<p>@MomentumA7, viving6991 Yeah, my home high school didn’t offer it so I transferred to another school in my district.</p>
<p>For Davis, it wasn’t close to what it’s like during the school year, but it’s by no means a ghost town. Most of the students there were taking summer classes and the majority of people you’ll interact with are the RAs and other COSMOS people. There will also be people for summer camps, i.e. cheerleaders and younger students. People will be driving around and in downtown too. It’s not a gigantic bubble filled with only COSMOS people. :)</p>
<p>@missiris WHAT’S YOUR EXTENDED ESSAY TOPIC???
I’m just a sophomore so I don’t have to worry about it so much yet. I’m still thinking about it though. One in Group 3 seems fun and less words are required but I don’t know what topic I could choose. The good ones all seem to be cliche now.</p>
<p>I’m planning to take the SAT II for Math Level 2 and Physics. I’ll do this in June before my senior year and I’m hoping to get my intended score on my SAT I this October on my first try. If not, I’ll allot 2 more tries for myself. :)</p>
<p>I’ve recognized the fact that I won’t be able to study extra things at COSMOS, especially with the final project on my shoulders. If I get accepted, I’m planning to hopefully do everything I need in June.</p>
<p>I LOVE the city of Davis! I live about 20 minutes away and I have some relatives there. I love biking around!!! I don’t know if I want to go to college at UCD but I’ll definitely apply as a safety maybe.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve gotten into UCD, UCSD, Cal Poly SLO, and CPP among other schools. I’m debating between UCD and SLO. COSMOS is the main reason why I love Davis so much. <3</p>
<p>I’ve heard a lot of people want to go to SLO. What’s that all about? Like what’s so special?</p>
<p>Although a state college, Cal Poly SLO is known for its amazing engineering program. The only reason why it’s not as widely regarded as such is because it’s not ranked on the same scale as the most regarded top colleges. UC’s and Ivies are ranked by colleges where doctorates are offered while Cal Poly is ranked on a completely different scale for schools where doctorates aren’t offered, as its highest degree offered is a master’s. On this scale, Cal Poly is ranked 5 in best undergraduate engineering program in the nation, and that’s pretty darn good for a state college! :)</p>
<p>Also, people bash SLO and CPP all the time because it’s a Cal State. I can’t stand that. The CSU system in general is very underrated and SLO and Pomona are great schools. Comparing SLO/Pomona to the UCs is like comparing apples and oranges. Don’t fall into the Asian trap of thinking UCs are better. SLO/Pomona’s motto is “Learn by doing” and focuses more on hands on work so you can job straight out of college. Due to their upside curriculum, you start taking classes that have to do with your major right away. The UCs focus more on getting their students ready for grad school and therefore focus more on research and theory. For example, you take GenEd classes first. I’ve heard that as an engineer, you don’t take a serious engineering class until your junior year. Due to SLO/Pomona’s system, it IS harder to change majors once you start taking classes, but at least you know right away if your major is for you. In the UCs, it’s a lot easier to switch, but a lot of your fresh/soph classes are general classes. Hope that clears things up. :)</p>
<p>I agree with chocolatechipsss; my dad is a stats professor at CPP and I’ve visited the campus many times. Their architecture and agriculture programs are some of the best in the nation as well. I know for a fact that the CPP architecture program is higher ranked than UCB’s, and UCB has a reputation for being the best UC.</p>
<p>@cosmogony I’m a sophomore right now too, but I’ve met my IB counselor a few times and have discussed a few topics. I was planning to do one in chemistry, because that’s what I’m really into, but it’s really difficult to do an EE in science, so I’m probably going to do mine in business and marketing.</p>
<p>I have completed the application and applied for Physics in Electro-Optics and Nuclear Technology and Intro to Engineering Mechanics for the UCD campus. However, I’ve been hearing rumors that COSMOS accepts very little out-of-state students. Does COSMOS actually discourage out-of-state students? I’m from Indiana btw.</p>
<p>@conorsperry Indiana? Wow, that is really far. If you do not mind me asking, do you plan on flying here and back if you get accepted? Regarding your question about if COSMOS discourages out-of-state students, I would say yes and no…The purpose of COSMOS is to encourage CALIFORNIA students to peruse careers in STEM related careers. “It was created by the California state legislature in 2000 to address the need for science and math education in California high schools.” Thus, they prioritize more on Californian students that apply over students from out of state. However, the out-of-state students do “pay the bills” so they say…I wouldn’t think that they would completely deny you because you’re out of state. I guess you could just keep your fingers that you have some outstanding essays.</p>
<p>@afourally Yes, I do plan on flying from St. Louis or Nashville (since I live in southwestern Indiana along the Ohio River) to Sacramento and back in order to get to COSMOS. I am really nervous that I might not get in because of my state status, but I worked hard on my essays for an entire weekend and I had a friend whose forte is English help me revise and edit them. Also, after I’m done with my junior year, I will have had 2 years worth of high school Physics (General Honors Physics freshman year and AP Physics C this year, with A’s every semester except for first semester freshman physics with a B), hopefully boosting my chances of getting into one of those clusters. In regards to math, I took Algebra 2 the summer between my freshman and sophomore years, took AP Calc AB sophomore year w/ a 5 on the AP exam, took Linear Algebra at a local state university last semester with a B in the class, and I am currently in the second half of AP Calc BC standing at an A. I have also heard that the Physics and Engineering clusters are not as competitive, so that may boost me as well. 
