<p>I read it on the brochure too, thus the extreme frustration with multiple school cancellations.</p>
<p>Filletwho: Mathcounts was a long time ago, but, considering only 4 people from your state go to nationals each year, it shows some smarts and initiative. At RSI 2006, we had at least 5 people who went to nationals when we were in 8th grade (Adam Hesterburg won it and Brian Lawrence was 4th, but then Brian ended up winning the IMO sophomore year). If you've got better AIME and other competition stats, those will suffice, but I couldn't say I went to the nationals for that (USAMO), but I could say I did for Mathcounts. It's good to try and put everything you possibly can in.</p>
<p>Countingdown: Unless it said to list them (only numbers 5,6,7), I wrote a big two paragraph essay. Someone just PMed me with a question to that effect.</p>
<p>wtrbear: if that is the case, you need to contact CEE ASAP in order to let them know that this IS NOT YOUR FAULT!!! I assure you, they are likely cut some slack for natural disasters. :-) Is it really that bad in Michigan, btw? I'm visiting it this coming weekend.</p>
<p>Sim1: Electrical Engineering is quite the complex field. I think it really depends how much you're willing to learn and work. A different example: I believe we had a guy who had never taken organic chemistry figure out how to synthesize this organic molecule that no one had ever synthesized before. He got one of the top presenter awards. (Not to mention he knew like 4 languages, so I guess he had no problem learning new things easily.) It also depends on how much time you are willing to commit, beyond the normal 8 hours a day that many people spent in their labs. I know one girl who was often late to bedcheck (11pm!!!!) because she was still at mentorship. She was also one of the top presenters. Get the idea??</p>
<p>and for those of you wondering why I would sit around here and answer questions for all of you, it's because I love RSI dearly, and I do whatever I can to stay involved, even if it's helping people with the application part. I wasn't able to apply for a counselor position, because I have to work over the summer, but I'm going to make an effort to come out to there during some weekend as a "nobody." Don't mind the name. Nobodies are a good thing.</p>
<p>Also, I am sick of school and all the work I am having to do. This has been a good escape for me the last couple days.</p>
<p>we love you spudman</p>
<p>So does a 5 on the Computer Science AB test constitute "beginning", "intermediate", or "advanced" knowledge of Java? How about a 5 on Computer Science A?</p>
<p>Hey Kyle and Yin Yin!!!! :D FINALLY, some other RSI people are stopping by; it was getting lonely! </p>
<p>Well, Kyle is answering all the questions beautifully, so I will just remind you guys about how awesome RSI can be. I had very high expectations regarding the research, so naturally, I was very disappointed with my project. I spent the first few weeks of RSI feeling annoyed. I still had fun, but I was always thinking about my hopeless project. </p>
<p>One afternoon in the middle of July, my whole outlook changed. It was one of those many days when going to mentorship was pointless, as I was only doing background reading (for the 109233rd time). I had decided to get away from the math kids in W20, so I crossed Mass Ave and went to the Athena cluster in 1-142. I was alone, so I turned on some music, bought some coffee, and tried to make myself as comfortable as possible in the impossibly unclean roller chairs. I prepared myself for yet another afternoon of being frustrated as hell. Suddenly, it got very dark and cloudy, and rain came down in buckets. Because I hail from sunny Arizona where rain is rare, I opened some of the windows, and the smell of rain and traffic came in, along with a chilly breeze. For possibly the first time during RSI, I looked outside. I saw Killian Court, and I knew the Charles River and the Boston skyline were only a glance away. I realized I was at MIT, one of the best universities in the world, a powerhouse of knowledge (visited by many a tour bus full of Asians :D). I realized that maybe I wasn't doing the AMAZING research I had anticipated, but it didn't matter. RSI taught me to be passionate about research as a lifelong search for truth, not a short term project designed to win scholarships. It was a very cozy and enlightening afternoon, and one of the best memories I have of RSI. When the Siemens Westinghouse and Intel STS deadlines approached, and I was out of ideas for a legit project to enter, I just thought about that dark, rainy day.</p>
