<p>Hey spyder: What do you think got you in?</p>
<p>"nope, rsi has a strict policy against individuality."</p>
<p>Could you elaborate? I don't exactly understand what you mean.</p>
<p>...to "elaborate," I'll stick in some LaTeX pseudocode:</p>
<p>\begin{sarcasm}
nope, rsi has a strict policy against individuality
\end{sarcasm}</p>
<p>Or perhaps the command would be something like \sarc{...}, like \emph. But you get the idea. Individual projects are good. As long as they're not things like the experimental determination of friction coefficients of college students (although being published in the Journal of Sketchy Physics might be a hook, y'never know. See the RSI bibliography style guide ^.^)</p>
<p>This year's application seems to have gotten rid of the student essay...darn...</p>
<p>What? I don't think so... The application hasn't even come out yet, and if they removed the essay there would be no application at all. Where did you get that from?</p>
<p>I got in because my response to question 2 was beyond stellar, and I had 2 previous summers of research experience.</p>
<p>My response to question 2 was good too, stellar recs, and siemens regional.</p>
<p>My local ISEF-qualifying fair is in March. Would it be worth mentioning that I'm working on a project even if I haven't entered it yet? Gah I regret not knowing about it last year.</p>
<p>awesome zogoto. You made it to regional's for siemens? I'm still nervous about semi-finalist, but I might have a shot. I'm looking at the PDF for semi-finalists from last year. For NC, it has 14 people, 11 from here(my school). That's like 1-2 teams from NC. There are 2 other teams from my school applying... and they did DUKE projects :(</p>
<p>If I don't make Semi's, would the project be worth mentioning?</p>
<p>Yeah...I would mention it....and email them afterwards if you win anything....</p>
<p>Ok.... but I would already know if I make semi's, since I find out oct 21st and the app is in January right?</p>
<p>Maybe sr6622 was answering my question... In that case, thanks, you made me remember that decisions don't come out until late March (right?)!$!@#!#</p>
<p>Oops! Sorry theoneo. I just realized that looking back on it.</p>
<p>The benefits of doing a project are more than just the awards. My Question #2 was all about the same topic my Siemens project was. After I did the project, I knew so much about coral bleaching I coulda written 10 pages of questions.</p>
<p>To reassure anyone who's concerned about needing "beyond stellar" questions for #2 (especially to "make up for" not having prior research experience or olympiad results): in my very limited personal experience, it's not actually necessary. Your questions don't have to be incredibly insightful or focus on research you've already done or even read about (not that that won't help). So if you're thinking "Hmm, I've never done any research before, and I've never done that well in contests, and I don't have any amazing ideas for the second essay," --- as Jenny [an RSI tutor and Bulgarian ping-pong champion, among other things] would say, don't worry!</p>
<p>...yeah, no one ever followed that particular piece of Jenny's advice at RSI, either. But it's extremely good advice in hindsight :)</p>
<p>I'm slowly realizing that everyone in my NW public high school is a tool. I'm taking honors classes to the max, but it still feels oppressive. There are lots of hard workers, but many more drunkards, and only few well-read, self-taught kids, but wildly ambitious clever kids? Not so much.</p>
<p>So anyway, here's a What Are My Chances:</p>
<p>White NW female
3.98 GPA (one A- in effing German)
All honors classes, but no test scores
Frosh - geometry, biology
Soph - adv. alg, chemistry
Junior - precalc/trigs/stats (together), physics (non-honors), chem2, bio2</p>
<p>Sophomore PSAT: 229 (73 reading, 76 math, 80 writing)
Science Olympiad nothing notable state-wise
Science tutor on TV show
Occasional volunteer at hospital</p>
<p>Currently about to start researching dental amalgam at local uni. Will be entered in JSHS and ISEF, but I doubt it will place.</p>
<p>Recs will be from bio teacher (same for frosh/junior year) and chem/phys teacher (not same as chem last year)</p>
<p>Science will be biology - epidemiology, pathology, or something along those lines (is that an OK topic? Or are most people chem/phys/math?)</p>
<p>Should I mention that I started in on epidemiology because of CTY history of disease class in 2003? Or is that so far back as to not really matter?</p>
<p>My school doesnt do AIME or IBO or any of those other acronyms I've seen tossed around.</p>
<p>Is a disgustingly science-d schedule enough of a sign of dedication over my recommender's knowledge of independent study? Cuz I haven't really done anything outside of class except what is listed.</p>
<p>I feel like so many kids know all this extra stuff about math, theorems and what-not. I wish I was in calculus. And I wish I knew more about computer science. I feel like I should self-study, but instead I waste my time on collegeconfidential but then again thats how I found out about RSI in the first place!</p>
<p>Is geography an advantage at all? As in, not from Cali or east coast? How many girls have been there in recent years?</p>
<p>Should I send my 1st semester grades in late February, after app is turned in? Or quarter grades w/ transcript with original application?</p>
<p>I want to get in so badly. RSI represents an older version of CTY...because even in honors classes, you still find kids doing it cuz their parents make them...RSI= intellectual community of doom.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Science will be biology - epidemiology, pathology, or something along those lines (is that an OK topic? Or are most people chem/phys/math?)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>There are a lot of bio-ish people, but don't worry about what topics are "OK" - choose topics you're honestly interested in, and hope the RSI mentor-matching fairy (aka Jenny) will be able to find a related project for you. One guy actually managed to get a science writing mentorship this year - there's a good deal of variety.</p>
<p>Hmmm i think that RSI is much more than just an older version of CTY, much much more.</p>
<p>Yep... lots of people do bio. (and yes, bio is better than math). Write about whatever you are interested in. Jenny has amazing magical abilities to pair people up amazing mentors in the interested field of study.</p>
<p>Don't worry that you don't have AIME or IBO.. I didn't either.</p>
<p>Does the field you declare on your application affect your chances of admission? I know I shouldn't chance my interests just to get in or anything, but I'm pretty flexible between biology and chemistry especially. Also, are the only primary fields they're interested in biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and computer science? What about stuff like environmental science, earth science, zoology, etc. Would they just fall into the "biology" umbrella?</p>