Rsi 2007

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

<p>Okay, I couldn't find an RSI 2007 thread, and since there are already separate thread popping up...I thought I might as well start this...btw, last year's came out in September...</p>

<p>First off...is there any way I can get this year's application? Their site only has last year's on it. </p>

<p>Alright, I give, I started this to get a relative idea of where i stand. So here's what I have...</p>

<p>PSAT: Taking it this Saturday...I was just about to do a practice test when my obsessive tendencies took over and I logged on to collegeconfidential to talk about RSI. Last year, I got 216, which I guess is on the low end of those applying to RSI. Maybe I'll stand a better chance if I can pull that above 220. And btw, does anyone know how much the PSAT actually factors in? I don't have an SAT or ACT score yet, so it'll be the only standardized test score I'm sending in. Dangit, I should write less junk.</p>

<p>SAT II: Math II 800, US History 790</p>

<p>GPA is 4.0 unweighted (school doesn't weight). I hope it stays that way...</p>

<p>Taking 4 AP's this year: Statistics, Physics C, World History, and English Literature.
Took 3 AP's last year: Calc BC, Chemistry, and American History...all 5's.
I think it'll hurt that I'm not taking Bio AP...since I was actually thinking of doing Bio...owell, I was always more passionate about math anyways.</p>

<p>I'm not sure who I'll get teacher recs from. I hear my chemistry teacher from last year is an amazing rec writer...I had skipped a grade level in chemistry, and I did really well in class. He also chose me to participate in the regional USNCO tryouts (I had to be a school alternate since the other people were juniors and seniors...seniority...owell, i did poorly anyways...). Probably one from my calc teacher...also an amazing rec writer. Those are the two teachers who I know best too...Oh, that's right...question: can we get recs from people besides high school teachers? My middle school math coach knows me pretty well since I used to spend everyday in her house afterschool doing math problems. And I've known my research professor for 2 years...</p>

<p>Well, I'm very interested in (obsessed with) math...here's what I have to show for it:
USAMO 2006...must've spent 5 hours a day for 2 months just so I could qualify...
6th Place in grade level across North America in Kumon Math Challenge
2nd Place Kettering Math Olympiad
Math Field Day 2nd place in individual event + Team Grand Champion
USAMTS Silver
MMPC Bronze</p>

<p>Here're some other awards/competitions:
Future Problem Solvers State Champions...went to internationals
Physics Bowl Division I 1st place team
AP Scholar</p>

<p>Haha, I was actually hoping I would have a larger list...this looks sorta pathetic to some posts i've seen on collegeconfidential...owell...</p>

<p>Clubs/Sports: FPS, ClubMed, Physics, Math, Track, and Cross Country</p>

<p>Leadership things: Chairperson of ClubMed, Secretary of Physics Club, Captain of Detroit NOML team, Team Leader of Siemens Competition group...dang that's probably it.</p>

<p>Volunteer: did plenty through ClubMed (biggest thing here is probably starting and heading a lecture group that presents at local middle school), volunteered at local library 20 hours, volunteered at middle school math club 50 hours</p>

<p>I also did a mathematical research project with a professor...came up with 2 new theorems...getting them published in a mathematical journal. Not sure if this'll help or hurt...</p>

<p>Anyways...this post is pretty long...I hope there isn't going to be anything like "this post contains too many words..."</p>

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<p>I think you have a really good chance :) Your PSAT is nice, esp if you can get it over 220, and your extracurriculars are realllly nice, and your APs are nice; I don't think it will hurt not having AP bio at all. (I still haven't taken it, tho I wanted to :P).</p>

<p>For my recommendations I used a college math prof, my high school physics teacher, and a summer program math teacher, if I remember correctly. A recommendation from someone you have been doing research with is great, and it sounds like your math middle school teacher would give you a nice recommendation.</p>

<p>Hehe, and getting research published in a mathematical journal won't hurt you ;)</p>

<p>I think you have a nice chance :)</p>

3

<p>I think the application will be up in late November or December.</p>

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<p>i got an app in the mail. im not sure if i should apply though, since i probably wont get in. anyone applying?</p>

5

<p>there was another rsi thread. i found one post that seemed rather helpful:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>

<p>from T_KO
How to get into RSI... </p>

<hr>

<p>I guess this post is a little late, granted that RSI probably already started or is about to start. I hope it's not too off the mark, but I think it's worth saying. Hope it'll be useful for those '07 hopefuls. If an 07 thread gets formed maybe someone might be cordial enough to copy this over to that. But anyways...</p>

<p>RSI isn't the standard college admissions. It isn't about how good your grades are or how many clubs you look like you're in or how smart a standardize test makes you out to be. It's about your creativity, it's about leadership, it's about taking initiative and being on your way to becoming a pioneer in science. It's called Research Science Institute for a reason.</p>

