Clark Scholars 2012

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

<p>It's never too early. :P</p>

<p>I'm not sure if I'm actually going to apply because</p>

<p>1) I'm a senior and therefore may be too lazy to write more essays (or might want a break from work)
2) The competition is really stiff for this program, from what I read on last year's thread, so it may not be worth the effort (see 1) to apply.</p>

<p>That being said, I'm planning on applying with Computer Science as my first choice (I know it's not on there) and Math as my second choice. How about you guys?</p>

<p>(Three recommendations is a lot...)</p>

2

<p>Hey there,</p>

<p>I am a 2011 Clarkie! Just putting in a couple words for the program, being a Clark Scholar was phenomenal and very fun last summer. You meet some wonderful friends and get intense research experience in the field of your choice so I encourage all you people considering to apply. If you have any questions feel free to ask me!</p>

3

<p>I definitely second what iluvcake said! :slight_smile: As a 2011 Clarkie, the experience was AMAZING. As in, I definitely made some friends for life there. Like, it was so incredible that (as cheesy as that sounds) I really do find it hard to describe in words. :))</p>

<p>That being said, yes the application requirements can seem a bit much, and I think they even moved the deadline ahead this year. But if you’re a senior, you can probably just ask the teachers that wrote your college recs to do the Clark ones too. And the essays aren’t that bad! I’m sure you can easily adapt several of your college essays to fit the Clark prompts.</p>

<p>Basically, it’s really not that much more effort to apply, and if you make it in you definitely won’t regret it. If you do decide to go for it, good luck!</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the advice, guys! Yeah, I think I could fit the essays to my college essays pretty well, since I’m applying to Caltech and Carnegie Mellon (among others), which really focus on, basically, “why STEM/<major>”, so I should be able to reuse a good amount of material.</major></p>

<p>In case anyone was wondering about recommendations, I emailed them and the reply was:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>So I’m planning on asking my physics teacher, my previous research mentor (both are doing college recs for me), and my calculus teacher. It’s good to know that mentors can substitute in so that I don’t have to burden another one of my teachers.</p>

5

<p>@ mathgeeksupreme … lol phillex???</p>

6

<p>I’m applying too! My school ends in 3 weeks!</p>

7

<p>Yeah, definitely a great experience! Research varies by mentor/field, but I think the general consensus was that it was very independent/driven/engaging. As mathgeeksupreme said, you really do make some friends for life… the heat was a bit of downer during the summer of 2011 but don’t let that discourage you lol (we got the drought year :P) – there was actually quite a bit to do in your free time, musicians have a plethora of music rooms to practice in and sports ppl have the rec :D. but honestly, most of the time, you’re just too busy hanging or doing research! So yeah, apply apply APPLY!</p>

8

<p>How is the food? Are the rooms nice or are they your average college dorm rooms? We must know.</p>

9

<p>I don’t think it’s too early to start posting about Clark Scholars considering that the application deadline is in LESS THAN THREE MONTHS!!! Stressed? Me? You’re kidding, right? :wink: </p>

<p>Anyway, all joking aside, I’m really excited to apply. I just found out about it recently and did a bit of research on it (aka reading all of the past collegeconfidential discussions about it). It really sounds like a fantastic experience socially and academically.</p>

<p>I’m not too worried about the essays, mostly because I plan on also applying to TASP which asks for 6 whopping 1,500-word essays. The few that Clark asks for doesn’t seem that daunting compared to those. :-P</p>

<p>The recommendations do sound really difficult, but that may be mostly because I’m homeschooled. That, of course, means I don’t have teachers to write recs for me. I might have to get a bit creative on finding people to write them, lol; although, according to an e-mail from Ms. Durham, I can use a community theatre director for a production I was in and the chairman for a committee I was on.</p>

<p>I’m planning on putting Exercise Science in the “other” option as my first choice and Theatre Arts as my second choice. Neither has ever been done by a past Clarkie (from what I can tell), so I think it would be interesting to be the first person to try a new area of study in the program.</p>

<p>I definitely echo the questions about dorms/food. I’d also love to hear more about experiences you past Clarkies had, if any of you want to share. :-)</p>

10

<p>Okay, so to address a topic that seems to be rather important: food and dorms.</p>

<p>There is, for all intents and purposes, unlimited food money. Sam’s Market, which is where most of us ate (unless you work at the Health Science Center, in which case you have to pay for your own meals over in their cafeteria–which is what I occasionally did), is amazing the first week. Like, wraps, pasta, burritos, burgers, so much variety!</p>

