<p>donaldguy, congrats on the governer's school. and, as you realized with the people at MIT, you don't need to go to RSI to get into a top ranked school. </p>
<p>I too envy everyone at CPW right now. There are so many people that I want to see there. I chose to forego all the college preview weekends because a) april is definitely not the right month to be traveling around (ap tests are soon and i had bad teachers all year) and b) all those weekends are so contrived as to not quite give you the right taste of what the school is about, because they're meant to sell you like mad. c) frankly, i'm turning down all those schools that show up at the top of the USNEWS/WR rankings and going to either Michigan or Olin, because I intend to look behind the hype and they're programs (at least for what I'm looking at) are so attractive.</p>
<p>yup. i just totally gave a useless spiel. yay!</p>
<p>So....did any of you apply to the Clark Scholar Program too? I applied to both RSI and the Clark program, and when I only heard back from RSI, I figured that it would be RSI all the way. I just got a call back from the Clark program approx. three minutes ago saying that they've already set me up with two mentors! (I really wasn't expecting that as I had no idea I was accepted). I've already accepted RSI, obviously, and really want to see Boston and MIT in all its glory, but I just want to reaffirm that RSI really puts the "research" in RSI. RSI sounded crazy great to me even before I knew what MIT was (mostly because it was free and had "research" in the name), but I still have a queasy feeling that I might not really be able to get down and dirty with a project that I care about. Do we, as RSI-ers, have input concerning what we do for our research and start a project from scratch? Or do we just do whatever our mentor is currently doing/piggyback off research in progress (as I think that would really bother me)? I'm really distressed about this "how much independence do we get vs. other research opportunities" deal. Alumni?</p>
<p>I'm not really familiar with the Clark Scholars program but I was accepted to RSI 2007 also. I really think you should accept RSI's offer... it is definitely the most selective/prestigious science summer program in the world. I'm sure the research there is great. I mean, first you're with MIT/Harvard professors...top in the field. From what I understand, most mentors meet with you to develop your own project...though I'm sure this depends on the mentor.
Also, how bad can the research be if Rickoids one both the Grand Prize at Siemens and Intel STS?</p>
<p>No other program has the record of research success that RSI does...hope to see you in Boston this summer. Maybe alums could tell you more specifics.</p>
<p>No...I haven't heard about ISEF breakfast. Let me know if anyone hears anything. If not, we could always try and meet ourselves. I hope the breakfast isn't on Monday...I've got an AP Bio exam.</p>
<p>RSI is an opportunity not only for research, but also for meeting other people who may be leaders of our future. Research experience is something you can gain anywhere. You have the rest of your life to work on our own projects and make a contribution to society. However, this bringing together of some of the brightest young scientists is a rare opportunity. The people you meet at RSI are definitely one of the best parts of the program, if not the best.</p>
<p>As for the types of projects you get, it is largely dependent on your mentor. However, if you are interested in bio, it is difficult to get anything significant done in such a short period of time.</p>
<p>I think you're raising some legit concerns about research. Re: DDPSC, RSI <em>is</em> probably among the most prestigious high school programs in the world, but that doesn't automatically mean the research there is good. Having a mentor who is a harvard professor is not necessarily a good thing!! For one, would a Harvard professor and Nobel Laureate really want to deal with a high school kid fresh out of Ap Biology? Probably not. Lots of RSI kids are relegated to graduate students by their professors, from what I hear, even very qualified ones. A professor at a smaller college may not be AS cutting edge but might pay way more attention to your project. </p>
<p>Also, DDPSC, you mentioned that Rickoids are often Siemens winners, Intel finalists and Top tens, etc. Many kids who attend already have research projects or continue far after RSI ends. I read in a post somewhere that all but one of the Intel finalists last year used projects from outside RSI for the competition. I believe that Rickoids do well in research competitions because they're brilliant hard working people who would probably win such awards without RSI, not neccessarily because the research at RSI is amazing and the mentors are the most helpful or dedicated. </p>
<p>So anyway, I'm definitely not bashing RSI. I think it'll be an awesome camp and I'm so excited to go. Besides you should probably listen to an alum, not to me..</p>
<p>Hmm random thought -- it seems like proportion of people doing math research is inordinately high. Is this usually what happens? What are the ratios of people doing each science, normally? Categories: bio, chem, physics, math?</p>
<p>Questions: Are our parents required to volunteer/do something related to RSI or CEE/donate to RSI yearly? I really don't think my parents have the means to do any of those, unless volunteering is required or it would be something local that I could help out with. What do they use the student acedemic profile for, by they way? Didn't we cover all of that in our application essays?</p>
<p>I didn't see it as anything mandatory. They are a non profit, and they figure that parents of future Rickoids are more likely to show an interest. If my son decided to go to RSI, we will probably donate money for a couple of years.</p>
<p>no donations or volunteering is required, but it is absolutely loved and appreciated by everyone involved in the program. alumni participation is very major, because the bigger it is, the more likely our sponsors are to see rsi as a program worthy of continued funding. it is also alumni who basically run every session of rsi, from counseling, directing, to tutoring, TAing, and of course Nobodying.</p>