peace2012 Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 Can anyone tell me about the following research programs (Such as grades needed, other requirements and competitiveness) and when is it appropriate to find supervisors and apply? Keenan Summer research students at St.Michael's NSERC Scholarships sick kids summer research OGI RTC Summer Research Program for Undergraduates @ The Lunenfeld (mount Sinai) Thank you all for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackedbrah Posted May 24, 2013 Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 Sick kids, I applied with a 3.9 and didn't get in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest levski21 Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 dfsfdfdsfsdfdfd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachaso Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 I didn't apply to those, but for the others I applied to, they judged applications based on: Applicant's grades/coursework Applicant's research experience Supervisor's research and teaching/mentoring record Project proposal Not in order of importance, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 I didn't apply to those, but for the others I applied to, they judged applications based on: Applicant's grades/coursework Applicant's research experience Supervisor's research and teaching/mentoring record Project proposal Not in order of importance, Ok don't apply for those programs. just send email to profs. I'm a first year with no research experience (i did have co-op and volunteer experience in hospitals) and i got a PAID research job at Tor Gen this summer. Just send emails to profs early most profs will ignore you. Not all will pay but none of the profs asked me for my GPA, just my resume. FYI i send around 100 emails with resume attached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NutritionRunner Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Ok don't apply for those programs. just send email to profs. I'm a first year with no research experience (i did have co-op and volunteer experience in hospitals) and i got a PAID research job at Tor Gen this summer. Just send emails to profs early most profs will ignore you. Not all will pay but none of the profs asked me for my GPA, just my resume. FYI i send around 100 emails with resume attached. The professors that I've worked with for the past two years have always asked those interested in research for an unofficial transcript, as well as a resume. So clearly it varies, depending on the university, and probably the individual professor as well. I even had one professor ask for a sample of academic writing (an essay from a course, for example). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 The professors that I've worked with for the past two years have always asked those interested in research for an unofficial transcript, as well as a resume. So clearly it varies, depending on the university, and probably the individual professor as well. I even had one professor ask for a sample of academic writing (an essay from a course, for example). variable The people I did research with did want to see my transcript. They like to see they are not "wasting their time" as it were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrenchToast Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 NSERC - You need high marks. SickKids - The actual program doesn't even look at your marks. You need to e-mail individual researchers, who, as mentioned above, may or may not ask for your marks. The researchers themselves have to apply to have a SSuRe summer student, and they have to apply for this *early*. (I'm not sure exactly when, but I would guess it's around January or so?) Most researchers tend to have a student in mind already before applying for the funding. Look up researchers and check their affiliations. See what kinds of summer student funding is offered by their affiliated university departments and hospitals. You could also look backwards, based on institution. There are some other ones in Toronto that you didn't mention: many UofT science departments offer summer student awards (e.g. UROPs), and there is also the IMS program at UofT. You don't need to be a UofT student for most departments, btw. Whatever you do, DO IT EARLY. I'm talking November-December ish. In first year I emailed about 40 profs in March, and I only received 2 responses (telling me they already had students). In second year, I emailed 5 profs in November. Three out of 5 responded, asking me to come in for an interview. The prof I ended up working for told me to tell all my friends that the key is getting on this stuff ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worriedforherfuture Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 My mom works at a hospital and mentioned casually to her coworkers that I was one day hoping to apply to med school. Remembering this, one day someone told her how a doctor in the hospital had space for Summer students for research, and so my mom passed his information on to me and I wrote him an e-mail sending him my resume and an official transcript. Next thing I knew I got a response asking me when I could start. And I did all this in mid-April and started in May. Now, obviously I got lucky, but it shows how networking and using connections can help you land great research gigs. I mean, my supervisor was great and took me back this summer for only two months so I could make some extra cash before I start school in the fall while still having two months for vacation and summer time shenanigans Something else I think worth mentioning is that I also spent a lot of time visiting profs during their office hours this year (a first for me) because I was really interested in my fourth year classes. And because I was interested in the material, and it showed during these one on one sessions, I was actually offered two research positions this year for the