<p>i think like, 80% is based on the essays… ive heard 80% essays, 10% recommendations, 5% demographic, 5% everything else… i can’t imagine that there is actually 80% on the essays, but i am nearly positive that they are by a good deal the most important part. i’d probably say something like, 60% essays, 25% academic achievements (including all research/grades/scores) and 15% recommendations. but then again, its not each of these sections is “graded,” persay. In other words, could a unusually remarkable recommendation push you into the applicant pile over students with better grades? absolutely. On the other hand, I’m inclined to say bad essays can take even the kids with 5.0GPAs/2400SATs/published research and put them into the reject pile.</p>
<p>@burningflame The thing is that a lot of the essays are discussing accomplishments, so your categories are not mutually exclusive.</p>
<p>@ atomicbaseball, alsotrollin, other Rickoids</p>
<p>So I guess since I’ve pored over this thread, I sorta’ want some chances too if it’s not too much to ask for :3</p>
<p>PSAT: 233 - 80 M, 80 W, 73 CR
SAT: 2380 - 800 M, 800 W, 780 CR</p>
<p>SATIIs (does this matter?): 800 Bio M, 790 Chem, taking Math II in a few months.</p>
<p>Rank: 1/ 350-ish
GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA : School doesn’t calculate</p>
<p>APs:
Freshman: Human Geography (4), Macroeconomics (5)
Sophomore: Government (4), World History (5), Microeconomics (5), Calculus AB (5), Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Music Theory (5)</p>
<p>Junior Year schedule: AP Stats, Calc 2/3 (taken at college), AP Physics B, AP US History, AP Computer Science, AP Language, AP Spanish Literature</p>
<p>At the college level, I have taken: Microeconomics, Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Spanish, Calc II, Multivariable Calculus. I’m sorta’ confused whether the non-math classes will kill me 
<em>shrugs</em></p>
<p>Extracurriculars/Out of school activities: I’m really good at piano. I’ve won over $6000 in scholarships. I went to Eastern, a highly selective 5-week music festival in North Carolina that accepts 21 students in the world from the age of 14-22 as its youngest pianist at age of 15. I’m really banking on piano to set me apart from other applicants. I wrote non-math/science essay on piano, and I think it wasn’t too bad. I took the AMC this year but I didn’t qualify for AIME. My school has never taken any olympiads, and I guess I’m not complaining since I guess it’s my fault for not initiating it, but I just wanna’ put that out there. I’m the Competition Chair for my school’s Math Honors Society, and I’m the Founder and President of the Science National Honors Society. I’m 1 of 30 students in FL for this college environmental science program. </p>
<p>Research : Did a research / data analysis on flow and salinity in the Loxahatchee River. It was pretty intense and took months. Took over 20,000 data points, used Comp Sci to create a model, and Stats pretty much throughout. Of course, EnviroSci and related Biology was used, but Comp Sci was applied the most.</p>
<p>I wrote my essays pretty well, and I read my teacher recs. They were written very nicely.</p>
<p>Ethnicity: Asian
State: Florida</p>
<p>I’m not asking for a strict percentage or anything like that, but do I even stand a chance? :O</p>
<p>@ChrxswxN Your PSAT scores and AP scores are definitely below average for RSI.</p>
<p>For the extracurriculars, you seem to be inserting many personal judgments that may or may not be apparent to outside observers. $6000 is a good amount of money (and might signify to you that you are extremely good at piano), but many people at RSI have won tens of thousands of dollars from research, music, etc. Not having any extracurricular math and science accomplishments won’t help either.</p>
<p>Your research experience will be below the level of many admitted to RSI. Was it conducted by yourself? With a professor or graduate student mentoring? Please clarify.</p>
<p>Wait, my scores are below average? )’: What is average?</p>
<p>True, I apologize if I had glorified my achievements more than they should have been glorified. It was conducted with a PhD at an engineering facility.</p>
<p>… below average? Your scores are good. All the objective portions look good. Lack of many math/sci ECs or awards is non-ideal but won’t kill your chances. Previous research is great. I don’t think the piano thing will set you apart as much as you think, many Rickoids are somewhat accomplished musicians, though having specific awards for it is good. Best of luck!</p>
<p>those are some pretty great scores, not gonna lie. I don’t think they’re below average (maybe the APs because usually people get straight 5s) but with RSI, everyone could have a >235 PSAT, so it’s hard to be sure. I wouldn’t worry about low PSAT if I were you, though - it’s fine.</p>
<p>@atomicbaseball; what’s your two cents on how much the essays are worth? would you say they are by far the most important? will having had very well written essays make up for a lack of awards/research experience talked about in the essays?</p>
