Jackson Laboratory SSP (2013)

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

<p>Hello all! The application for the 2013 Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program (JAX SSP) is officially open. As an alum of the program (summer of 2012), I would love to answer any questions and offer as much advice as possible. This program is highly selective but life-changing and I want all of you to get accepted! I will begin by posting the stats I had my junior year while applying. As a disclaimer, I know my stats are lower than what most people would expect. However, the JAX class was very diverse in terms of ability and academics. We had kids from state schools as well as Ivies, but were all passionate about science and involved and successful at their school, regardless of what school it was. I'd rank this program over RSI and SSP (not just because I'm a little biased) because of its depth, time length, quality of research, and the fact that a girl who entered Yale this fall attended RSI in 2011 and won an award there said she'd easily (EASILY) pick JAX over RSI any day. </p>

<p>At the time of my application, I was a junior in high school. I am now a senior (clearly).
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): 1880
• ACT: 29 (did not submit)
• SAT II: (had none)
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.67
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 5%
• AP (place score in parenthesis): they did not have them by the time I applied
• IB (place score in parenthesis):
• Junior Year Course Load: All APs and Pre-APs, took AP Bio and AP Chem simulatenously, no physics yet, was on my last year of AP French IV; rigorous courseload
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None at the time.
Subjective:
• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Heavily involved in Science UIL (science competition), science clubs, Key Club, various clubs, mentor for at-risk freshman, ect.
• Job/Work Experience:Had worked two jobs simultaneously during the summer, then one job during the school year.
• Volunteer/Community service: Tutored at-risk elementary-age students, plenty of various community service opportunities, nothing incredibly special (like founding my own charity) but I was heavily, heavily involved.
• Essays: Pretty great. Really showed passion for neuro.
• Teacher Recommendations: Wonderful.
• Counselor Rec: I don't think there were any. </p>

<p>Other
• State (if domestic applicant): Texas
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Large public school
• Ethnicity: African American
• Gender: Female
• Income Bracket: ~120k
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Reflection
• Strengths: My essays and rec letters showed I was a very passionate and STRONG academic student who had no previous lab experience outside of the classroom, but was good with what was inside of the classroom. I was a strong academic student, despite my test scores. Mind you, I did not make all As, had I think an 89 for the semester in Chem and an 84 for the semester in Pre-AP pre-calc.
• Weaknesses: My test scores and transcript; I was naive and didn't think I needed any test prep when my parents offered. Once I got my SAT scores back, I signed up! I also made a C my freshman year (I know, ugh) and a 79 (hated that teacher, I literally will not take the blame for it) in Honors Alg II sophomore year, second semester. So my academics were not perfect by any means.
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Passionate minority.
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Got into City of Hope as a Sophomore in high school, rejected from many programs that year.
General Comments: Good Luck!</p>

<p>About the diversity of the class and who else got in:
The ages ranged from juniors in college to incoming seniors in high school. About 52 total out of ~500 applicants, which is their largest applicant yield thus far. These people were wonderful and extremely incredible. A couple of the seniors who entered college this fall were accepted into Princeton, Yale, UNC Chapel Hill, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, and Cornell. There were about 5 incoming seniors, 5-10 incoming freshmen in college, and the rest were of various ages in college. Some were at UMaine, one at UChicago, one at Princeton, one at Amherst, one PLME at Brown, one at Duke ect. One guy took his MCAT over the summer in Maine and got I think a 39, which is insane. They were all very strong academically and passionate in their own fields. There were about five or six Asians, maybe 5-7 Hispanics, three African Americans, and the rest were white. I don't think there were any international students. Stats for the demographic background should be posted on the website soon, if it hasn't already.</p>

<p>I'm happy to talk about the essay, what I did over the summer, the rigor, where I'm applying, the people there in detail, my relationships within my lab, where I stayed, what my current stats are, ect. Anything you guys want to know, please let me be of service. This program is life-changing (which is honestly an understatement) and I'm still best friends with a lot of the people who went. I can't encourage you guys enough to apply.
Goodluck to all of you!</p>

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<p>Was there anyone who had to arrive later? I am a junior in high school right now, but my last day of school is June 20, whereas the program starts on the 8th.</p>

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<p>As far as I can remember, everyone arrived within the week of the suggested starting date. 99% of us arrived on the starting dates we picked (May or June). The research is so involving and of such heavy substance that they highly suggest you start as early as you can (aka the start date they provide).</p>

<p>If it’s of any consolation, I did the May start and left my high school a week early (that meant taking care of any exams early, although my school followed exemption for core classes if you meet certain academic requirements so it wasn’t hard to wrap up my school year). This was VERY against school policy, but I talked to my principal and got it approved. </p>

<p>I’d email JAX and let them know the situation and think about finishing up school a week early if you can, and then starting the program late, but a little less late than you would be if you waited till the 21st to go.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, to anyone who might have start date conflicts- get accepted first. They are more likely to work with you if you are an actual student. Don’t worry too much about being able to start until you get in. I personally wouldn’t even mention starting date problems until you are notified of an acceptance.</p>