<p>So the point of my convoluted story is that, if any of you get into RSI, BE HAPPY! Enjoy the people, the sights, and the sounds of RSI, MIT, and Boston. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for you to make some amazing friends and live in a very nurturing community. If you get a bad project, you get a bad project. It doesn't mean you should give up and not do any work, but don't worry so much that you can't properly enjoy the program. If you have the opportunity to do a great, or even good, project, then you should certainly work as hard as hard as you can, because you're extremely lucky. But have fun! I really wish I had spent less time worrying, because it obviously got me nowhere. </p>
<p>Good luck to all applicants. Hopefully, I'll be in Boston shortly (unless I get a counselor position) this summer, so I'll see some of you there!</p>
<p>Btw, Kyle, you're a child prodigy :D Where're you going to college?</p>
<p>although some of you applying may be child prodigies like kyle, you don't have to be one to get into RSI. I hadn't taken a single AP test when I applied (my school does IB instead, and you can only take IB classes as a junior/ senior). My SAT scores were mediocre (I believe some '05 rickoids had SAT's below 2000), and my PSAT was okay. My only accomplishment to date were isef finalist (i didn't even place) and some other science fairs. Perhaps they needed someone from KY, or felt that I had "potential", i dunno, but i got in and had an incredible summer.
While there are some naturally brillant people, whom I would love to hate, RSI, there are also normal people, myself included, who follow Feynman's method when it comes to academics. Feynman only had an IQ of 124 (high, but not extraordinary). His problem solving method was simple: come up with a problem, think really really hard, and find the answer. pretty simple. and given that he won the Nobel, I would say his method is pretty effective.</p>
<p>great story corina. i remember that one time we spent like an hour talking about random garbage the day before the papers were due. We were just chilling in w20's on those coaches, being complete retards. hahaha. good times.</p>
<p>Ahhh...the crazy weather is making me very worried that CEE may not get my application in time.... =/</p>
<p>hahaha, i remember that. we were talking about guys, i believe :D</p>
<p>vanilea fails to mention she was one of the best choices RSI made, as she's a STS finalist! <3</p>
<p>Well said, Corina. I too had a not-so-great project as I said earlier, so none of this "child prodigy"-ness that you speak of really helped out. I spent a lot of time worried about it because my dad kept expecting me to have something to enter to Intel or Siemens. Then, there were times where I'd sit alone in some secluded spot that I found on the top floor of building 10, walk through random underground tunnels in my efforts to memorize the system beneath the campus, or just looking out the window from Lauren's room on the top floor of Simmons.... and I pondered how amazing it all was. Oh yes, and was that the same torential downpour as the day Noam Elkies lectured? That was crazy (especially when he took his shirt off to reveal that, not only was he a renowned mathematician and musician, but he also works out a lot)!!!!</p>
<p>I <3 RSI!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>Oh yea, and Corina, I probably won't end up at MIT or Caltech, and I didn't even apply to any Ivies. I needed colleges that gave out merit money, so I went for some of the other top schools that are more generous that way. Michigan thus far has guaranteed me the most, and they are one of the top public schools. Plus, if I do have everything paid for, I can afford to take trips to visit the other Rickoids at the "good" schools. Also on my big-money list are Olin (made it to candidate weekend), Rice (I find out next week), and Washington University in St. Louis. I'm also a long shot for a big one at UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>oh, btw, where's the list of STS finalists? When I search on Google, I can only find the semifinalists.</p>
<p>and yin yin, you may think that all you had was a good ISEF/research project before RSI, but you're a damn good researcher. Right there, that helps out a ton. Maybe the Kentucky thing too....
