<p>Whoa, I just visited the TASP thread, and they have 10 times the number of posts we have. No joke. </p>
<p>So who else chose Graph Theory as a field? I thought it was a popular field, but apparently, most people still think graphs are limited to y=x. </p>
<p>Btw, I heard that RSI has regional affirmative action. Anyone know anything about that?</p>
<p>i think rsi is also supported by a bunch of governmental agencies. it's definitely a great opportunity, especially since it's free. since rsi probably won't work out for me, i might just travel.</p>
<p>RSI is a very expensive investment, and one that CEE cannot make alone. The value of RSI is $10000/student, and getting the money is not easy. Each student has at least one sponsor (I had 5, while someone else had 1 (Bill Gates!)). RSI alumni who contribute a few dollars here and there, however, are the Center's main contributors, and the CEE tries to make the most out of these donations by opening up various other RSIs. For example, last year, in addition to RSI-MIT, there was a RSI-China. In 2004, there was also RSI-Caltech, and in 1994, there were RSI East and West (GW Univ and UCSD respectively). From what I hear, Bulgaria and some countries in the Middle East might host RSI in the future. Of course, this will only happen if the CEE is adequately funded. The Center tries very hard, though, to provide as many students as possible with the RSI "experience". Unfortunately, there's not enough money to allow each applicant to participate in RSI for free.</p>
<p>BTW, SSP is hella expensive...</p>
<p>about sending a postcard: i did not send one (i didn't understand the concept of the postcard at that time, so i probably would have sent one of the grand canyon or some other arizona attraction). however, i did send one with my acceptance of acceptance letter :P</p>
<p>They have suggested scores and such for the ACT in the brochure.</p>
<p>Here's what they say about funding, explaining why there is no cost to the attendees and the source of their funding. It is partly through donations of Rickoids and their families, as well as corporate and government funding. They also have a page on their website to make contributions. </p>
<pre><code> "There is no cost to students for tuition, room and board. The only expense is for transportation to and from MIT (students are responsible for initial and final transportation to and from the RSI program). This allows CEE to select RSI students solely on the basis of intellectual potential, to search out the best and brightest young scientists and mathematicians, to remove impediments to their naturally rapid intellectual growth, to nurture and support their desire to explore and create and to bind them strongly to the scientific community of similarly talented individuals who can help guide them through subsequent stages of intellectual and professional growth.
</code></pre>
<p>RSI is made possible through the support of individuals, parents, alumni and corporations. CEE has received grants from the National Science Foundation, United States Department of State, United States Agency for International Development, Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, and the National Security Agency."</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I had a question about the application. My PSAT/SAT scores aren't as good as those of the people who have posted on this forum. My PSAT score is definitely not a 220. However, I feel confident in how I have presented myself in my application as an inquisitive student, my GPA is good, and my teacher recommendations have restated this. How much precedence is placed on scholastic test scores? I know that for colleges there is a base number, and a formula that calculates a number based on GPA and SAT scores. Is it similar in this case?</p>
<p>The rules stated that low scores are to be offset by strong recs/grades/application - I just wanted reassurance.</p>
<p>I hope it is not a huge discouragement if the Math score is in the 700 range but not above a 750. </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>"I've seen on another thread that it says that Rickoids have a certain something that makes them special, and I have faith that the admission officers can pick that out." I'm not going to call you naive. I spoke with Matt McGann and I won't tell you what we talked about but simply that he said there wasn't any weakness to my application but rather that there are just too many excellent people for MIT to accommodate.</p>
<p>Corinao, you are correct in that SSP is not free. However, the Summer Science Program is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the world, and the ONLY one managed and largely funded by its own alumni. It is also a quarter of a century older than RSI, its founding as a result of the space race.</p>
<p>Did you apply to SSP, corinao?</p>
<p>filletbillet asked:
