alocus

Great point, I had not thought of that! Not necessarily true. Many REU sites (Harvard Forest, Smithsonian ERC) allow recent graduates to apply, though the funding might be sourced differently. Also, I'm not terribly sure what you mean about the representation. I can assure you this was a real REU. And I'm definitely not attempting to describe my past as anything but it is - underwhelming. I only hope to show that since I discovered my interests, I have been motivated and diligent in pursuing them (academic probation to deans list, no experience to having consistent lab and field work during my residency in the department), and will continue to work as hard as I can to prove that I would be an asset to a graduate program.

Hello! I'm a fifth year senior at a large state school that, due to some very poor decisions the first half of my undergrad (major hopping, failed courses, irrelevant work experiences, etc), I've decided to take a few years off before applying to graduate programs. My stats currently look about like this: GPA: 2.9 Major GPA (Botany): 3.6 Research: 1 year; 2 labs (one for an independent thesis project, one for an REU that is ongoing) Interests (broadly): plant ecology, physiological ecology, genetics, and conservation. Alpine and temperate forest systems are most attractive to me. I'm hoping that by waiting another year or two, these last two semesters of grades will push me up over the 3.0 hard cutoff for many programs. I am also looking forward to collaborating on some manuscripts for each of the research projects I've been involved in next semester. So the question becomes now what should I look forward to doing in my time off? I've kept my eyes open for tech jobs, REUs, and other seasonal stuff, but I can't help but get irrationally giddy every time I pull up my grad programs wishlist. I understand that these profs are probably being inundated with actual applicants right now, but is it too early to start reaching out? What does that conversation look like, and what are some of the scenarios that could come out of it? The best way I see it going is being able to work out some type of hourly employment deal. What could also be very beneficial is just getting hard feedback from the PI about what would make me a more attractive addition to their lab when I apply in the next year or so. How realistic is this - would I be jumping the gun?