<p>…unfortunately, by the fifth week, I think most of us were dreading having another meal there. There ARE off-campus options that are like a 10 minute walk, but 1. you have you pay with your own money, and 2. Sam’s is located in the dorms, so it’s a lot faster/more convenient. Plus, your food card covers snacks and ice cream that Sam’s sells, which is nice. :)</p>

<p>So, yeah, the food gets old kinda quickly, but it’s certainly not bad. But then again, I’m not vegetarian, and apparently there were very few vegetarian options; like, quesadillas and grilled cheese, and that’s about it. Anyways, please don’t base your application decision on the cuisine that Clark offers…it’s normal college campus food. Don’t expect gourmet meals, but it was certainly decent.</p>

<p>As for dorms, we stayed at Murray Hall, which is basically three individual rooms connected by a common suite. So we had our own individual privacy but also a common area to socialize in? Since (technically speaking) guys and girls were not allowed into each other’s suites, there were also study areas on each floor of the dorm that we could hang out in. Each suite came with a fridge and microwave as well as two bathrooms. I personally really liked the dorms that we were given :D</p>

<p>Err, sorry for the super-long post. Hope it answered any questions you may have had. :)</p>

<p>@iluvcake, can you guess who I am now? ;)</p>

11

<p>Either K. or S.? I’m confused still…</p>

12

<p>That’s the only people I remember at the Health Science Center lol xD</p>

13

<p>Oh jeez, lol Mathgeeksupreme…I am way too gullible</p>

14

<p>Awwww…you’re not gullible, @iluvcake! :)</p>

15

<p>Hello potential 2012 Clark Scholars! (And 2011 Clarkies, I see you too)</p>

<p>Just wanted to drop in and say a couple things:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Apply to Clark. Worst case scenario? You don’t get in. Best case scenario: You spend your summer in lovely Lubbock, Texas with a bunch of other super awesome kids.</p></li>
<li><p>If you have questions, your Clark alumni are here for you. 2011 seems pretty active on this board, but know us 2010 Clarkies are here for you too. (In fact, we are all in college now, and if the others are anything like me-- we’re looking for legitimate reasons to procrastinate-- and recruiting the next great class of Clark scholars seems like a good way to spend time to me!)</p></li>
<li><p>… Hi.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Message us. We’re friendly people.</p>

16

<p>So I just finished my generic “why math/CS” essay for colleges, and I adapted it for the Clark prompt by adding an extra paragraph. You were right - very little extra work for seniors!</p>

<p>Now I just need to ask teachers for recommendations and I’ll basically be done with the application! :)</p>

<p>Looking at last year’s thread, it seems that people got decisions at the end of April and early May. More waiting, even after college decisions…</p>

17

<p>Hey, no good answers to this on any other threads yet: what “research” do you conduct if you want to study the humanities? For example, I’m an English person. What would they have me do if I got in, do you think?</p>

18

<p>Ummm, are you interested in history or education? I know several scholars in the past two years have done projects on those topics. A Clarkie from last year had a project on studying how education on children effected development of character and values. It was really interesting and from what I heard a lot of fun. She got to spend time around kids in day camps.</p>

19

<p>As I was looking at the website, there didn’t seem to be much about what Clark Scholars actually did in terms of research… All I could find were the research topics available. Is this a completely independent research project that you’d have to come up with yourself and research yourself or do they assign you stuff to research or what? (I’m specifically into math/computer science/biophysics.) Sorry if the website did cover this and I just missed it…</p>

<p>I was also wondering if you all had above 2300 SAT scores. The site mentioned that many of their scholars had above a 2340, and my scores are somewhat low, so I’m not sure if I should even apply.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

20

<p>About SATs at the time I applied I didn’t even have my SAT scores out yet so it wasn’t considered. I only had my PSAT which was decent but definitely not above 2300. I do not believe it counts that much. As long as it is pretty good, from what I hear, your essays, your explanation for your interest in the chosen research areas, and especially the recommendations count more.</p>

<p>Yeah, the specific titles aren’t put on the website b/c I guess sometimes the mentor might not want it out on the web yet. (lol, top secret ;)) So the type of research really depends on the mentor. For me, I worked with my mentor in coming up with one specifically but he gave me a lot of prompting on the ideas. It was related to the purpose of the entire lab. You definitely do not need prior research experience. I had a very limited amount. (I didn’t even know how to use a micro liter pipetteman starting of) I know some of the other Clarkies also had their own small projects and others worked together with the rest of the lab as a group effort. You do not need to come up with a specific topic. There were some of us who did and others who didn’t. I mean it would be a good idea to be specific as a way to show your “passion” for it, but not required! :)</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>