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@nvb123 What the actual f***k. You’ll probably get into your dream school if you apply to it this winter.
@TheMadScientistX lol no way. Do you say this with a positive light or…? I loooove science research and I dream of going to RSI but I don’t know… I haven’t won any major science competitions or won any science Olympiads yet… I like to do my own independent stuff. This is the only thing that worries me because every single person that goes RSI seems to have some crazy award that they’ve won. Do you think that’ll hinder me?
Bump
@nvb123 or anyone else- Do you actual have stats on your “every single person that goes RSI seems to have some crazy award that they’ve won.” I am curious as to perhaps the % of U.S. admitted RSI scholars for the last 2-3 years that have earned “some crazy award.” Could you elaborate further? What type of awards are you referring to? State, National, International, I am assuming. I am interested because I have a daughter who will most likely be applying from TN who does not have any “crazy awards” other than getting accepted to Gov School (bio, stats & lab for 7 college credits at a state university) this past summer. I know it is a long shot for everyone, but I was thinking that admissions may have a more holistic approach as to who from each state gets in, i.e. ECs, the essays you write for wanting to attend RSI, grades, test scores, LORs, etc. Also, I don’t think research or coding is a necessity, but a nice-have.
BTW, you seem very well qualified.
Good luck to you and the rest of the RSI hopefuls:) I will be rooting for you all! Also, if my daughter applies (which I believe she will), I will be sure to add her stats and provide an update when the RSI scholars are announced.
@MomOfHSStudent I’m sure there are several students like you are saying. It just stresses me out when I see all the people who went to RSI seem to be national/international USABO/USNCO competitors. I never had an interest in science competitions that were “test-like.” I prefer the real world research experience, it just seems so much more meaningful. I hope this doesn’t pull me down…
@nvb123 You need to believe in yourself. Write some GREAT essays and get some good LORs from your research professionals and your teachers and you will at least have a fighting chance to make the next round of reviews. There are no guarantees, but think positively about your self-worth and be proud of yourself to even be in the position to feel confident enough to apply to this very prestigious program. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So if you do get in, GREAT! If not, the universe has something else in store for you.
@MomOfHSStudent Thanks so much! I think you are right, no need to think I’m not good enough.
I’ll be applying for 2019. I’m super worried because I am from CA and my stats are really nothing special compared to some of yours, but I’m still going to try my hardest on the application and hope for the best. I looove biochemistry and research soooo much, so getting accepted would mean the world to me. I really just want to make a difference in the word through scientific discovery, so I hope that my passion shows through on my application, even though I’m not some award-winning, superstar genius on paper. I only scored a 1320 on the PSAT in 10th grade (last year)… My math score was in the 600s 
but I’m hoping to raise that score significantly this year. I don’t think I’m bad at math (I actually really enjoy math), I just didn’t study or practice much for the PSAT last year, since I was super busy the summer before 10th grade and I honestly didn’t realize the PSATs were that big of a deal, since nobody at my school studies for them or cares much about them. I haven’t taken any SAT subject tests either, but I am planning on taking Math 2 next year, hopefully before the RSI application deadline. I may also take bio and chem before the deadline, since I’ll (hopefully) be taking AP Bio and AP Chem next year. So far, I have only taken 1 AP (the only AP I could take before junior year at my school)- AP World History, which I scored a 4 on. It’s not a 5, but history isn’t my best subject, and hopefully RSI doesn’t care too much about non-STEM APs. I do have a 4.0 UW GPA and I’m ranked 1st academically out of my class of a little more than 300 students, but my weighted GPA is only around 4.15 since I was only able to take 1 AP class and 1 honors class last year, and wasn’t allowed to take any AP or honors classes freshman year. Next year, I will hopefully be taking 4 AP classes and an honors class though (I requested AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Comp Sci, APUSH, and Honors English), so that should bring my weighted GPA up quite a bit. I do also have leadership positions in some clubs (robotics secretary, Academic Decathlon President, student government, and founder/president of a community service-oriented club), and I’m involved in several others (a science tutoring club, mock trial, and a club that is aimed at mentoring incoming freshmen). I’m worried that I have “too many” clubs/activities, but I do genuinely care about and invest a lot of time into each of the clubs I’m involved in. Aside from clubs, I am also really into painting (acrylic) and I’ve won some regional awards for my artwork. I also did biochemistry research over the summer… I attended another, shorter summer program at a university about 2 hours away from my home. Since the program was pretty short (only 3 weeks long), I didn’t have an outstanding project, but I did make a poster and I got really close to my mentor, so I think I could get a great letter of recommendation from her. If nothing else, I really enjoyed by time doing research. I don’t have any impressive/big awards under my belt (just a few regional and school-wide awards), unfortunately. I think that my uninteresting stats are, in part, due to the fact that I live in a rural, socioeconomically disadvantaged area, far away from any colleges, universities, or research facilities, but I don’t want to blame everything on that. I do hope, however, that RSI understands that I didn’t have a lot of the opportunities a lot of other applicants had. Where I live, things like SAT tutors, college counselors, summer research/internships, etc. are either nonexistent or virtually nonexistent, so I do think that considering my situation/background, I have done a lot. I reallly hope that I get accepted… It would be so awesome to see the East Coast, do a longer research project, and meet some amazing students and scientists! Good luck to everyone.
Hi! I’ve read people’s blogs about RSI, and to be fair, about 50% of people have crazy EC’s and awards and about 50% are what College Confidential would consider “nothing special”, i.e. some school awards, some state ones, not ISEF medalists or star researchers. Some of the posters’ stats are amazing and have a really good shot at RSI! But don’t let that discourage you from applying 
Hey guys, I have a question regarding whether I should apply for RSI.
I have a very research heavy background (2 summer internships at a renowned medical school) along with an accolade in USNCO so hopefully, I have a shot at it. But I don’t know if applying is worth my time because I have just secured another full year internship with a professor who is offering me an independent project that will likely lead to publication.
My main question is if the prestige of RSI ( if I get in) would be worth sacrificing the chance of getting a first or second author. Plus, junior year is already hell and the application is quite long
@8thgradekid I have a similar question right now. I have multiple professors that I have the opportunity to potentially work with this summer, all at very prestigious universities and doing specific work that I am interested in. Should I go to RSI for basically guaranteed admission elsewhere or should I stick with one of the research opps???
@nvb123 no matter how talented one is, no one gets “basically guaranteed admission” to RSI…
@8thgradekid omg haha! That’s not what I meant. I meant if I end up getting into RSI it’s like guaranteed acceptance to all schools I want to go (for the most part). Hope that clarifies lol!
Does anyone know when the RSI application opens for domestic applicants?
bump, wondering this too ^
@aarpri @kyang8093 Don’t quote me on this, but I’m pretty sure RSI applications typically open in November?
For anybody who was wondering, here is the RSI class of 2018 (on the last page):
https://www.cee.org/sites/default/files/newsletters/cee_spring_2018_final.pdf
Hello. I REALLY want to get into RSI next year. But, I do not think I did very well on the PSAT sophomore year (maybe below 1400s). Will I have time to submit my junior year psat scores before RSI deadlines?
if i did poorly on the psat (junior year) do I still have a chance at RSI? If worst comes to worst can I submit my 10th grade psat score (1450, not bad but not great)?