4

<p>o.O It’s that time of year again. I applied to JAX last year (got turned down, went to City of Hope instead, which was awesome), and am applying again this year. In all honesty, any sort of high school research program (be it RSI, JAX, CoH, SIMR, Clark, or whatever) is bound to be life-changing, at the very least. Good luck to ye all!</p>

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<p>Agreed! Any great program will change your life! But not every research program is the same. I brag about JAX simply because there is nothing like it.
Like I said, my friend who is a JAX alum clearly stated JAX was “better” than RSI. Take it as you will, although RSI still has massive weight when it comes to college applications.</p>

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<p>This thread is so helpful… Thank you tawarren95!</p>

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<p>@tawarren95 Thank you SO much for this thread. Haha, I am also an African-American female with not the best test scores and little experience, so I hope that I can show my enthusiasm with my essays.</p>

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<p>Hi! Thanks for the great thread. My dd14 was going to apply last year but time got away from her and she missed the deadline. </p>

<p>Can you go into detail about the hours you spent in the lab? was it all day? What did you do on weekends… how was the food? what the housing like? what did you do in your downtime? How much did you bring for spending $$? Any details would be great! I appreciate your willingness to help out. </p>

<p>Also, are in the college application process? If you don’t mind me asking, which colleges are you applying to?</p>

<p>Do you feel that the program helped you mature? Help you become more confident? </p>

<p>Were there any cons to this program?</p>

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<p>Hi NewHavenCTmom, thanks for your questions! I appreciate it. </p>

<p>Hours spent in the lab: They expect a 40-hour week. I went from 8am to 5pm, sometimes more. Actually, a lot of the time, more. This is because of the level of research you are working with, as well as the high expectations for you to work hard. If you look at undergrad and grad students that work in laboratories full-time, they often go the extra mile and stay an hour or so later once or twice a week. Of course, around pressing times (such as finishing up a paper or pushing results) you’ll be in the lab later. </p>

<p>What did I do on weekends: This goes into the social aspect of this program. Sometimes I had weekends to myself to hang out with my friends, go into the lab, read up on my lit, go to the gym, or hang out in the beautiful town of Bar Harbor (which is just a bike ride away). It will be stressed that this is not a heavily structured program. The people who are accepted are treated like adults and if you want to go out and see a movie, you are able to do so. The level of safety in the town and the extremely close proximity of everything makes it possible for you to manage your freetime well. There are some structured days (such as the white water rafting trip and the annual hike) and there are some opportunities to go as one group (like if they use the activities fund to see the premiere of a new movie and buy tickets for everyone, or everyone wants to go to the fields to play soccer or the beach for frizbee). Discussing what I did for downtime is kind of difficult, simply because when the lab got busy, I was working on my science. However, I did have a lot of freetime to be social and read books, watch movies, or just hang out in someone’s room. I didn’t have to go out just to have fun, and if my friends and I wanted to go out, we could.</p>

<p>Food: The food is wonderful. There is a chef that stays in the mansion and prepares meals. If you have dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, allergies, ect), she will take care of it. There’s always a stocked fridge for packing your lunch, so it is possible to get away with not eating out the entire summer (although we often bought snacks or ice cream in town, and were allowed to eat out whenever we wanted, which was maybe every other week; the restaurants are great). Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all provided (although you pack your own lunch) and everyone eats together like a family. </p>

<p>Housing: You stay in a huge, beautiful mansion, as you probably already know. I was in a room with four other girls. Some people were in a room with two. There is plenty of room for everyone, the house is incredibly beautiful and over 100 years old, and I didn’t run into any problems with sharing bathrooms. If you arrive on time, you get to pick your bed, and I had an ocean view to wake up to every morning. </p>

<p>Money: It depends. Some people (such as myself) had a debit card, and when I needed a transfer to my checkings, I would contact my parents for it. I don’t think I’d need more than $100 for three weeks. It just depends on how often you run to the store for necessities, eat out, ect. It’s similar to budgeting for college, minus the enormous weight of having a car, paying for any meals (like I said, you eat what the chef prepares), and other large expenses. </p>

<p>Colleges I’m applying to: This kind of ties in with how the program helped me mature and become more confident. I had zero lab experience and came in with only the knowledge of AP Biology, so this program really challenged me. I learned a lot of laboratory techniques that would be too much of a cost or be too complex to learn in high school (PCR, cell culture, western blotting). What project you get and lab you’re in will determine what you learn, but I found that most people in wet lab learned many similar things. Obviously computational kids learned more programming than anything. Will it make you more mature? Definitely. Times a thousand. Can’t stress this enough. They require you to give talks on your project, which helps your presentation skills, and there is a final presentation. I had to learn discipline in terms of reading lit or going into the lab to work vs hanging out with friends, and I’ve never been more scientifically challenged. This is why I’d take the JAX program over any other program (including RSI). The quality of research is real, it’s important, it’s relevant to the lab, and it’s difficult. I’m definitely more confident in my reading comprehension, presentation skills, and on my college apps. I’m applying ED to Brown, EA to UChicago, Tulane (accepted with an academic scholarship), and Trinity University. For RD, I’ve finished my Georgetown application, Carnegie Mellon app, UT Austin app, and Boston College app. I still need to finish Tufts, UPenn, and some others. </p>

