<p>Hi. So I have been rejected from RSI ( :( ) but I got into the Simons Research Fellowship Program (simons</a> page) It is very competitive (15% admit rate) and it has a $1000 stipend (also a nice bonus). However, I have to reply to them by April 1st, and I haven't heard back from MITES, WTP or SSP. I don't expect to hear from the other programs until after April 1st. What should I do? In the scope of college admissions, which program looks the best? </p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>It’s not about which program “looks the best” at all. Will you enjoy and benefit from Simons? Would you value any of the other programs more, in educational and personal terms? If so, calculate your chances and do what you want.</p>
<p>I’d say yes to Simons. It’s guaranteed, you’ll be doing research, etc. There’s nothing bad about it, unless you don’t like research.</p>
<p>Also, fifteen percent is not really that competitive when considering things like Clark Scholars (five percent, yo) or RSI.</p>
<p>I think I could enjoy and benefit from all of them, and it would be hard to choose. I am just not sure I want to choose before I know all of my options. </p>
<p>Also, fifteen percent, by any standards, is competitive. It may not be the most competitive, but it is a very low percentage.</p>
<p>Well, it could come down to
<p>More realistically, though, it’s probably just that you need to make up your mind. All these programs are different from each other, and you should really take the safe route and just stick with Simons. Even if you get accepted into MITES or WTP later (I’d say Simons > SSP), you’ll get stuck with it anyway.</p>
<p>I had a similar situation. Rejected from RSI. Another program (Rockefeller University’s science outreach program) accepted me and wanted my response before others came out including a local one, simr, clark, and boa. I was not sure which one I wanted more so i decided to call simr and they told me I had already been cut. This made the decision a little easier and I just took the for sure internship.
I would suggest you call the other programs and explain your situation and ask if they can tell you how you are doing.</p>
<p>Just this week I learned that I was probably rejected from my local science internship so I sent them an emailing rescinding my application and they were supportive. Just today I was accepted to BOA (I never rescinded my app… oops) and had to turn it down which was awkward but a confidence boost. Despite this I feel like my decision was best.</p>
<p>Anyways, make a pro con chart of the programs. Look at what you would do there and compare that to what you are most interested in. Also call the other programs if the decisions are due out soon. This is also a decision that you should make because you are the one who has to live with it.</p>
<p>Thank you, that is good advice. I will see if they can tell me if I have been rejected from any of the programs yet, and if not I will make a list and decide.</p>