<p>ya, i'm white too and i got in (but i'm female)... at our site there were 2 white males, 3 indian males, 3 white females, and the rest were considered minorities (even though i think females are underrepresented as well). Granted the non-minority males did have much higher test scores than the rest of us and were super smart, so i donno. </p>
<p>But, like airforce1 said, it's for groups that are underrepresented in the STEM+G fields, not underpriveleged groups, there's a difference (in fact, i could hardly count anyone who was at my site as underpriveleged, lol)...</p>
<p>Have any of you attached test scores to your apps, even if the prog doesn't specifically ask for them? I got 800 Math IIC and 76 Math on PSAT so they can only help me - but they might be less willing to handle an app with more than what's necessary (and besides, this program may have a bias agaisnt test scores, which tend to benefit Asian and white males).</p>
<p>Can anyone send me a copy of the application in PDF form?? My internet has for some reason stopped letting me go to most sites. Miraculously and fortunately this one worked. Could anyone email the application to <a href="mailto:vinayakmuralidhar@yahoo.com">vinayakmuralidhar@yahoo.com</a>, or even better, tell me what is wrong with my computer? Thanks!</p>
<p>Asian male sophomore residing overseas in int'l school (US citizen, but am I still eligible even if I live overseas?)
3.95 UW GPA, sophomore, no rank, but top 3 in class of 60
206 PSAT (80W,66R,60W)
116 2004AMC10B
Finished Hnrs Alg I, Hnrs Geo, Hnrs Alg II (all A+), waived Hnrs Precal, taking AP Calc BC now.
Finished Hnrs Biology (A+), taking Hnrs Chem, Hnrs Physics now.
Awards/recognition: high honors student, australian mathematics competition certificate of honor (2003).
EC's: President of chess club, 2 year math club member, sophomore class VP, student council sophomore representative, model united nations, student tutor, volunteer at taiwan national science museum, 2004 mathcamp.
Computer/Technical Skills: Proficient in MSword, quark, excel, ms access, msie, netscape, firefox, powerpoint, html, photoshop, fireworks, and flash. Some java, some dhtml and css.</p>
<p>I have a quick question: for those who get accepted, what do you actually DO there? Will topics be assigned or chosen by the individual?</p>
<p>i say you have an EXCELLENT shot, oasis, are you applying for residential or commuter (or both)?</p>
<p>And, as for what you do there, you will be given a mentor (who is usually a researcher or professor at the university to which you are assigned), and they will have a research project set up for you. Basically, every day you go to your research site and work on your research project. Plus, they do a lot of other activities as well (both academic and social).</p>
<p>229 PSAT (80M 73CR 76W)
AMC 12B 2004: 105.5
AIME 2004: 2
Siemens Westinghouse Western Regional Finalist
AP Chem/Phys right now, AP Calc BC last year (5 on exam)
Took MAT 300 (Math. Structures) last semester and got an A+ at the local university
Currently enrolled in Number Theory (MAT 445) at local university</p>
<p>Those are the big things. What kind of shot do I have? I'm residential btw.</p>
<p>Siemens Westinghouse Western Regional Finalist</p>
<p>That..alone... puts you above virtually everyone.</p>
<p>I really think I should just put off my application... I have so many A-'s, including ones in math/science, only 213 PSAT (76 math), 800 Math IIC, only one math award (because USAMO qualifier was on my team), participation in DuPont Challenge, taking IB calc, and the possibility that one of my teachers may mention my predisposability to temper tantrums when quite upset. That, and the fact htta I'm Asian male...</p>
<p>zogoto - yes, you have a really good shot... I know one person who took his NASA Sharp research project to Siemens and became a regional finalist, so if you can do it on your own, that's incredible. Also, your course list is incredible!! I think at the time, all I had was AP English and Environmental Science (plus honors alg. II/pre-calc).... what's your minority status/sex?</p>
<p>RSI is DEFINITELY more competitive than Sharp, and they do not favor underrepresented groups and minorities, everyone has an equal shot. Also, RSI is based a lot more on test scores, gpa, class rank, etc. while nasa isn't concerned w/that so much. As far as experience, I'm not totally sure, because I don't know anyone that's done RSI; all i know is RSI doesn't pay you, but nasa does (and someone said that the pay is crappy, but it's NOT!! yes, you get paid minimum wage, but they pay you for 40 hours a week. I know at my worksite, I only worked about 30 hours a week because of the activities that we do).</p>
<p>simfish - don't give up hope!!!! honestly, you have much better scores than i did at the time (182 on PSAT, 1250 SAT) and your ec's look really good. My only strong point was doing a marketing/environmental science project that won an award at a deca competition... otherwise, i think my class rank helped me out (1/550 AT THE TIME, lol). You sound really interested, so you should give it a shot--perhaps you could give the recommendation to a different teacher?? One that will NOT mention your little temper tantrums?</p>
<p>thanks for boosting my hope! i thought as a asian male, it'd be ultra hard for me to get in, but hopefully it'll be like you said...
