<p>Accepted! :D</p>
<p>Anyone else?</p>
<p>Congrats @achenmeister! (Join the fb group!)</p>
<p>Congrats to all the new admits! Making it past the <10% acceptance rate is a real accomplishment, especially considering the strength of the applicant pool. </p>
<p>To those accepted: Last summer was, hands down, the best summer of my life. Get pumped.</p>
<p>As for the book essay, the specific book you choose does. not. matter. I wrote about an art history crash course book (and did little to tie it into my scientific interests). All that matters is that your essay (1) conveys your personality well and (2) is interesting. </p>
<p>Finally, good luck to those still waiting on decisions! </p>
<p>Anybody from Michigan who got accepted?</p>
<p>Yes, quite a few! At least 5 from the FB group</p>
<p>@StudiousMaximus Could you take a look at some of the questions I asked on the previous page? If you have time, of course.</p>
<p>Anyone else heard back yet???</p>
<p>Sure, jonthom!</p>
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<p>I’ll speak about Shaw, since that’s where I stayed this past summer (I believe you all will be staying there as well). The dorms are adequate. The rooms are smallish but comfortable. The common rooms (on the main floor) are quite nice (especially because they’re air conditioned…). Speaking of AC, it gets really, really hot in the dorms. Most attendees bought/rented a few fans for the summer. Luckily for me, my roommate had a portable AC unit installed in our room, so my room became an oasis of sorts during the hottest days. </p>
<p>The food at Shaw is decent (the best parts for me were the brick oven pizza and mac & cheese). It gets old really quickly, though. Now, if you have the opportunity to eat at the Sny-Phi (Snyder-Phillips), DO IT! It’s far better (awesome burgers, fries, seafood, various specials, an ice cream/snack bar, etc.). Also keep in mind that HSHSPers frequently get bubble tea/smoothies from Bubble Island and eat out on occasion (from memory, you have Moe’s, Five Guys, Chipotle, Insomnia Cookies, Taco Bell, Starbucks, and multiple pizza joints to choose from), so you’ll have the opportunity to mix it up relatively often.</p>
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<p>With the exception of any graduate students or maybe (but probably not) undergrad students working in your lab, the HSHSP experience strictly involves other attendees. I had a unique situation in which a former HSHSP student was working in the lab with me, so a few of you might have a similar arrangement. By and large, though, you’ll just be interacting with other HSHSPers.</p>
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<p>Here’s what I know about project selection: you’re given around 30 short project descriptions, and you rank each from 1-6 (1 being most-desired). Dr. Richmond then waves her magic wand, and you get a highly-ranked project (I don’t know anything more than that). Most students get a 1; unfortunately, some do get 2s (I was one of those). Although I was initially disappointed, my project turned out to be a seriously great choice. You shouldn’t be worried about getting a project that’s interesting; they’re all fascinating. </p>
<p>@StudiousMaximus
About how much money should I bring? And what else can you do there?</p>
<p>I’ve been accepted as an alternate! Has anyone else? I’m not exactly sure what that means. Any alumni know anything about it?</p>
<p>@Kaepernick: Bring as much as you think you’ll need! I think I had $200, and that lasted me the seven weeks (though I was struggling near the end). Some activities you might participate in that cost money: eating out, going to the movies (which I did three or four times), going to the mall (the gelato is ridiculous), riding in taxis (for the occasional rogue transport), ordering pizza, and buying souvenirs/MSU stuff. </p>
<p>As far as what you can do there, you have a lot of options. I mentioned a few things in the previous paragraph, but really, if something’s within reasonable limits, you can do it. A few of my friends went on a day trip to Ann Arbor. Others arranged an ice-skating outing. Many of us had a lot of fun just exploring the campus and Lansing. We also had regular Super Smash Bros. tournaments, board/card game nights, dance parties, birthday celebrations, musical collaborations of all kinds, ultimate frisbee competitions, and more. You will not be bored at HSHSP unless you choose to be.</p>
<p>@taylorivy: If you’re an alternate, then you will be officially accepted if enough people decline their acceptances. I think our year had two or three alternates, so you have a solid chance of getting in.</p>
<p>@taylorivy I know someone said earlier that they got into both HSHSP and Simons and was leaning toward Simons. Idk if they already finalized their decision but I think you have a chance!</p>
<p>I was also chosen as an alternate. </p>
<p>@StudiousMaximus, did anyone in your year every leave HSHSP for one or two days? In which circumstances does Dr. Richmond allow this? </p>
<p>@shankthetank97 and @taylorivy, there are very good chances of you getting in, considering I know a couple of people who are declining their acceptances. </p>
<p>To anyone accepted, did you guys receive any information about financial aid? If you did not receive anything, does it mean you are not getting any aid?</p>
<p>Thanks @four3tris! That’s actually very reassuring. </p>
<p>But also depends on how many were chosen as alternates…</p>
<p>Has anyone else not heard back yet? It seems like most people have heard back at this point. Does it mean they’re rejecting the people who still haven’t heard back ?</p>
<p>Thanks @four3tris, @StudiousMaximus, and @aops100! I’m just worried about how many alternates there actually are. Do you know if there’s some sort of queue or ranks assigned to alternates that dictates who they’ll accept first? Or do they reexamine the apps of alternates depending on how many spots they need to fill?</p>