<p>Do any of you guys do things other than math/science?
and is anyone here from NC?</p>
<p>My answer for question 7, “Briefly describe any past experience with computer programming, modeling, and data analysis” is only a couple sentences…it’s pretty short, especially compared to the other answers. </p>
<p>Is this the case for anyone else?</p>
<p>yeah mines about the same for question 7.</p>
<p>does anyone wanna chance me by the way? heres my stats</p>
<p>PSAT: 230 (80R, 80M, 70W)
SAT: haven’t taken
APs: 5 on Physics B, Chem, Stat and Calc BC, taking micro, macro, physics c mechanics, physics C e&m, and english lang this year
Class Rank: 1st
Science classes: AP Physics B, Honors Chem, AP Chem, Honors Bio, AP Physics C
Math classes: Pre-AP Calc, AP Calc BC, Multivariable Calc, Linear Algebra</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Went to the Chemistry Olympiad camp last summer in colorado
Did a six week internship at a biomedical company where I did mainly PCR
Did science league my freshman and sophomore years, got top 10% in the state last year
AIME qualifier
4th place in Princeton University Math Competition overall in Division B last year
On the Science Olympiad Team this year
I do Columbia Science Honors Program
I was part of the 4th place team in Division B in ARML last year
I’m a co-president for our school’s math honor society
I’m a member of our school’s science honor society
I participated in this competition, Chemistry Olympics last year where I had to build a water gun and maximize its range
I got an A in Organic Chem I at Rutgers this past fall semester, and I’m taking Organic Chem II this semester</p>
<p>Non-science ECs:
I’m an officer in Junior Statesmen of America which focuses a lot on debating
I’ve volunteered like 150 hours at our local hospital
I’ve volunteered 200 hours at our local senior center
I’ve played piano for like 10 years, and i’ve won a couple competitions and I played at Carnegie Hall last year
I also learned Indian classical singing for the last 10 years and i’ve performed in some shows in the tristate area to raise money for my local temple</p>
<p>Thanks guys!</p>
<p>^nob’dy knows senor.</p>
<p>you’ve got just as good a chance as everyone else applying, and I doubt our inexperienced chances are really going to help you at all.</p>
<p>check post #22 if you need more assurance of your chances.</p>
<p>@utsama it is people like you who make me wonder why I’m even bothering to try. You have as good a chance as anybody from what I can tell, but I agree with nith. None of us know enough to be of much help, and even the people who have done the program before don’t fully understand the admissions criteria.</p>
<p>@ enigma </p>
<p>haha, i wish they don’t care about test scores, but I think they do… just to screen out some ppl (I hope I don’t get cut this way… lol)</p>
<p>anyways, I asked them and they said I could superscore. I don’t think it’s going to help me, esp since I’m superscoring my sophomore math score. lol sighhh. </p>
<p>whatever. </p>
<p>still didnt start on my essays. zomg.</p>
<p>anyways, sigh, post #183 is depressing. My science ECs fill up like…2 lines. Maybe 3 at most if I get something at USABO this year. D=</p>
<p>@utsama: if you made usnco camp, then you’ve got a “good” shot, whatever that means in context.</p>
<p>How many people here/on average want to do neuroscience research? I don’t know if I’m correct, but it looks like brain/nervous system related stuff is really popular.</p>
<p>Also, can you update them with new awards/SAT 2 scores/accomplishments after your app. is in? Like potentenum, I am also hoping to get something this year at USABO, but the test is in Feb (wayyy past RSI deadline).</p>
<p>Anyone else applying with math as their first choice field?</p>
<p>for #7 i have a full paragraph, since ive taken numerous college courses on programming :P</p>
<p>-Enigma-: Are you doing CS as your field?</p>
<p>surprisingly, no. im all out engineering. but i think they ask #7 because often for biology or mathematical projects or whatever you need some background in CS to make the computation of data/matlab use easier. thats what i read from someone who attended.</p>
<p>Well, I suppose that that’s probably a positive for me :P</p>
<p>i also personally think at a certain point, test scores dont matter. for example if you have bad test scores all across the board of course that will hurt you. but i have a friend who applied last year with a 240, a 2400, two 800s on subject tests, and three 5’s on APs and he got rejected. he even expected to be. why? because he had no research. its Research Science Institute, not TestScores Science Institute.</p>
<p>that is just my take on it. my word is not god, and i have not been accepted. however, when i called the lady just to ask something about a rec, she somehow came onto the subject of test scores and went on a 10 minute rant about everything i said above. so i do believe its true.</p>
<p>what are potential ideas in neuroscience? I was going to do this initially, but decided against it</p>
<p>Also, for anyone doing environmental science-what are subfields of this, or is env science a subfield of something else</p>
<p>And, I guess I was thinking about the most important aspects of our application, so I came up with a short list-what do you guys think</p>
<ol>
<li><p>EC activities-includes past research and competitions and all the awards that go along with it
I also think essays is number one, and goes along with it, since you talk about EC in your essays</p></li>
<li><p>Teacher Recs</p></li>
<li><p>Test scores</p></li>
</ol>
<p>what do you guys think</p>
<p>I wouldn’t have accepted him either. Where’s his 36 on the ACT? Where’s the third subject test?</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>lol testscores science institute</p>
<p>your funny enigma</p>
<p>what else did that lady say</p>
<p>and also, does a teacher have to sign the sealed envelope or anything</p>
<p>just so i can give my 5 cents</p>
<p>yea, i think grades and test scores just verify your not stupid and that you are capable of learning tough materials</p>
<p>haha that kid went on to get 7 more 5s on his APs and a couple more 800s (he never missed a college board point) and now he got accepted early into yale. So it just goes to show that RSI just looks to make sure ur test scores arent crap, and otherwise its probably all about research/essays.</p>
<p>make sure the teacher signs the sealed envelope. that’s usually standard recommendation etiquette.</p>
<p>So you’re saying he sucked at the ACT? </p>
<p>OK, I’ll shut up now (:</p>