Clark Scholars 2012

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
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<p>Ok, uhm, wow, a lot of questions seemed to have built up so I’ll do my best to respond to them all.</p>

<p>@dchenfire, the recs you choose are your call, but honestly there’s not much they can do with a humanities rec letter if both the fields you’re applying for are science ones. As much as you might love your humanities teacher, he/she can’t really comment on your passion for scientific research and why Clark should choose YOU to do their science research over someone else. As for supplementary letters of rec, I’m sure they’re fine but I’d go ahead and e-mail Mrs. Durham about it first. And actually, one of my recs came from my research professor, so no, not all of them have to be from high school teachers. Hope this clarifies some of your questions!</p>

<p>@MissxSilverwing, most recommendation letters follow similar formats, so it probably wouldn’t be that hard for your teachers to rework the same rec letters. Regarding which part of the application receives the most weight (I was curious about this too), I DON’T think it’s the test scores because apparently a lot of people with perfect SAT scores were denied; I think only one of us had a perfect score? But yeah, I think the most important thing is to show your passion in your essays.</p>

<p>@Sunflower1217, as I mentioned above, I’m almost certain test scores are NOT the most important factor. As for math research qualifications, I actually did bio research but my roommate(s) were the math researchers. As far as I know, one of them also took really advanced courses but they both attended rather prestigious math summer camps in years past (PROMYS and Ross), and one of them has done math research before (I don’t THINK the other one had before camp, but I’m not sure). Either way, as long as you convey in your responses why you love math and want to do math research so much, I’m sure you have a shot.</p>

<p>@annonymousx37, yeah, if I remember correctly, I had to print everything off from the webpage. (or maybe there was a pdf, I don’t quite remember…lol). I’m sure you could copy/paste and then print off the webpage or print off a separate sheet in Microsoft Word, but if you’re really worried then go ahead and e-mail Mrs. Durham about it. I don’t think it was quite this confusing last year, lol.</p>

<p>@tenacious10, last year I reported both, but I do know some people only reported their PSATs (but I don’t know if it’s because they hadn’t taken their SATs yet or simply didn’t want to). Uhm, I’m not sure I understand your faculty question…I think after they start matching students to faculty, they try and take what you said in your essay in consideration but basically ask the faculty in the field if they’re willing to take on a Clark scholar in their lab for the summer. But I’m not completely sure how it works, that’s just my guess. I <em>don’t</em> think there’s a way to predict which professor you’ll work with simply based on the field you select, though.</p>

<p>Hope this helped! Don’t hesitate to PM me if you need anything or want me to look over your essays. :slight_smile: (I wrote/adapted my essays the night before submitting them, though, so I might not be the best one to go to…) G’luck with all your applications!</p>

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<p>Hey, y’all!</p>

<p>I’m thinking about applying this year. On part B, I’m putting math and physics. What exactly do they mean by “describe your interests”? Do they just want you to put how you got interested in the categories, or what? HELP!</p>

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<p>Hi! I am a junior at a Chicago magnet high school with some questions about the program:</p>

<p>1) I have heard that applicants who sort of align their interests with those of one of the professors who most matches their interest have a better shot. I have no intention of falsifying my interests, but my interests aren’t that specific. I want to do something with animals and study their behavior and biology and discover new things about animals to see how they can be conserved and be of benefit to us. How do I find a prof. to match my research area. </p>

<p>2) I’m not taking the SAT until January for the first time. I have only taken the PSAT. My score is a 217 (74 CR, 72 M, 71 W). Is this ok?</p>

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<p>@ sugardonka I believe for section B you should try to describe what aspect of the field you are interested in and what specific topic or idea you would like to do within in it. For how you got interested in the field that would probably go under section C the narrative</p>

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<p>@ jeffreycoleman I guess you could try that. It would definitely be a good idea to research into more specific aspects of your field and umm try looking at the TTU department for that field and past mentors. But please be honest and true to the interests you put down </p>

<p>Your PSAT score looks good. Yeah I only had my PSAT when I applied and I still got in so you really don’t need to worry but you can send an update to Ms. Durham of your SAT when it comes out</p>

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<p>Please tell me the truth. Do I even have a chance with < 210 PSAT?</p>

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<p>How do I </p>

<p>a) save the application to my computer?</p>

<p>b) get a copy of my psat score besides the one my school gave me, which i need for my records, right?</p>

