Daniel Barkowitz | September 23, 2008
"Re-search"
A random, catch-all, up-to-the-minute post about everything I could think of related to the title:
I am reading (much too much) for my classes relating to my PhD and as part of the process I am finding LOTS of interesting literature on research on financial aid in the national scene. For example:
- Sallie Mae just released a study on how families are paying for college. Their report is at How America Pays.
- A group calling itself "Rethinking Student Aid" has just released its recommendations about how to revolutionize the Federal financial aid system. Their recommendations and thoughts can be found here.
- And speaking of the College Board (they are hosting the information from "Rethinking Student Aid") and apropos of the research question I find myself drawn to (namely, does college pay), the Board has some interesting statistics showing how beneficial college attendance can be on many fronts. This report, entitled "Education Pays", can be found here .
So, while I am speaking about research, I thought I would say a word about UROP at MIT. UROP (and its not as well known cousin, UPOP), provide wonderful opportunities for undergraduates to be at the cutting edge of research (and practice). The UROP site has tons of information about how students can be involved in semester-long research placements with a guiding faculty or graduate researcher, either during the academic year (Fall / Spring) or periods of traditional non-enrollment (IAP / Summer). The site also details options for students as to the type of UROP they can select (a UROP for academic credit, a UROP funded by your faculty supervisor, a UROP funding by direct funding, or a volunteer UROP).
I want to focus my attention on the third category, direct funded UROPs. In some cases, faculty members may not have funding for a research student and the student may need to have a source of income from a "job" during the semester. In this case, students can apply for direct funding support from the UROP office.
Direct funding is limited, but MIT Scholarship recipients have a special priority given to them in this process (see here for some explanations as to how this works). In short, MIT Scholarship recipients are guaranteed one term of direct funding for a UROP during their tenure at MIT (assuming they follow all the normal guidelines).
Why did we do this? At MIT we want you to be able to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities this place offers without regard to your personal family finances. We were worried that some students were missing out on the opportunities to network with faculty, work in a new and emerging field, and expose themselves to the latest research because they were limited financially, so we worked to eliminate this barrier. We need to do some research to see how wide this option has reached, but I know that some students who might have otherwise not been able to participate in a UROP have benefitted from this program.
So, what research are you working on right now? If you are current or past UROP participant, what has been the most beneficial part of your experience? If you are a perspective student, what kind of research interests you? Keep in mind that UROPs can run the gamut (take a look here for some examples of current openings. Some examples I found are The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Genomes (SETG): An in situ PCR Detector For Life on Mars Ancestrally Related to Life on Earth, Anthropological Study of Artisan Cheesemaking in the US, and Mouse Models of Cancer.
The sky is literally the limit at MIT!
|
The author has filed this entry in the "Financial Aid" , "Undergraduate Research Opportunities" section; check it out for further reading on this topic. |
Responses To This Entry:
(Please note that comments are closed after 30 days to reduce spam.)
So are non-scholarship thus expected to fund their own research? That seems unfair, and limits their opportunities as well.
Posted by: Anonymous on September 23, 2008 05:42 PM
As I understand it, no, the difference is that they simply aren't guaranteed a term of direct funding. However, scholarship recipient or no, most everybody receives direct funding as often as they apply for it. Even when you don't, academic credit isn't a particularly bad alternative - sometimes, it's even preferred, as is my case this semester.
Posted by: Anonymous on September 23, 2008 06:47 PM
I actually agree with the above-- even if it is only one term of funding, it can make a big difference, and non-scholarship recipients may not have enough money to fund their research after having to pay the 'sticker price' to MIT. How are these situations taken care of, especially since direct funding is 'limited'?
Posted by: Anon on September 23, 2008 06:47 PM
(by the above, I meant the first poster)
Posted by: Anon on September 23, 2008 07:31 PM
Here is a non-industry viewpoint on tuition and financial aid recently reported in the media. It comes from a somewhat unexpected source, Congress.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/education/09college.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Posted by: anon on September 23, 2008 09:23 PM
It sounds like some of you think that, if you don't get outside funding, you can't do research unless you pay out of your own pocket. That's not true. In no way shape or form do you ever (nor are you supposed to) spend any of your own money on participating in a UROP.
The options are: 1) direct funding from the UROP office, 2) supervisor funding (the MIT professor you work under pays you), 3) credit, or 4) volunteer. As you can see, if you don't get direct funding, there is still another opportunity to get paid. And even if that option is not open, the other two methods do not require any financial input on your behalf at all.
In order words, at best, UROP-ing pays. At worst, it's completely free.
Posted by: Anonymous on September 23, 2008 11:28 PM
Thankks to those of you who clarified. Anonymous last said it best.
Let me also try to clarify. The direct pay UROP option existed long before any consideration was added for financial aid recipients. In order to expand the opportunities available through this program, we added money to it from the financial aid budget and expanded the reach of the program.
Direct pay UROPs are not restricted to scholarship recipients at MIT. And there are plenty of UROP opportunities to go around, some for pay, some for credit, some volunteer.
The key point I was trying to make is that this program allows students who receive scholarship at MIT not to have to choose between between doing a UROP (for credit, since their faculty advisor may not have funding) and doing a job for pay elsewhere (since they need the money).
Posted by: Daniel Barkowitz on September 23, 2008 11:52 PM
Hello Daniel,
I was just wondering if these financial aid schemes are available to International students too? I still have 3 years before entering university (hopefully MIT), but I would still like to know.
Thank you.
Posted by: Banerjee on September 24, 2008 05:00 AM
Hi,
thanks. I got some information that's HELPFUL, since one of the main reasons I'm applying to MIT is the UROP. Also, do we get to choose which faculty member we can research with? How does that work?
Posted by: Ashwathi on September 28, 2008 05:28 AM
