<p>And Tsubomi, don’t tell them about your publication in Nature that’s coming up… you will be driving away very many potential candidates. And the score you got at Bio, and informatics olympiads… stuff is too scary for any normal person.</p>
<p>Now, @NotSoProdigous</p>
<p>I lol’d at your stats because they are definitely more badass than mine (though that’s not saying much). Who cares if Enigma from Arizona didn’t get in last year? Let’s do the line-by-line</p>
<p>1) You said you had tons of other extracurriculars. RSI will probably get it if you’re doing a ton of other stuff besides math and science. Limited amount of time, and so on. Just write passionately about the stuff you do. Would it be bad for me to say just BS your passion if you don’t have it? Probably. No further comment.</p>
<p>2) Scientific research experience is a plus, but consider that RSI is often a student’s first introduction to real research. That, in many ways, is one of the main points of RSI.</p>
<p>3) Don’t sweat programming. Seriously, if you were that worried, you could put that you’re intermediate in LaTeX, Java, and Unix and just learn it after you send your app. You can also talk about how you used programming in your statistics class or something to do modelling… </p>
<p>4) I may or may not have been up all night before the application was due writing these essays. Rather, starting them. It’s cool. For a suggestion, look closer to home, something that impacts your community and is interesting to you. Could be more compelling than “I think invisibility cloaks are cool like Harry Potter and I want to be Albus Dumbledore.”</p>
<p>The way I see it is this: stats get you in the door. Maybe half of the 1000 apps will get cut for stats. Essays distinguish you from the rest. Polish the essay about non-math and science extracurriculars and keep yourself from looking like a 2-dimensional science automaton.</p>
<p>@7yearman: The number of AP exams taken by RSI 2010’ers varied a lot, but all of them had pursued an extremely rigorous education. Send your score report! :)</p>
<p>@NotSoProdigious: Aw, you need a more optimistic username! And at least by the look of your objective stats, I would say you are pretty prodigious Category theory is really cool - I did a research project in category theory sophomore year, so it’s really cool to see someone else interested in it! That would be good to include in your essays as well. If you need specific advice, you can PM one of us. My essays had some humor but also some very serious parts…just let your voice shape your scientific experiences and encounters, and then the passion will naturally shine through :)</p>
<p>@Bibimbap: buzzer11 and I had a discussion about how awesome your username is. We’re both Korean, so we really liked it ;)</p>
<p>@Palaoa: Hahaha, thank you so much. :3 Gives me more hope than usual. ^^ Let’s see if I can write decent essays by tomorrow.</p>
<p>And I love the comments about tsubomi’s credentials. xD</p>
<p>@Tsubomi: ■■■■, you’re Korean?! :o Buzzer too?! I’m Korean. Haha, it isn’t my full username, and I’m not quite used to it yet. I started a blog the other day as the “Not So Prodigious Prodigy,” so it’s all good. It actually might be a bit optimistic more like. ^^; You know Category Theory? You surprise me more and more everyday. :3</p>
<p>To all three of you, I’ll have a PM incoming for you guys. ^^</p>
<p>annyeong! ok my korean sucks
anyways are molecular pathology and molecular engineering two distinct enough SUBfields?
my fields are bio and chm respecitively</p>
<p>Working on the essays proves to be extremely nerve-wracking… Especially so close to the deadline… Looks like another couple nights of banging my head against the keyboard.</p>
<p>@tsubomi
Hahaha thanks. P: I’m actually not korean. ): I’m technically taiwanese/chinese but I love to eat bibimbap. It’s the best food invention ever.</p>
<p>@notsoprodigious
Yeah I definitely spent two nights writing my essays. It was awful and they sound pretty bad. But it’s practically the deadline and this upcoming week is finals week, so I’m just going to send it in. -.-</p>
<p>are bio/molecular pathology and chem/molecular engineering two distinct enough field/SUBfields?
done with essays! when does school need to send official by?</p>
<p>as I’m finishing up my application here - my school district has all our transcripts online - can I just print one of those off, or do I need the school to send an official copy?
also, can we just make photocopies of ACT/SAT scores?</p>
<p>@Bibimbap: I agree, bibimbap is wonderful. I hope to visit RSI 2011 this summer, so if you are accepted, I will definitely buy you a pot of bibimbap. :)</p>
<p>@NspiredOne: There were people at RSI this past year with scores lower than 220. I think the PSAT is the most commonly taken test for high school juniors, but if you have other high standardized test scores, particularly in math/science, RSI admissions will be more forgiving. Essays were definitely the strongest part of my application as well. </p>
<p>Just a general note - please guys follow ALL the CEE directions, because each one is there for a very good reason. For the fields and subfields, make sure they are CLEARLY DISTINCT. The RSI 2010 application was not as clear about this but the RSI 2011 application says explicitly that these must be two distinct fields. Besides, someone that has two different fields has demonstrated a spirit of inquiry and scientific versatility. And REALLY REALLY TRY to get everything in by January 14. Carefully review the rules, and if you don’t follow them then that leaves a bad impression to the reviewers of your application. And with RSI’s many many applicants, you really can’t afford to have that.</p>
<p>Regarding Tsubomi’s general note on following directions–I would say the Jan 14th bit is hard and fast, but the other directions–follow them. Follow them now. But if you accidentally staple your application and have a panic attack two weeks later (yay for vivid memories) then send a panicked email to Maite, she will not hate you, and it is still possible for you to get in. Not that this happened to me >_>. So, follow the directions, but don’t die if you already sent it in and there was some teeny tiny issue.</p>
<p>The transcript thing, Tsubomi is always right, so I guess you need an official copy. With the score reports, I photocopied my official PSAT score and sent the photocopy in. It doesn’t appear to have been a problem, but, again, it could be that’s been tightened up as well.</p>
<p>Also, a note to those with one main field and with just two different subfields–I know at least one bio person did that.</p>
<p>@NotSoProdigious: Where you are, you can take Category Theory before Abstract Algebra? That would make more abstract concepts (like products and limits) a lot more difficult to learn. Nonetheless, if you took a real Category Theory course (i.e. not self-studying, which would also be decent) that would look pretty good if you were applying in some algebraic field under mathematics.</p>
<p>I also had a stapling issue - I had given my application to the UPS office and paid for overnight shipping and was all happy until I realized that some of my test scores were stapled. So I went crazy and reassembled my entire application, ran back to the UPS office (luckily I live close by), persuaded the UPS clerk to take out my old package, and paid for overnight shipping again. Maybe a little excessive…but follow directions…</p>
<p>Also, I would really invest in a delivery confirmation. I remember following my RSI application all the way down to the CEE with online hourly tracking, and it gave me peace of mind long before RSI sent my return postcard back. And in case something terrible happens (and things do, my school package to MIT never got there this past October), you have documentation. :)</p>
Category theory is really cool - I did a research project in category theory sophomore year, so it’s really cool to see someone else interested in it! That would be good to include in your essays as well. If you need specific advice, you can PM one of us. My essays had some humor but also some very serious parts…just let your voice shape your scientific experiences and encounters, and then the passion will naturally shine through :)</p>
Haha, it isn’t my full username, and I’m not quite used to it yet. I started a blog the other day as the “Not So Prodigious Prodigy,” so it’s all good. It actually might be a bit optimistic more like. ^^; You know Category Theory? You surprise me more and more everyday. :3</p>