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<p>@ NO295208 To be honest, it’s hard to judge based on just one score, especially since test scores aren’t the biggest factor in getting in. You should still give applying a try. There’s no harm in that and you could probably use the narrative in your college apps somewhere or if you have already done them, the narrative should be pretty easy to write based off of that. The only to know is if you try, you should have a chance if you can justify how you are really, really interested and excited about the opportunity.</p>

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<p>@ jeffreycoleman XD Last year, the app was on a word document. It looks like this year, they made it fillable online. But you could try copying the page to a Word file and filling from there or maybe saving your answers and pasting it in when you are done to print. I’m not sure if it will work but you can give it a try. </p>

<p>From what I remember, I think for the PSATs, I just photocopied the scores my school gave me. I don’t think they are especially picky about it like colleges are.</p>

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<p>Last question haha:</p>

<p>I have done research before in neuroscience but I want to do biology next summer because that’s what I realize I’m really interested in. Will the professors give me guidance or will I have to design all my research on my own because I probably won’t even know where to begin?</p>

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<p>if you click “print” to print out the empty online application, the format looks really weird… especially the essay part… anyone took a look at it before?</p>

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<p>how am i suppose to ask 2 same teachers (math and science) for like 4 recommendations each considering that i’m applying to 4 summer programs? :frowning: i feel so bad…</p>

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<p>@ jeffreycoleman, yes the professor will definitely give you guidance and help. Don’t worry, you won’t have to do everything on your own and by you</p>

<p>@ anonymousx37, hmm not sure about that anyone have a solution?</p>

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<p>To anonymousx37</p>

<p>Most of the time these summer programs have a short one page form to just check off boxes of how proficient a student you are among other qualities. The actual rec letter part is usually similar for most programs so your teachers will only have to write one rec letter and fill out 4 short forms of checking boxes and so on so it’s not a big deal asking your two teachers for 4 rec letters for 4 summer programs</p>

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<p>Oops, I didn’t see anonymous’s question about recs. Yes I agree with Apoc on that it’s pretty easy for teachers to print off multiple copies and the forms are all quite similar</p>

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<p>Do you guys think I’m wasting my time (And the admission people’s time) by applying to this program…? </p>

<p>1) My PSAT<220
2) My SAT is ~2200 (retaking, but score won’t be back in time because the application is due
3) No significant research experience
But…I have great grades (doesn’t everyone?,lol), okayish extracurriculars, really like science, and have pretty good recc letters</p>

<p>Please give me an honest assessment. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>**Also, does Clark allow us to send supplemental information after the February 3rd deadline? I would like to send them other test scores when I get them back… (I.E. would they consider a 2350 from the January 28th SAT Test date?)</p>

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<p>I just finished my application! Just going to get a transcript at school tomorrow then I’ll throw it in the mail…</p>

<p>Not sure what kind of chance I have…I’m a junior…my PSAT is from sophomore year and I only got a 214, but I got a 2210 on the SAT. Only sending PSAT because I got a 800 in CR and on the SAT I made a bubbling error, which is the only reason my SAT isn’t a lot higher (790 W/760M/660CR). Also sent my math 2 score (770). I’m kind of worried that my school doesn’t rank and that we have a wacky GPA system. I have a 5.73/6ish, but a 6 is mathematically impossible. </p>

<p>Have a feeling that my recommendations are excellent though.</p>

<p>Do you think I should send a list of my current classes as well?</p>

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<p>Hey, anybody who went to Clark in previous years tell me a bit about the math projects there?</p>

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<p>Also, chances?</p>

<p>230 PSAT + USAMO last year + took Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus already, will take Abstract Algebra this semester</p>

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<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Your stats all look great! Please try not to worry so much! :)</p>

<p>@ chillbro Having no research experience is quite alright. I didn’t have any when I started off. Good grades in challenging classes that demonstrate your passions would be something good to aim for. As I have said before, test scores are definitely not the most important so don’t stress about them. Yes, I think you should be able to send updates after the deadline but please make sure it’s relevant and important.
@bakere19 I believe your current classes should be on the transcript so you really shouldn’t need to write them out again on the app.
@ mathner1 Wow, USAMO! Impressive! My project last year was in bio, but there were 2 math Clarkies last year. From what I remember, one did a project on Euclidean measure functions and another on elliptic curves and logarithms. Both found their projects to be thoroughly challenging. Sorry that was all I can remember. XD</p>