I am also well aware that the State of California is having budgeting problems, and funding for COSMOS may be significantly cut off this year, thus probably improving my chances. Of course, this has led to protests all over California, including one on the UC Davis campus itself and having police forces resorting to pepper spraying the students. If I were a resident of California, I would be pretty confident about my chances.</p>
<p>@conorsperry
I had nowhere near your stats for Cluster 2, but I was the exception. For me, it was regular math all three years (all Bs and one C) and I was a year ahead like you are, but I’d been that way since middle school. Physics, all I had was regular my junior year (As both semesters) and AP B planned my senior year. Hahaha. What you’ve done is what the majority of my cluster did. Trust me, anyone can have good grades, but your personal essays are what make you stand out. If those are kick-ass, you’ll get in. :)</p>
<p>@chocolatechipsss Thanks for the encouraging message! COSMOS is my first choice summer program, and I am eager to go if I get accepted.</p>
<p>In regards to college admissions, if I get accepted and attend COSMOS, how much of an advantage is that for my application? Will prestigious Californian and non-Californian schools look at that as a significant achievement, or something that just complements my other factors such as GPA, SAT scores, and essays?</p>
<p>This may sound a little strange, but I’m kind of sad that the Occupy movements have died down. It would have been amazing to experience that firsthand.</p>
<p>@conorsperry COSMOS people have told me that it pretty much guarantees your acceptance into UCD, but don’t quote me on that. Hahaha. There’s a box in the UC app that you can choose COSMOS in, so they’ll see it and know you attended. It’s not like COSMOS is some BS program that they don’t know about. It’ll definitely look good in UC eyes. Other than that, since COSMOS isn’t a free program, colleges tend to view it as a supplement. BUT… I can tell you right now that if you do programs like COSMOS purely for college apps, YOU WILL WASTE YOUR MONEY AND GET NOTHING OUT OF IT. The memories I made at UCD are worth more than the money I spent and any college acceptance.
P.S. I got into UCD, UCSD, CPP, and CP SLO. I got rejected from UCLA, but it’s okay since I wasn’t too excited about living in LA anyways. Still need to hear from Berkeley, but even if I get in, it’s still between SLO and UCD. :)</p>
<p>If anything, COSMOS should be a good experience to write about in your essays, right?</p>
<p>@vivng6991 Most definitely!!! :] The most exciting aspect seems to be the final research project. I’m sure that alone could be one awesome essay.</p>
<p>@chocolatechipsss Although college admissions is important to me, the true reason I applied to COSMOS is because of my absolute LOVE for PHYSICS and ENGINEERING! Also, I am very much interested in Californian schools. Cal Poly SLO, UC Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, and USC are some of the Californian schools that have interest in. When I was visiting California and these schools over spring break a couple weeks ago, I was surprised to see how beautiful SLO and the Central Coast were. Definitely a change in pace from the cornfields and bipolar weather of Indiana. California is definitely a place I want to go to college, despite being over 2,000 miles away from Indiana.</p>
<p>@conor My world history teacher says that Indiana is one of those ‘fly over states;’ meaning you fly over them and you never want to land cause its all corn lol. It seems like a boring place to live.</p>
<p>Admissions officers from Harvard say that the school groups its applicants into certain regions of the U.S., and Indiana & surrounding areas are called the “corn field” states.</p>