<p>ChrxswxN, don’t listen to alsotrollin, those are great stats. Take a hint from the name, guys.</p>
<p>Ramble, based on ~5 people I know of that have been accepted plus bloggers on the internet:</p>
<p>Objective stats don’t matter at all. There are probably at least a hundred 2400’s applying and a thousand 2350+'s, so it doesn’t serve to differentiate at all (plus, anything past 2250 is more or less the same anyway, due to clumsy mistakes on test day). 800’s on SAT Subjects and straight 5’s are probably the norm. So you (ChrxswxN) have the same 3% chance as all the rest of us!</p>
<p>The vast majority of applying MOP qualifiers - the top 50 math people in the country - are rejected. I don’t think that means competitions don’t count; rather that the standard is <em>extremely</em> high: people that get in, at least on competitions, have to do exceptionally (top 50/training camp level) on multiple olympiads. Research in areas like Physics, Math, or CompSci requires advanced coursework: at least halfway towards an undergrad degree in that field. Meanwhile, people that get in on research experience have ISEF and Siemens Semifinalist status, at the very minimum; something on the level of Regional Finalist and some published work should be average for an acceptee. RSI consistently loses at frisbee to PROMYS, and PROMYS people are pretty nerdy themselves… so I suppose athletics and ‘nonnerdy’ things don’t count at all.</p>
<p>Even so, the number of people who have all these things is huge; people with all this get rejected and people with no research experience and few competitions get in… so I guess it’s gotta be in the essays? </p>
<p>I’m sure you showed your passion, knowledge, and critical thinking skills in your essay; so did I! But it sure seems impossible for anybody to stand out. What kind of admissions officer is going to be thrilled after reading their thousandth essay on “experience with data analysis”? Not to mention that we all probably talked about how <insert field="" here=""> is fascinating, useful, and deep, and how it’s great to advance science and human knowledge. Inspiring stuff the first time, probably starts to get grating after the tenth, not to mention the hundredth. I’ll bet all of us also used the most esoteric possible things for our two problems…what admissions officer will put in the time to understand it after hours of reading?</insert></p>
<p>Has any RSI acceptee ever posted their essays? I really, really want to know what they did - are they all more inspiring, original writers than the rest of us?</p>
<p>Edit: what a long rant! how embarrassing. guess i just needed to let out some steam…</p>
<p>@AIME: Whoah he moved? Thank god…</p>
<p>Please chance me as well. Appreciate it. Thx</p>
<p>SAT : won’t be taking
ACT : 34 (35w, 35m, 34r, 31s)
SAT2 : Math level2 800, Chem: 780
UGPA: 3.97
No APs in freshman or sophomore yr
4 APs in junior year; all As in 1st Sem of jr yr
Siemens semi finalist in jr yr
Science Olympiad States
Ongoing research at Stanford with a prof since sophomore yr. Publication.
Strong recommendation from prof.
Research intern at Cleveland Clinic summer between 10th and 11th
Hospital volunteer 9th and 10th
NHS president in school
Other visible community activities
Excellent essays I think
Intended major : Biological sciences</p>
<p>when will they notify people of acceptances/rejections? i saw on previous forums that it was around late february i think. do they really decide that early?</p>
<p>Yep late feb/early march.</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC App</p>
<p>I just reread like 20 pages of the RSI 2011 page…last year rejections were sent by email in about the 2nd week of March and acceptances were sent by mail in the 3rd week…On the RSI page though they said admission decisions will be released in the first week of March. Who knows</p>
<p>@StanfordReady: It would depend on your state, I guess. Are you from CA or OH?</p>
<p>@iambenk: Last year, the deadline was delayed a week because of weather, but this year it hasn’t been extended.</p>
<p>I’m dreaming about RSI…kinda scary, but it seems like so much fun! Plus, the resources they give you are amazing…gahh I hope I get in…the thought of my project makes me happy :D</p>
<p><3 Biology</p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC App</p>
<p>In 2010: acceptances sent on March 10.</p>
<p>[Semioverachiever:</a> On Getting in](<a href=“http://semioverachiever.blogspot.com/2010/03/on-getting-in.html]Semioverachiever:”>Semioverachiever: On Getting in)</p>
<p>@ conquerer7, I appreciate your “rant”, haha it was very good (: And thanks for the link too heh. Good luck to all applicants :3 And you’re right : It is all about the essays.</p>
<p>@WhiteDoor</p>
<p>CA. </p>
<p>I know of another applicant from my school who has similar credentials but is a Siemens finalist. Is there a cap on how many they take per school? Would my credentials be good for a top 10 school, what gaps do you see and areas to improve upon? Thx</p>