<p>I'm Tiffany Ko, I got accepted into RSI '05, was told I was one of the top 5 apps that year, but was not allowed to attend on the basis that I was graduating early and attending Princeton in the fall instead of going on and completing a senior year.</p>

<p>First things first, I wasn't the valedictorian. I had less than perfect grades, good, but not perfect. Around a 3.9 unweighted. Ranked 7th in the class. I never ever scored that perfect 800 on SAT math, stupid, but I just kept making stupid mistakes. The highest I ever hit composite on the SAT was a 1520. Decent, but nowhere near perfect.</p>

<p>The two things that will get you into RSI: research, math.</p>

<p>Do well in one or both and you have your ticket in because having an aptitude in either shows that you have what it takes to be something great in science. Remember, doing well entails being strong as an individual. It doesn't include going with your Science Olympiad team to nationals. YOU have to show your own individual abilities. That means doing strong on the AMCs, that means presenting individual research at Intel ISEF, or JSHS.</p>

<p>Personally, looking back at high school, I think research was the best thing that ever happened to me. Most people aren't courageous enough or proactive enough to get out there and find a professor, so if you do, you're already special in your own right. You've taken the first step.</p>

<p>I did both math and research. As a girl, it was slightly easier to distinguish myself because I got to say things like, oo I'm one of the top ten scoring females on the USAMO, lol, maybe because there were only ten total. Yeah, that was a bunch of BS because I never really was that good at math; I just didn't put enough committed effort into it. Geometry was my only occasional saving grace.</p>

<p>But research, research was amazing. Professors are always looking for students to share their work with. They enjoy it! I've had the sheer enjoyment of working with amazing professors whether they conducted research at the state college near my high school in Indiana or whether they were pioneer scientists in their field conducting their research at Princeton. You just have to take the initiative to find them. Make sure you show interest in working with them, i.e. personal phone call, face-to-face meeting. Don't only send a crap impersonal email and immediately want an answer. Plus, actually read the material they hand you. If you don't find it interesting and don't want to talk about it with them, they're doing both themselves and you a favor by rejecting you from their lab.</p>

<p>However, once you've started working, please PLEASE don't half-ass it. It's disrespectful to the professor and to yourself. You've got to make a commitment to at least one project and stay with it until it's done, done to as perfect as a condition as you can possible make it -- and then make it more perfect.</p>

<p>I think the most important thing is to set goals and know where you want to be. If RSI is where you want to be, then do what you have to do. Believe me, research, that end feeling of accomplishing something on your own, even the smallest thing, is a feeling better than drugs. And THAT is what will get you into RSI; successfully accomplished, THAT is what RSI will give you back.</p>

<p>Good Luck!
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<p>hmmmm, i'm not quite sure this tiffany girl knows EXACTLY what she's talking about, seeing as she didn't actually attend RSI and didn't see every type of person who was there, compare credentials with every single Rickoid, and chat with many past Rickoids too. </p>

<p>VERY important: (she got this part right) a great interest in making a difference in math and science, and a love for the field. You talk to pretty much any Rickoid, even the ones who ended up majoring in English, and they'll emphasize the importance of math and science in their lives.</p>

<p>Math is important, but not essential: I think everyone there had at least one year of calculus under their belts. It wasn't unusual to have taken applied math through differential equations and have exposure to number theory. I'm an engineering guy, so I don't do much in the way of competition math now, but I did go to the Mathcounts nationals two years in a row, and there were five or six other Rickoids my year who had done so too (one of which won it all my 8th grade year). Still several more did very well in all the MO stuff. One of them actually won the IMO.</p>

<p>Research is definitely a plus, but you don't need to have done any!!! That's the beauty of RSI. They help to create new young researchers. Sure, we had people who had done well at ISEF, but I had never even heard of ISEF prior to being accepted to RSI.</p>

<p>I think good AP scores are only a plus if you have 5's on every math and science test, because then they know that you're definitely interested in that field and you excel in that direction. So many people get good AP scores that it's not necessarily a factor unless they are above and beyond. That's what I believe got me in. I had 8 5's under my belt. Others hadn't taken all the tests I had. </p>

<p>Bottom Line: RSI has a 6% acceptance rate. That's more selective than any college. There are MANY AMAZING candidates who apply, and a majority of them will get turned down. It's like any top college in that sense. They do seek to have diversity of interests, so the more rare your field of interest (there were very few engineers in '06), the bigger chance you might have. Unfortunately, looking at my Rickoid '06 class, I saw the entire spectrum of great, to amazingly and utterly brilliant beyond life. </p>

<p>Your credentials are wonderful and enviable. It'll come down to your essay and possibly your recommends, because despite your achievements, RSI also cares very much about the type of person you are.</p>

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<p>Well, looks like I shouldn't bother wasting my energy applying to RSI, seeing as there are "two things that get you into RSI, research and math" and I haven't perused either. Also that fact that I've only taken AP Bio so far, not to mention the fact that I'm a junior and in pre-calc, while "I think everyone there had at least one year of calculus under their belts." </p>

