<p>LOL, you got me worried for a moment. Then I realized that RSI was the one summer program that I included the official transcript for. I actually went to my guidance counselor and begged for a sealed official transcript to mail in the same package as the rest of my application. I never knew it was so hard to stick one giant envelope into another. Though I never updated RSI on my midyear grades, which were definately on the good side, but I doubt that even matters to RSI where everyone gets straight A+s. </p>
<p>I also doubt that RSI would spend time to call everyone asking for the transcript... I assume that most people sent an official transcript anyways.. even if it arrived slightly later than the rest of the application, and the people in the office are smart enough to put 2 and 2 together.</p>
<p>But now the whole privatecitizen thing is really scaring me :P</p>
<p>i had one of those lickit envelopes and i had to reopen it so i used a gluestick... it looked like it had been tampered with tons. my transcript was unofficial, though (school is DEADSET on only sending colleges transcripts =/)... so i'm taking the absence of a call as a denial =D</p>
<p>maybe-cliff is probably plotting revenge against us now =(... when you think about it, revealing privatecitizen (if we did) was a bad idea. answering questions anonymously for us, easing our doubts was a really good idea through an online forum... if he stops answering questions then that sucks for everyone. sorry guys</p>
<p>No! Mr. Bowman, don't plot revenge on us!! I beg of you! </p>
<p>@ everyone worried- I doubt that transcript problems would be reason for rejection. And even if it were, there's little you can do now. Look to the future. :)</p>
<p>My cash-strapped school won't send official transcripts either, adamantly maintaining that they're too expensive to put together for anyone other than seniors. I did try to explain that in the application..... Hm, well, it's good to know my school isn't the only one like that.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you have research opportunities available locally, don't count them out if you don't make it to RSI. It all works out for a reason -- so don't despair!</p>
<p>Thirty-six of the 40 Intel finlists this year were <em>not</em> RSI alums. That means there is plenty of opportunity out there for folks who are willing to work at their dreams.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Exactly! It's great to go to a program like RSI, but there are plenty of other ways to get to where you want to be. </p>
<p>How many STS (Intel) winners have gone on to win the Nobel prize? =)</p>
<p>
[quote]
But now the whole privatecitizen thing is really scaring me
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Sorry! =(</p>
<p>I do know most of the RSI staff from the past few years and a few of the CEE folks (the intersection of these sets is small). A friend of mine read folders a couple of years ago and was asked at the last minute to read again this year. These connections give me a little inside info that I hoped would be helpful.</p>
<p>As an aside on the creeped-out thing: there is no privacy on the internet. Google has netnews posts archived back to 1981. Prospective employers routinely look at Facebook and MySpace. I've had people dig up old photographs of me from my brief stint in the military (to rebut my position against the Iraq war). So just be prepared to take responsibility for anything you post, anywhere on the 'net.</p>
<p>I asked privatecitizen through a private message about when the application would come, and I got a very nice answer.</p>
<p>"Hi,</p>
<p>If they're not done yet, then they're really close. I spoke to a reader on Friday and she was re-reading a couple of files. She said she thought the letters might go out by mid-week.</p>
<p>Good luck!"</p>
<p>Whether privatecitizen is an RSI adcom member or not, he is very helpful :)</p>
<p>
[Quote]
A friend of mine read folders a couple of years ago and was asked at the last minute to read again this year.
[/Quote]
</p>
<p>Just curious, you mentioned there are five readers, I have a few questions for Privatecitizen:
1) Do the readers make the final decisions?
2) What is the male/female ratio of this year’s readers?
3) How many files make to the readers this year and why?
4) What are the selection criteria prior to sending the files to the readers?
5) Are file readers RSI alumni?
6) What are the readers’ credentials? </p>
<p>Why don't you send these questions to CEE? I am sure they would share this information with you. If you are involved in school journalism, this would make an excellent article for your school newspaper.</p>
<p>I have a question. If the readers are professors, etc, while reading over student achievements, do they know the difficulty/caliber of awards such as qualifying for olympiads, getting Siemens, etc?</p>
<p>For example, if a student got 16 on the USAMO, would the reader understand the depth of that achievement?</p>
<p>Yeah, I have a feeling that there are alums on the adcom board who've participated in many of those events / olympiads, so they'd definitely know the caliber of such achievements.</p>
<p>Best way to get into RSI: dig up evidence to incriminate someone as secretly being the RSI director.</p>
<p>Case 1: you're wrong.
Case 2: you're right. You just made accusatory posts against the RSI director.</p>
<p>On another note, RSI has always been a meritocracy. The responsibility of diversity does not fall to RSI but to the schools that nurture these children. 6 weeks is not enough to bring students from a failing education system up to date; RSI is simply meant to give students an opportunity to do real research. On the other hand, the secondary school systems should provide more of an equal opportunity. Once that happens, maybe the acceptance pool of RSI will even out a little.</p>
<p>And of course, don't stalk past rickoids on their own photoserver. They read collegeconfidential too. They just might find you creepy. Personally though, I thought the RSI girls were pretty hot.</p>
<p>
[quote]
As a student, I assumed that grades were a fairly scientific affair. You know: you answer 85% correct on an exam and you get some pre-determined grade for it. As a graduate student and later as a teacher, I began to realize just how imprecise grades are... Unless he/she is a completely heartless automaton, it's worth making some kind of human contact with your prof or TA. I'm not saying that he/she will or should give you an unfair advantage, but when it comes time to drawing the line between one grade and another on an exam that turned out harder than intended, it may make a difference. This is especially true when you're clearly putting in the effort, asking good questions, and working towards a laudable goal (like mastering the fundamentals for later coursework).
<p>
[quote]
Best way to get into RSI: dig up evidence to incriminate someone as secretly being the RSI director.
Case 1: you're wrong.
Case 2: you're right. You just made accusatory posts against the RSI director
[/quote]
</p>
<p>filletwho: yeah, it probably isn't smart to incriminate someone on college confidential. but it's pretty interesting that it may be true.</p>