sounds SO enticing!
Btw, what are all your plans for the summer if you don't get in?</p>
<p>Will the SHARP adcoms mind if I send 4 recs instead of 2, one of which is from a professor?? I know the RSI people are very lenient, but is SHARP the same?? Thanks!</p>
<p>Aren't there extra slots for 2 extra recommendations other than the ones requested from the math and science teachers? Since there are two other teachers who could write me recommendations - my C++ teacher amd my science team teacher. Also - what exactly should you tell these teachers should you tell them that they should write a full page letter ? - Does the form asks for written recommendations from the other two?</p>
<p>I highly discourage sending in extra stuff. I remember when the MTSI representatives (the people who read the apps and select who gets in) visited us during the summer. We had a discussion about admission factors. One of the things they stressed was the 300 word essay, and how it was very important for us to express ourselves WHILE sticking to the word limit - It seemed as if they really didn't like extra stuff. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>Good luck guys, definitely go if you get in, to call it an amazing experience is an understatement.</p>
<p>How much does NASA Sharp weigh GPA? I think my past grades were good, but I totally... ughed this semester. I'm trying really hard now to maintain straight A's and I want to mail in my next progress report but it's in 6 weeks and I don't know when they check the applications/send out replies so I'm not sure if it'll be in time. </p>
<p>My PSAT score will be in transcript (and I should be able to make semi with that score) but I'm afraid that instead of balancing out the grades, it'll have an adverse affect cuz the reps might look at the score and just think I don't try hard enough school-wise. ARGH! Not sure if my ramblings even make sense but I'm really worried...</p>
<p>Okay... I did Commuter SHARP at GISS in NYC last year</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You earn more doing commuter- 8.10 an hour compared to 5.15</p></li>
<li><p>Residential and commuter components are judged seperately. your status as a residential applicant will not affect your status as a commuter applicant. I applied to both, got into commuter, and was an alternate for residential</p></li>
<li><p>Since I was commuting, I had the freedom to leave early, take days off, and have a normal life while participating in this amazing program. I had to leave super-early every Friday because I was fighting against a tide of people spending the weekend at the Jersey Shore</p></li>
<li><p>What set my application apart were all the awards I have from regional science fairs, symposiums I've presented at, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>I had a 1.5 hour commute every day to and from NYC on the train. I hated the commute. And I worked at NJIT in Newark, which was a dump. But enrichment activities in NYC were great</p></li>
<li><p>I am a white female. There were probably 4 or 5 white girls, 4 white guys, two Asian guys, a handful of Indians, and the rest were a mix of Hispanic and African American</p></li>
<li><p>For residential, you don't get to pick your university. They place you based on your interests which I was asked about explicitly during my interview</p></li>
<li><p>I worked with a foreign grad student nick-named Achoo helping him write his PhD paper for his thesis about supercritical fluid synthesis. I had 7 hours of down-time a day (luckily I had my own office and an Internet connection) if I was lucky.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If anyone has any questions, my AIM is teddyrbear. I had a great time doing the program, but I can't participate this year because I would have to miss about two weeks due to Cornell starting early this year.</p>