Gee, that geographic stuff sure makes me glad I'm from Idaho.</p>
<p>STS finalists: <a href="http://www.sciserv.org/Sts/66sts/finalists.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.sciserv.org/Sts/66sts/finalists.asp</a></p>
<p>Nice, free (or almost free) education is always good! I definitely haven't heard back from any colleges...
And yes, I think that was the Noam Elkies lecture day! What a great lecture that was, especially at the end ;)</p>
<p>I believe it was Cindy who turned to the person next to her and whispered "he's hot!!!" I believe she also said later: "I'd do him." </p>
<p>Oh, good times...</p>
<p>Wow... I just found out about RSI today and I am completely amazed. It sounds like a fantastic program and I would really love to attend but I don't think I'm good enough. Does anyone know if they have a lot of Canadian applicants? I'm from a suburban public school in Canada, where there aren't a lot of opportunities.</p>
<p>Ok here are my stats:</p>
<p>-SAT: 2390 (CR-800, M-800, WR-790)
-SAT subject: Bio M- will get my score in 10 days
-AP: will take Bio and Chem this year. My school's AP program isn't great... I'm self studying Chem.</p>
<p>-Current courses (gr. 11): Math 12, English 11 Honours, Chemistry 12, Studio Art 12, Physics 11AP, Biology 12AP, French 11
-GPA: 4.0. Average percentage is 99% (1st in my class of about 380, top student in all my courses)</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-Student Council
-Coach Math Challengers (Canadian equivalent of MathCounts)
-Debate Team
-Special events planning committee
-School embassador for mentoring junior students
-Visual art: drawing, painting, computer graphics, photography... (thinking of holding my own one-woman show later this year)</p>
<p>Awards:
-Top 25% in Canadian Math Competitions since gr. 8
-46th in Canada in the Cayley contest last year
-AMC's... not great scores though
-Michael Smith Science Challenge: 6th in Canada, 1st in province
-3rd prize in the Asia Pacific Foundation Poster Contest 2006</p>
<p>I have no research experience whatsoever... though I've been accepted to the Be a Gene Reasearcher for a Week program sponsored by the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network. I also attended a summer program on Biotechnology last summer. Biology is my passion. Bio and art. And I don't really have community service either... And technical skills are non-existent. I know that my Biology teacher will write me an excellent recommendation letter. A math teacher I've know and worked with since gr. 8 probably will too.</p>
<p>I don't know if I should apply... as I've said before, opportunities in my area are limited, and I've done as much as I could. Will they take that into consideration? And how would they know anyway? I'm just really passionate about science and I believe that RSI will be a tremendous experience for me.</p>
<p>under what question can we include our awards in non-science/math related areas? #4? or are non-science awards implied in #3?</p>
<p>SpudmanKA, I was just planning on overnighting the application with permission from my school, but I would have much rather send it out with standard shipping early enough to avoid this fiasco. Good idea to call the office. The wind chill here is really absurdly low (-25 F with a -10 F temperature), but I had no idea that the entire region would have multiple "wind chill" days. Dress warm.</p>
<p>HAHA oh Cindy....
I<3Pi, your stats are good, and you should definitely apply. If you don't apply, you won't get in. For sure.
lydia423, I put them under #4, since #3 asks for scientific activities/awards.
wtrbear, you don't HAVE to get your school to mail out your application. By now, it's a good idea to overnight the app, anyway.</p>
<p>corinao--
Are you 100% positive that the application doesn't have to be sent from the school? I just don't want to send it in myself and end up getting disqualified based on this factor.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I guess you could just put the school's address as the return address and mail it that way. I don't think your school has to officially stamp it or anything. </p>
<p>And I<3Pi, you better get those recs and everything really fast....the application has to be received by FRIDAY!!!</p>
<p>I sent mine out today by express.</p>
<p>I just put a little note in there saying I couldn't do it though school because it was closed for multiple days. I still got the principle's signature though.</p>
<p>I can't wait till the end of March!!
I guess we'll have a different thread for the results?</p>