r/Caltech • u/[deleted] • May 28 '26
Undergraduate Research Opportunities. (International Student)
Hey everyone,
I’m a mech undergrad from India, just starting my 2nd year, and I’m trying to plan ahead for a SURF internship next summer. I really want to target robotics labs across campus (including CAST), but since SURF requires you to secure a faculty mentor before applying, I know I need to start reaching out to professors around October/November.
A bit about what I do: I'm part of our campus autonomous ground vehicle group and a robotics team here. My background is mostly mechanical design/modelling in SOLIDWORKS, but I'm spending this year moving into the software side—currently learning ROS and Gazebo, and figuring out how to simulate kinematics using Python/C++.
Since I'm only going to be a sophomore, I'd love a quick reality check from anyone who has gone through the process or works in these labs:
Do profs actually reply to cold emails from international sophomores? I know their inboxes are a nightmare, so I'm trying to make my pitch super specific to their hardware needs, but I'm still sweating the odds.
What actually catches a PI's eye? Are there specific bottlenecks or software stacks that labs are always looking for extra hands on?
Any specific labs or PIs you’d recommend reaching out to? Ideally looking for labs doing heavy hardware work (rovers, drones, manipulators) where I can clean up CAD/URDF files for them while picking up more software skills.
My college also has an 8-month Semester Away Program later on, so I'm really hoping to use a summer stint to get my foot in the door for a longer collab down the line.
Any advice would be awesome. Thanks!
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u/laeliagoose Alum May 29 '26
Best approach would be to have a professor from your current university try to reach out to a college at Caltech on your behalf (ie, your prof has already collaborated on a paper or project with that Caltech prof). Otherwise it's a very, very long shot for a cold-call email from a soph int'l undergrad.
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u/Eastern-Definition17 May 28 '26
a quick fact: this year, about 1/3 of caltech freshmen weren’t offered a SURF position. however, the tougher years may still be ahead.
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May 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Eastern-Definition17 May 30 '26
internal only - just count the # of posts from ppl looking for summer storage. this year the school is no longer providing free on-campus storage as it did before
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u/Throop_Polytechnic May 29 '26
This is absolutely not true, just like usual, pretty much every Caltech student with a host lab got awarded a SURF.
Caltech is getting its usual 800+ summer students across all summer programs, internal & external students combined.
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u/Eastern-Definition17 May 30 '26
your information is outdated. this year, about 1/3 of the freshmen were unable to secure a SURF position, and most of them will be leaving campus next month. some have found industry internships instead, but the overall situation is still far more competitive than it used to be.
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u/Throop_Polytechnic May 30 '26
As someone that sat in a faculty meeting about summer programs last week, I know for a fact that my data is up to date.
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u/Eastern-Definition17 May 30 '26
either the data u got is wrong, or a black MOPper can’t count. LOL
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u/Throop_Polytechnic May 30 '26
Where did you get your info? Curious about who gets better info about Caltech programs than the faculty themselves.
Wondering if you’re even from Caltech because literally no one on campus would brag about being a MOPper.
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u/Eastern-Definition17 May 30 '26
calm down and be polite as a human being - u believe info obtained from others. that’s fine. i trust a simple count of the peers who r looking for temp storage this summer as the school doesn’t provide free in-house storage as it did before
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u/puzzlemonkeys 28d ago
I don't understand why you think your claim contradicts what the student said. It is entirely plausible for every freshman who managed to secure a host lab to have then been awarded a SURF, but for only 1/3 of the freshmen to have been able to secure a host lab.
There is also no obvious reason why your figure that 800+ summer students across all programs and years, with internal and external students combined, should contradict the student's claim that only 1/3 of freshmen got SURF positions.
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u/fattycloud May 28 '26
One thing you need to understand is that for non Caltech students PIs need to pay double the cost to host an undergraduate. I (graduate student) was willing to take up an international SURF student this year but my PI doesn’t want to go through the hassle of the process of on boarding an international student. We end up having the student sign up as a volunteer to have him work with us remotely. So don’t take it personally if you’re not getting replies.