"Btw, I heard that RSI has regional affirmative action. Anyone know anything about that?"</p>
<p>Anyone know, bc I am curious too!</p>
<p>i think someone said that because RSI is gov't funded, they try to get an even distribution with a state quota, i.e. people from OK and ID and KS</p>
<p>in one of the last pages of the rsi 2006 page, it's mentioned that they try to get students from every state, but they don't go out of their way to do so.</p>
<p>yea...</p>
<p>i bet they take into consideration more of WHAT you want to study, i.e. field and subfield, than where you're from. but NY, CA, NJ, poor kids...</p>
<p>"However, the Summer Science Program is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the world, and the ONLY one managed and largely funded by its own alumni."</p>
<p>RSI is one of the ONLY programs of its kind in the world, and each session is basically run by alumni, from the directors, to the counselors, tutors (except for a few that have always been around), first-week lecturers, teaching assistants, etc. </p>
<p>Don't be bashing RSI in its own thread. Nobody even knows whether or not they'll be getting in or not, so stop already thinking up excuses beforehand about why you'll get rejected if you do. </p>
<p>Also, people that put down RSI and just choose it as a "backup" probably aren't wanted there anyhow.</p>
<p>poignantpianist1: I don't know if I misread one of your posts, but it seemed as if you said RSI was your backup to governor's school. That's not the wisest thing to do as RSI shouldn't serve as a backup to anything. Even if you are out of this world fantastic, RSI admin rates are still around 5%. </p>
<p>POSTCARD: I sent in a postcard with my application; they just sent it back acknowledging that they recieved my app. In general, it's a good thing to do (even if it's not asked for) because then you don't have to stress out worrying about whether your application was lost in the mail. </p>
<p>Regional AA: I think that there may be some aa for certain regions (like the south), but the advantage is so small that it doesn't really matter. Last year, we had two people from Idaho and one from New Jersey. The people from Idaho didn't get in because RSI needed some people from that state, but rather because the two applicants stood out based on their merits.
If RSI really cared about an equal distribution of students across the US, it would probably limit spaces to one per school, but it doesn't. Montegomery Blair has two students, TJ had three, and Stuyvescent had two. </p>
<p>One last thing, CEE does try really hard to set up more locations to hold RSI, but there just isn't enough funding. There used to be RSI caltech, but then caltech and CEE got into an argument over how RSI was run. Also, If the admin rate was higher, RSI wouldn't have the prestige that it does. It means more on college apps and in general to say that you were one of 50 students chosen from a pool of 1200, then that you were one of 600 chosen.</p>
<p>well put, yin yin :) (i think megan and c-line were both from nj, though. but still, 2 from id?!) a little over half of the states were represented, so i don't actually think they do aa on a state-by-state basis.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>Sorry to interrupt the ongoing discussion about regional affirmative action, but I would really appreciate an answer to my post (second to last page)</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>libelhairdresser: test scores are important, but only to an extent. if you think you presented yourself well, then...great. i don't want to go as far as to offer you reassurance because test scores do matter (rsi asks for them for a reason; it's much easier to judge applicants by numbers than "potential").
That being said, if your SAT math score is above a 700, you should be okay, but keep in mind that half the kids at rsi got perfect scores on the math section.
You shouldn't worry about your scores now as there is NOTHING you can do about them. Seriously.
I almost want to say that (as much as I love answering all your prospective rickoid's questions) there is not point to this trend now that apps have been submitted, as looking over this trend will only cause you unnessecary anxiety.</p>
<p>Dance. Eat. Leap. Feel the rain on your face! Anything. just don't think about RSI.....until march ;).</p>
<p>oh right. thanks corina. actually, annie was from nj too. so we have three people from there. three absolutely amazing people.</p>
<p>Ugh, I know the application's sent, but I still can't help but think about it...Like, during conversations, I keep on getting an urge to steer the topic towards RSI (luckily, I don't...). Seriously, I'm not going to survive college applications. I'd probably call the admissions office everyday between January and April.</p>
<p>meh. I'm not too worried about my app. I have atleast two other equally good (IMO) choices if the rsi thing doesn't work out.</p>