<p>Could an 80 in math on the PSAT make up for this lack of math education? Whatever... This depresses me; I should have switched to token private school back in middle or elementary school and gotten into math counts or whatever and moved ahead in math, instead of wasting away in public school pre-algebra for so many years…</p>

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<p>well... a strong genuine passion for learning, esp. in the math and sciences is more important than anything else. People have gotten in who did neither math nor research. Definitely apply -- if you get in, it'll be the experience of a lifetime.</p>

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<p>if i have decent test scores (219 on psat, 76 on math portion, 5 on bio AP, 770 on sat2, qualified for AIME) but have done/exhibited a lot of interest in bio research, am i competitive?</p>

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<p>Anyone know if 207s(PSATs) getting in is unheard of?</p>

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<p>is qualifying the AIME too plain to put on the app? it seems rather tame compared to those USAMO winners that get into RSI</p>

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<p>hehe so many questions so few answers</p>

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<p>I agree that research experience is probably pretty helpful, since it is a way of showing initiative. Of course, there are other ways of showing initiative, like taking college courses, (to a certain extent) taking a bunch of APs, or having strong extracurriculars so having done research is not a requirement. Regarding the extracurriculars--I don't think they need to be math or science-related. At RSI '06 there were a fair number of newspaper editors-in-chief.</p>

<p>It can't hurt to put AIME on your app. It also can't hurt to put the "published in a mathematical journal" thing down on the app, filletwho. =)</p>

<p>P.S. Hi Kyle! (Took me a minute to figure out who you were.)</p>

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<p>I took the SAT freshman year (don't ask me why, I don't have an answer), and didn't do that well. I haven't taken it since then though, so my current Sat scores would be my freshman scores, which are def. not RSI material (in my opinion). Is it REQUIRED that I submit my SAT scores if I have taken them, or will PSAT scores be enough (I got an 80 on math for the psat)?</p>

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<p>below 210(just a little) on psat....any chance..... if have significant research and extra curricular?</p>

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<p>I never took the SAT before I applied to RSI. PSATs are enough I think. As for below 210, I think there have been people who've gotten in with those scores.</p>

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<p>drumnrun4luv - the rsi website says "It is suggested that math PSAT scores be at least 75, and combined math, verbal, and writing PSAT scores be at least 220."</p>

<p>but then again, no one can really say yea or nay one way or another...... if your research and extra curriculars are great, then who knows? <em>not</em> applying is the only way to guarantee a 0% chance</p>

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<p>If past research experience is so crucial to RSI, then I don't stand a chance. I have tried to find a professor/scientist to mentor me, but so far no luck. Not all teachers are interested in mentoring or have time to do so. I have also tried to find internships; but those in my area all have min age requirement (15 at least).</p>

<p>It would be nice to do some research and get hands dirty. My parents are not scientists or have access to a research lab (some research projects need a really good lab, right?) </p>

<p>I did the next best thing: to be prepared with my coursework in case some research opportunity comes along. I took these courses in middle school:
Calc (single- and multi-var)
Differential equations & linear alg.
Discrete math
Number theory
Physics for scientists and engineers (3-course series from Newton to modern)
Programming using C++
other non-science/math courses</p>

<p>In HS, I took these:
Date structure and program design
Adv. Java
I'm taking AP bio, AP chem, AP Statistics.</p>

<p>My test scores are decent, although I don't think the scores carry much weight in RSI selection. I know some really brilliant kids who are not good at or do not care about test taking. I am happy with mine:
PSAT 240
SAT 2310
SAT II math IIc 800, physics 800, I will take SAT Chem in June, because the math score was not listed in my report with the rest.
AP physics C (mach and EM) 5, calc BC 5, music theory 5
I will take AP chem, bio, stat, and CS AB in May, 2007.
HS GPA 4.0
College credits: 70 semester units with GPA 4.0
Avg 50 hrs/yr volunteer work since 12 yrs old.</p>

<p>I tried to participate in math and science competitions if I could find a teacher or teachers to proctor the tests. A couple of teachers in my school are willing to organize AMC, science bowl, and academic decathlon. But I couldn't find anyone who would do other science Olympiads. If your school offers those opportunities, you are pretty lucky.</p>

<p>Well, if RSI is looking for someone who has research experience/achievements, then I am not the right person. I will have no choice but to play my video games all summer long. Who can stand that kind of misery?</p>

<p>May those who already have impressive research experiences have even more, shall we?</p>

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<p>you're 15 and a junior?</p>

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<p>there was one at RSI 06.</p>

<p>As has been said time and time again, research experience is not necessary, and there are other ways of proving initiative. I think this sounds like a pretty impressive app; the math stuff in middle school is surprising. Would you be doing a math project? Or CS, bio, chem, or physics?</p>