<p>Cons: With any program, there are cons. This program is not for the immature. There were times where my Principal Investigator (and other people’s) kicked us into shape by letting us know we needed to step up our performance. This was not because we weren’t performing, but because the expectations are high. This was not communicated to the people who are not used to working in the lab. These PIs are used to grad students who work hard, and I did not realize this until I felt it was late in the program (July). This is more advice than a con, but communicate effectively and talk with your mentor and PI often about how your performance is. Again, these labs are used to very hard-working students pursuing degrees in higher education. Chances are, if you’re under sophomore year in college, you will initially under-perform. This is typical with entering a new environment and getting adjusted, as well as trying to figure out what the heck your project is about and what you’re doing. This is not because you’re “lazy” but because you’re just not used to the expectations. I wish the communication on this had been better. The younger kids (sophomores in college and younger) are guided just as much as the older kids (sophomores in college and older, although no one’s in grad school) unless you ask for advice/help/ect.
And with college life, there are cons to the freedom you gain; the kids were pretty respectful of boundaries and all that, but you’ll have to learn to communicate with people what you want (are your roommates up late at night and disturbing your sleep? Did you bring your car and need gas money, but people are taking advantage? The usual social conflicts can arise, although it’s probably not as bad as a college campus). And with freedom comes the need for discipline to get to bed on time and get your work done on time. Even the most mature of us will have late nights due to fun.</p>

<p>Any more details: I’d like to stress that this program is free. They will give you a travel stipend, as well as a work stipend, so if you’re worried about money, this program will not add to that worry. You will need spending money, but meals are taken care of and you do not need a car (I promise). This is also what makes this program so incredible.</p>

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<p>NewHavenCTmom, thanks for your questions as I was wondering about the same things.
Tawarren95, thank you so much for the detailed explanations. I have one more question, can you tell us more about transportation? How did you get aroud? Did everyone bring a car?</p>

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<p>Transportation: They encourage you not to bring a car. To be honest, about five people out of ~50 brought their car, and it was useful when we wanted to go somewhere far away. In my group of friends, two people had their cars (one was from NJ, another from a part of Maine two hours away) and it was nice for when we all wanted to hang out in town or go a little further for a restaurant or other parts. The lab is exactly one mile from the mansion, so we all walked or biked there every day. It sounds terrible, but it’s honestly not at all. It took me less than 10 minutes every day to get there. Most people were between 8 and 15 minutes of travel time. No one drove to the lab unless it was raining, dark outside, or we were headed to the gym (which is in the lab). When we all wanted to go to the beach (which was like a 5 minute drive), we used the transportation vans. There were about 5 transportation vans that were used and driven ONLY by the RAs in order to get people to further away locations (at one point we went to a bonfire which was a 25 or so minute drive; the trip to get to Mt. Katahdin was about 2.5 hours). There are bikes provided at the mansion, but I went to the WalMart that’s 30 minutes away and bought one so that I could consistently use the same one every time.
So tl;dr you don’t need cars, although chances are a couple people will bring theirs for personal reasons and they will only supplement the experience. You’ll use a bike 85% of the time or walk, honestly. It was weird when they explained transportation to us, especially since a lot of us weren’t used to the small, idyllic town and most of us drove in our home cities/towns/whathaveyou, but we all did fine and no one ever used their cars when it wasn’t necessary. </p>

<p>Thanks for the questions and feedback, guys!</p>

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<p>@TA- Thanks so much for your detailed explanations! Did you apply to any other summer programs last summer?DD is applying to about 6 or so. Its so hard and theese programs are so competitive. Againl, thanks so much.</p>

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<p>One last question, was there AC? Or did you need to bring a fan?</p>

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<p>Hi CT! I applied to about six, including CoH and a couple in Texas. It’s definitely a good idea to apply to many. A lot of them are non-residential. There’s a couple of comprehensive threads on CC that list different summer programs, in case you’re looking for more.</p>

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<p>There’s AC! The house is modern and updated but still beautiful and classic. Don’t worry about housing, seriously!</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the info, this is on D’s radar for 2014 (she will only be 16 at the end of this summer though she is a soph now).</p>

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<p>Thank you for all the details, tawarren95. You have just made me fall in love with the program even more! This is definitely my first choice!</p>

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<p>Awesome, guys. Goodluck!</p>

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<p>Quick question: when the application asks for “the science and math courses you have taken over the past three years,” does that include the ones I am currently taking? Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>If it doesn’t ask for current course load, it’d be past classes. I’d email just to make sure, though.</p>