summer. Since I already had a place lined up, I politely declined, but knowing those profs were taking students I was able to suggest that my friends e-mail them. And guess who got those spots? A lot of people are just shy to start e-mailing and asking profs in fields they're interested in if they have space for students, so you do have to get on that. And again, your network is a valuable resource. Friends in different classes can be a wealth of information about new opportunities from different profs. So just take a look and you'll be amazed what you can find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwodesperate Posted May 28, 2013 Report Share Posted May 28, 2013 One quick question regarding OMSAS application. For the research category of the application, is volunteer research positions considered as less meaningful compared to paid or studentship positions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted May 29, 2013 Report Share Posted May 29, 2013 One quick question regarding OMSAS application. For the research category of the application, is volunteer research positions considered as less meaningful compared to paid or studentship positions? Well first no one will ever know the difference between a volunteer research position and a paid one unless you tell them. There is first getting research experience, the next level is research with publications You can get pubs both as a volunteer and as a paid person The only difference i guess is how a PI might treat you. If you work hard as a volunteer i don't see why they wouldn't give you important roles though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexaa. Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 i have a question about research and i don't want to start a new thread for it so i'll just ask here: i found a research assistant job for the coming year and they asked me how many hours i want to spend each week for the project.. i have no idea what to say. i was going to say something around 5-10h a week but do you guys think it's not enough? how many hour do you normally spend in a lab during scool year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachaso Posted May 31, 2013 Report Share Posted May 31, 2013 i have a question about research and i don't want to start a new thread for it so i'll just ask here:i found a research assistant job for the coming year and they asked me how many hours i want to spend each week for the project.. i have no idea what to say. i was going to say something around 5-10h a week but do you guys think it's not enough? how many hour do you normally spend in a lab during scool year? Depends on your class schedule, free time, etc. Most "premeds" just do summer research, as they focus on coursework and volunteering during the school year. Not to say that it's a bad idea - if you enjoy research, go for it! But make sure you have enough time to do well in your courses and also some volunteering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplemermaid Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 Just send emails to profs early most profs will ignore you. Not all will pay but none of the profs asked me for my GPA, just my resume. FYI i send around 100 emails with resume attached. How do you possibly send that many emails? It takes me so long just to do one email... any suggestions on how to send a high volume of cover letters in a short amount of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 How do you possibly send that many emails? It takes me so long just to do one email... any suggestions on how to send a high volume of cover letters in a short amount of time? I didn't personalize my emails, I actually had a generic base, changed a few things depending on the doctor's specialty and obviously their name etc. Then fired them off like a robot, it took me a few hours in total but it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplemermaid Posted December 31, 2015 Report Share Posted December 31, 2015 I didn't personalize my emails, I actually had a generic base, changed a few things depending on the doctor's specialty and obviously their name etc. Then fired them off like a robot, it took me a few hours in total but it was worth it. Oh wow and it really worked? Literally everyone says to send out personalized emails to profs if you actually want to get them to respond. Did you also have a strong GPA at the time? because it may have been due to that which increased your chances for a response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbjtime Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 I didn't personalize my emails, I actually had a generic base, changed a few things depending on the doctor's specialty and obviously their name etc. Then fired them off like a robot, it took me a few hours in total but it was worth it. Did you specify you wanted a paid research position, or did you just leave it really open-ended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edict Posted January 1, 2016 Report Share Posted January 1, 2016 Oh wow and it really worked? Literally everyone says to send out personalized emails to profs if you actually want to get them to respond. Did you also have a strong GPA at the time? because it may have been due to that which increased your chances for a response. I did mention a few relevant exams that I did well in in the email. I think if you send out personalized emails your chance of getting a response does definitely go up, but I realized that a lot of profs are not looking for students period so I decided to play the numbers game. It did work, I had several interviews out of probably hundreds of emails sent, but I ended up with two offers. I left the issue of pay open-ended. I definitely wouldn't say pay or not-paid. In the end, all the positions i've worked in have been paid interestingly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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