@esperantist Last year and the year before they accepted 2 students from Florida. Just wondering, how can you have done science fair but not research? I consider the two to be quite closely related.
Almost done with my application, yay! Just need to proofread my personal statements and wait for my guidance counselor to upload my transcript.
What programs is everyone applying to as backups?
@Radiant most of my science fair projects I did individually. There’s no major university or lab where I live, so there was never any real chance for me to do research unless I do one of these programs. I’ve always wondered how students are involved in research before these summer programs. Do they just mass email professors asking to help out?
Does RSI want our grades from our Fall Junior Semester? My grades won’t be on my transcript in time, as they are due on the 10th.
im not a professional editor, but if someone wants me to read over their rsi essays and give some general comments, pm me 
@everyone: I’d suggest sharing essays with anonymous strangers with considerable caution. It’d be a far safer idea to ask a friend to review your essays for you, or maybe your recommenders. to yoyoma, I hope you don’t take this to be offensive, just trying to “protect” others
I agree with @ic3kreem use caution when sharing your essays. If anyone is foolish enough to plagiarize, both parties will be penalized.
@esperantist Depending on the depth and significance of your projects and results, I would still consider that to be research. And yeah, mass emailing is what most people do, from what I know.
@Radiant have you done research at a lab before?
@MangoLover11223 Yeah, during freshman year I did a microbiology project at my high school. During my sophomore year I did computational stuff at a state university, and last summer I did some work at an Ivy League school, not a full research project though, mostly just learning. Not specifying the schools for privacy reasons haha
@Radiant thats so cool!! Good job. Just wondering, how did you manage to get the lab work done at a state university and Ivy League. Did you manage to publish a research paper at the Ivy League or was it one of those summer program camp type things?
Sorry for all the questions lol I’ve been curious about this for a while
@MangoLover11223 Thanks! I emailed a professor at the state university and he let me work with one of his students. It wasn’t the best environment, but I got a decent project done and learned the value of finding a research group you actually like and get along with.
I met the Ivy League professor at my state science fair. I didn’t know she was a professor (I thought she was a random parent at first haha). She just came up to me, asked about my project, and apparently was impressed and kind enough to let me work in her lab. No paper, no summer camp, I just gave an informal presentation of my findings to the research group at the end of the summer.
She wrote me a letter of rec for RSI and another summer 2018 program, so hopefully those give me a boost. And no problem with the questions - I would totally do the same to people I look up to. I just don’t want to get too much into the details publicly bc I wrote extensively about my internship experiences in my RSI personal statements xD
@Radiant Wow That’s such an amazing experience!! I hope you get into RSI^^
I’m finally finished with my application! Had a Rickoid proofread my app essays and looool he ripped them apart. But after many many many edits he finally approved
@PoyoKat Thanks so much, you too! Wow, that’s so lucky haha, I don’t know any Rickoids personally
Where is everyone applying from?
Does anyone know the deadline for teacher references? I think it’s after Jan 12 but I’m not sure
^ bump
Im wondering the same thing. Where can we see the due date for recommendations?
My son told me it’s Jan 17th.
@yucca10 actually it’s January 12
Also guys is it even worth it to apply without major awards or research experience? Also, do they mostly care about test scores because if that’s the case, I’m good. Also, my transcript only includes my grades from 9-10 as we just finished the first semester of junior year and it takes 3 weeks for them to be processed. Honestly, my grades were a little ugly this semester so will it be concealed?