<p>I just got my rejection letter from RSI. (somewhat expected, but still disappointing nevertheless) I have, however, arranged to work with a professor at a local state school (Univ of North Texas Health Science Center, to be exact) and do independent research under his guidance. Would this help me at all? (Apart from the learning experiences and pure awesomeness of doing independent research, of course)</p>
<p>yes any research helps if it relates to your major</p>
<p>Yes, absolutely! My son was rejected from RSI a few years ago and as an alternative found a research opportunity with a local professor during the summer. That research opportunity was a fabulous experience which extended during the school year and the professor wrote a recommendation for him. When he applied to colleges, he was offered merit scholarships and 5 of the 6 schools that accepted him, including research scholarships at 2 of them. Don't despair over not being accepted into RSI. Sometimes when one door closes another even better door might open up for you.</p>
<p>thanks! that is really encouraging. i'll strongly consider that option.</p>
<p>Doing independent research is better IMO because it shows a long term committment & you can hopefully publish. Your mentor will give you special time and attention. Also participating locally is a good thing. Maybe the opportunity for a structured program will come along again for you.</p>
<p>lol i got rejected too...I had a 2400, science research, everything you can think of, except I was from california (so impossible to get into).
As an alternative, I've applied to some other summer research programs. I think independent research shows great committment.
Don't worry. RSI is an elitist program that favors overly-driven kids who've had opportunities...when we go to college, no one will care about RSI.</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement! And dashboard, I'm sorry you didn't get in either, but like you said, it shouldn't matter when we go to college. Good luck!</p>
<p>Yea I got rejected by RSI a few months ago too. I applied to a few back up summer programs and got in.</p>
<p>awesome! I’m not doing any summer programs, but I’m doing research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (yeah, I know I said UNT before, but there was a change of plans!) so hopefully all goes well :)</p>
<p>lol when I read this, I was like, why did you just get your rejection letter now? But I just realized that tomjonesistheman bumped this up.</p>
<p>I also got rejected from RSI lol, like the 2 people above me. I don’t know what I’ll be doing this summer—hopefully doing it at a university, but I still am not sure. I thought I was going to be doing a project like a month ago, but my professor now says hes busy.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of someone submitting a research project as a high school student without a professor?</p>
<p>It’s not unheard of. It’s obviously very difficult without a mentor, but it can be done. But of course it’s not recommended, especially if you don’t know much about your subject. Plus having a (good) mentor can be a confidence booster. But if you are unable to get a mentor, there’s no harm in trying it out on your own if you have a time 
Just make sure that, above all, you know what you’re doing and WHY.</p>
<p>I did research at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX (and was rejected by YESS, but I think RSI is much more competitive, from what I’ve read). Popular summer programs like MITES, YESS, or RSI aren’t really necessary if you can find other research opportunities and do well there (I’ll be published around August :D).</p>
<p>Nice job, and I think SSP should be mentioned as well, since although it’s not a research program, it’s very prestigious, and you can do an extended project off of the group project you do there.</p>
<p>RSI is MIT’s summer program program for high school students - very competitive.</p>
<p>MITES is an MIT summer program for under represented populations. </p>
<p>MIT has a summer program for women also, but it is very basic and not geared to students with research or CTY under their belts already.</p>