<p>Hi @TheDeepMagic! This might actually be the first year RSI has sent out emails, so it’s hard to say. I don’t know if anyone on this thread is qualified to tell you whether your PSAT score will qualify for National Merit, but given that you received the email, you certainly have a good chance!</p>
<p>Also, regarding whether you “have a chance”, your lack of summer program experience certainly does not disqualify you from having a chance at any of these programs.</p>
<p>The first round of TASP does not look at stats at all, so certainly you have a chance regardless of what your background is, given that you can think deeply and make cogent arguments in your essays (The TASP thread would probably be more useful for this; I applied last year and didn’t get in).</p>
<p>RSI is sort of the opposite–it relies on your background and stats to determine whether you are capable of thinking critically in a scientific context. The essays (and recommendations) seem to be more important in highlighting your enthusiasm and communication skills (at least this is what they did for me).</p>
<p>As mentioned several times in this thread, Rickoids have a diverse range of qualifications. Almost everyone, however, is earnest, eloquent, and motivated.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if that helps, but good luck!</p>
<p>(Addendum: When deciding where to apply, make sure to not base your decision solely on prestige! It always worries me when I see people throwing down names of “prestigious” summer programs as though they are all the same.)</p>
<p>@CollegeFetus
whole milk, preferably of the “hood” brand!!! i’ve heard those “neuro” drinks help a lot too!!!</p>
<p>Is it safe to assume the “1-2 page listing of awards and accomplishments” is not part of the three pages (although they did say Q3-9 should be max 3 pages, it seems essentially impossible to write the rest of the app in 1-2 pages…).</p>
<p>I’m also stumped on what to write for awards. I got the rest of the application down, I think, as best as possible, but not the awards. So I’ve been in Science Olympiad for six years, and have accumulated many medals in regional tournaments since then but I read that RSI only cares about individual achievements unless its like an US Olympiad (chemistry, physics, etc.). I also got an Exemplary Interest in Science award, but I’m not sure what I can write about. Should I talk about science Olympiad, and school awards like honor roll? I am nowhere near the 1-2 page mark!</p>
<p>gsjbjt: It might be a good idea to contact CEE and make sure the 1-2 pages is not part of the 3 pages. I recall that last year we had 3 pages for the essays (Q3-8) and attached the resume somewhere else (not sure if we even had to include it, actually), so it’s likely that the 3 pages does not include Q9.</p>
<p>spacelover: Write about the awards you have! There is no other choice. No one knows exactly what the selection committee is looking for, but it’s doubtful that “RSI only cares about individual achievements”–as long as you can convincingly express that your achievements (and what you have learned in the process of attaining them) demonstrate that you are passionate and capable. Besides, research itself is a team effort, and already having experience beyond individual work certainly helps. </p>
<p>BurnOut: Please don’t assume that. Obviously, science/math achievements are important. But if you have achievements in other fields that highlight other aspects of your capability, it would only hurt you to not include those. The question doesn’t specify–use that freedom to include all the awards/accomplishments that best represent you.</p>
<p>When we send our transcript as part of our application to RSI, should the transcript include the first semester of this year, or must it only include our grades for the past two years? Also, should we send it ourselves to RSI, or should the school send it directly?</p>
<p>Including only the past two years should be fine; my first semester was not yet over when I sent mine in last year, so I included just freshman and sophomore years, but if your first semester grades are available and are good, by all means send them. I believe I both had the school send it directly and sent it myself, but if you were to choose just one, sending it yourself with the rest of your app would probably be a better idea.</p>
<p>I have a slightly stupid question, but it’d be great if someone could confirm this for me: is Q9 (list of awards and stuff) just that–a list? Or does it have to be somehow incorporated into a fancy something?</p>
<p>Do you know how many people from Louisiana?</p>
<p>I hope some of you alum could read this…
I am planning to apply but I’m extremely confused as to what fields I should choose.
I love biology quite a bit (although I was forced to take regulars biology freshman year ), so I was thinking of using biology as my second field.</p>
<p>My real love is computer science. I’ve been programming since the seventh grade, and I know many of the languages on the application. One of my school’s alumni works for Microsoft now, so we are always talking about CS and how I can keep challenging myself. For the most part, I’ve been working on web design, but I have managed to get a bit of other CS work done as well. Currently, I have an internship that involves CS as well. I plan on explaining all of this on the app. But how do I indicate CS on my research field choice? I am worried that because I’ve worked a lot with web design, I won’t seem as qualified as someone who works solely with computers. I also don’t know what kind of CS work RSI deals with. Robotics? Parallelization? The field is too vast!</p>
<p>Also, I’m not sure if I’m doing this whole teacher rec thing properly… I asked my math teacher from last year to write one and I know she’ll do an amazing job. My awesome chemistry teacher left and so I cannot get him to write me one (no contact info on him whatsoever - not even the school has anything). My replacement is my current math teacher, who helped someone else get into MITES. Because I’ve only had her for a semester, however, I’m afraid she might not do as amazing of a job as she did for the MITES student. As a result, I asked my Bioethics teacher from last year to write me a letter. I am VP of the botany club at our school, and she runs it, but I’m afraid again that since I only had her for a semester, she may not know me well enough either.</p>
<p>I am really limited as to whom I can ask rec letters from because I just transferred to my new school last year…Do you guys have any advice?</p>
<p>I am overflowing with questions, so I definitely would appreciate your help!</p>
<p>Hey guys, thanks for your help with my questions about awards! Does anybody know if the awards are part of the three pages or separate? I’d email Maite, but I emailed her about something previously and she has yet to reply. Thanks!</p>
<p>Hi all, I’m planning on getting a rec from a college teacher (PSEO Math), but they have a strict policy and will only mail directly to the university/program that one applies. Is this OK? I feel like the letter might become disorganized from the other part of the application.</p>
<p>@FierceTiger: One person from Louisiana attended RSI 2012 and one person from Louisiana attended RSI 2013. There’s no guarantee that the number of attendees from Louisiana will be the same this year. Regarding choice of research field, you should write about whatever you are most interested in and are able to write about most cogently/passionately. You can write about pretty much anything; there’s no need to tailor it to what types of computer science projects RSI students did in previous years. If you are selected to attend RSI, there’s no guarantee that your project will line up perfectly with your stated interests, but RSI generally does a very good job of matching students with mentors. As for recommendations, I can’t give specific advice because I don’t know the details of your relationships with the teachers, but in general I would advise choosing whomever you believe will write the most superlatively positive things about you, regardless of how many semesters you were in their class.</p>
<p>@spacelover17: I don’t know, sorry.</p>
<p>@throws: I believe it is fine. If you would like a more definitive answer, send an email to Ms. Maite Ballestero, CEE’s Vice President of Programs. (But don’t flood her with emails unless it’s absolutely necessary – she is probably swamped as it is.)</p>
<p>Do the RSI people try to even out the number of states represented at RSI? Also LuoSciOly, I was wondering, have there been any kids from Alabama represented at RSI?</p>
), so I was thinking of using biology as my second field.</p>