@gkdudtlffj Yeah, I agree with sumguy – the official score reports are sent from CB to whatever college/institution you want to send the scores to, but there was no mention of that in the RSI application. What I did was download all of my CB test scores and compile them into one single PDF file that has all of the test scores and uploaded that. Hope this helps.
The awards and accomplishments say to order according to importance or prestige, which is kind of arbitrary and is going to be different for everybody. I have a feeling that it might be their way of figuring out which kind of activities and accomplishments you prize the most personally, which is why they make it so vague…
For the essay question about research topics, do we cite the research papers we talk about?
For activities and accomplishments, is it okay to not group awards to a particular activity? Let’s say, can I do math award, research award, math award, science …
For example, if you worked on a project to use machine learning detect handwritten numbers, one of the most famous (see MNIST) then you’d probably say used neural networks, or SVM, any other ml method and stuff like ml libraries, MATLAB, etc. At least that’s my interpretation of it
Do you have to have done research to get in? I’ve won at some state and international science fairs (not ISEF tho), and I’m considering not applying because I don’t want to bother all my teachers asking for a letter.
@esperantist It’s really recommended to have prior research experience but you already won those international science fair so you are pretty well off too. For example, I have a lot of research experience but haven’t done a single science EC
My research field #1 is astronomy (dark matter) and my #2 is mechanical engineering (sustainable automotive propulsion). I am more interested in dark matter research, but have not done any prior research in the past. Regardless, I’m still extremely interested. However, I have done automotive propulsion research before. Would it come as a disadvantage to me if I put a more-researched (but less interesting) topic as #2 and put one that I’m more interested in (but have not done research for) as #1? Or should I just put propulsion as #1 to keep my chances up just in case?
For the awards and accomplishment, are you guys listing ALL your extracurricular activites, awards, and recognitions (which could also be leadership positions)?
@gkdudtiffj I’m listing the ones that are most important to me. For example, I didn’t mention that I was part of CSF (which is like National Honors Society) because it doesn’t really carry any weight.
I know the thread is for this year, so forgive me for butting in like this.
I’m going to be applying for RSI next year (2019). As of right now, I’m an international student. However, due to my parent’s current employment status, it’s possible for me to apply as a Permanent Resident (assuming the immigration shenanigans are worked out). I’m thinking that by the time I apply next year, I could have the choice of getting my PR status then and there (thus placing me in the U.S pool) or applying as an international student.
Is it harder for an international student to get in? I know that there are subcommittees for each region that makes these decisions. Or is it harder for a U.S applicant?
@martin0421 it really depends on what country you’d be applying from. CEE only allows students from a handful of countries attend, so you might not be able to apply as an international student even if you wanted to. If you can apply from your home country, I would look at the list of RSI 2017 (and maybe 2016 and 2015 too) attendees and see how many people from your country got in (for instance, only one person from China got in last year, which means that it would be better to apply as a US student). From there you can decide how you should apply (which US state you would apply from matters a lot too). From what I can tell, domestic seems less competitive because they only accept thirty international students total; then again, they may be more lenient when evaluating international students’ applications.
Which teacher(s) is everyone getting their references from? Also, does anyone know when the results are released?
I’m kind of confused about this too— how are people choosing their areas of interest? I’m interested in biotech but I’m not sure if they even offer that.
@MangoLover11223 I’m getting my references from my math and science teachers, and research professor. Based on previous threads, results are released around mid-March. Last year was particularly early, end of February.
I’m not the best person to answer this question, but I think they pretty much have a field available for at least one of the 2 areas of interest you picked.
I’m applying from California! Anyone else receive that email from RSI thanking you for applying?
I’ve decided to not apply to RSI; I think the application fee is too high to justify applying. I have no stellar test scores, research experience, and I doubt my recommendations will be really well written. I have won at quite a few science fairs, and have strong academics, but I don’t think that’ll be enough to be be accepted. How many students do they accept from Florida? 2?
Besides, you’ll have to ask for letters for college applications next year anyway.