well enough, whether personally and/or academically? Some things to provide these recommenders are your CV or resume, your application essays, information about the program, your LinkedIn profile, your personal blog, etc.
7. Throughout my process, I asked friends if they had time to read my essays. I did not ask the same friend to read different variations of the dozen or so essays I wrote. There were probably four individuals who read a few essays of mine. I did not use OSU’s Writing Center services, which would have probably helped me out and resulted in more acceptances. The SROP application was due February 10th for me, and some schools had later deadlines (but they also required the SROP application in addition to their own). Besides applying just for SROP, I applied for a few other opportunities as back-ups in case I was not admitted into any of the SROPs. For example, I applied for a cultural summer camp in China for fun and for a research position in Columbus over the summer.
8. Early March was when applications wrapped up for me, and I waited for positive responses in my Buckeyemail inbox. I heard a positive response from University of Iowa, and reached out personally to a potential faculty mentor in sociology, which is my specialization, not my major. Sometimes faculty are not conducting research in your major/desired field at the time, but you can still try to work with them in a different field if you have an interest in that as well! I remained determined and advocated for myself and my abilities. In late March, I was offered acceptance into University of Iowa’s SROP, and accepted that offer since they needed a definitive answer from me within that week. It was a shock to me to see a “Yes” from a program, since it is a competitive program and I doubted my chances of getting in.
http://www.firstpointusa.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ohio-state-brutus-the-buckeye.jpg Despite thinking that you probably won’t be accepted, you still have a chance if you apply! If you do not apply at all, you have a 0% chance. So take that chance! Believe in yourself.
9. After accepting a program’s offer of admission, you have to turn down other programs’ offers, if they come your way. It turned out that I was rejected from the other SROPs. Some emailed to inform me that I was rejected, while a few did not respond to me at all. For my SROP, I was expected to read emails sent to me carefully. There were more steps to take, like filling out forms and providing information to coordinate health insurance, direct deposit of my stipend, and to book my round-trip flight to and from the program. Some forms required my signature, so I printed out papers and signed them, and scanned them back. The program also asked about roommate requests, but I did not have any preferences, and let the program choose for me. I was required to complete research training modules to learn more about research procedures and ethics! Furthermore, I submitted a headshot to share with others; this headshot was later printed out and put on my dorm door when I got to campus. There are many tasks to complete, but it was actually fun for me to do these, and learn a bit about my peers in the program before I would eventually meet them!
** Respond to emails as soon as you can! Even if the email is just to inform you of what is happening, you can reply with “Received! Thank you for the updates!”
In late May, I was emailed a syllabus for the summer research program. I printed this out because I like having a physical copy of it to refer to, and I put the dates/deadlines into my personal planner. After completing the requirements and maintaining communication with my program, I arrived in Iowa on June 4th. As always, I was courteous and respectful to everyone. Each participant had their own UIowa email to use. We submitted assignments via an online grading system similar to Ohio State’s Carmen. In this blog post, I provided many details for my readers; I hope that it is not too much! Overall, UI SROP was a wonderful experience and very transformative! If you are unsure of going to graduate school or even getting involved with research, but are willing to try it out, I suggest it. Remain open-minded about opportunities.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If anyone has any questions, wants advice, or someone to talk with about the process, I can certainly make time to help a fellow Buckeye! I am potentially available to read statements as well. I do also suggest utilizing the wonderful Writing Center here on campus; students can do walk-ins, scheduled appointments, and even have their written work looked over virtually and then receive comments online. Send over your drafts to friends who can provide constructive criticism; they will be able to read the statements and determine if the writing reflects your true voice and your true self.
Good luck to all who will apply to a Summer Research Opportunities Program! 🙂
Resources:
http://www.btaa.org/resources-for/students/srop/introduction
https://gradsch.osu.edu/research/summer-research-opportunities-program