Reviewer: Anonymous
Stars out of 5: ☆☆☆☆☆
Location: Stony Brook, Long Island, New York
Cost: $7,000
Financial Aid? No
Personal Review:
The Garcia Summer Program is an awesome experience. The research is pretty good and there’s a very broad range for projects. Check the yearbooks from previous years to get an idea of what projects will be offered. It’s pretty hard to do an individual project, unless you’re experienced in computer science and do a computational project, so keep that in mind for something like STS. Garcia does help you submit to conferences like MRS or APS, so most groups end up giving an oral presentation or present a poster at an international conference. The acceptance rate varies year to year, but is under 10 percent. I think what makes Garcia special is the amount of freedom you get living at Stony Brook. Boys and girls live in the same dorm on the same floors, no curfew, you’re free after 5 usually to basically do whatever, so it’s very fun if you try to socialize and find a good group of friends. It’s very easy to go on a day trip to New York City on the weekends using the Long Island Railroad. On the other hand, a lot of people used their free time to grind out research papers they were writing from back home, college apps and essays, etc. The program is definitely what you make of it. Try to be proactive and pick a good project and take advantage of opportunities presented to you.
Recommendation?
Yuh.
Comments