@OleColtrane Firstly, thanks for being active for all of us this year! I am sure we all appreciate it greatly. Second, Do you think I should even put down my ap scores if they are 4s (and a 3)? Would it look odd if I didn’t? Also, do most schools have a 4.3 unweighted scale thing because my school only has up to 4.0. How many RSIers last year did not have all As (i had a B+ in English and a couple A-s in like history), and how “holistically” do they look at an applicant (like would they not consider me as much because of grades?)? Lastly, in your opinion, how would you rank in importance the following (either out of 10 or arranging them)
@nvb123 Don’t worry about it; as long it’s a field that exists and you know it well enough to write about it you should be fine. I wouldn’t rewrite your essays just because the fields are specific.
@andrewdaman1 I would list those AP scores to show you did the tests. Some schools have a 4.3 scale, some have a 4.0 scale. I don’t know about grades and scores of RSI people, no one ever shared them. The review process is definitely holistic, and having B+s and A-s will not hurt you much. I can’t rank the things you listed because I personally don’t know how important they are in the review process but I do know that showing interest in STEM through essays and activities is the main goal.
@OleColtrane and everyone else, thanks for all the answers you have provided! I know that you said the review process is holistic and scores/grades won’t matter that much, but I was wondering if you think it will hurt my application that I don’t have very many scores. My school does not offer AP courses so I haven’t taken any AP tests and I have not taken the SAT yet (I am planning to take it in march). I only have my PSAT score which isn’t that good (1480) and I also took a biology subject test on which i didn’t do so well either (a 750). I know that I have to list my PSAT score but should I even put my subject test on there? Will my scores (and lack of many scores) really ruin my chances? RSI has been my dream for a long time and I would greatly appreciate any help or advice. Thank you all!
AP:
5:Chinese, German, Spanish, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Calc AB, Calc BC, Comp Sci A, Phys C Mechanics
4: Macroeconomics
SAT II:
800: Chinese, German, Biology, Chemistry,
760 :(: Spanish
Attended IOI Competition/USACO Platinum & Camp Attendee
USNCO High Honors
Varsity Basketball all 4 Years, coached my JV high school team also
Varsity Volleyball 1 year
Assistant at Stanford Biomedical Research Facility
Research Fellow at Jisan Research Institute
4 published papers on Polycrystalline Film, AIDS, Anorexia Nervosa
Eagle Scout
400 hours of volunteer service at animal shelter, library, etc., PVSA Recipient
Interned at Dianne Feinstein’s office for 3 years
Self-taught German
Attended TASS, MITLaunch, Canada/USA Mathcamp
Earned over 20,000 in award money from art and design competitions
Essays about how I lost my arm and played on basketball team
Essays about how you just read this whole thing and lost all hope
Lol this was a joke
Just apply and stop wasting time on this site
@helllpppp Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. They want the PSAT OR SAT OR ACT, so if you have a PSAT with a good score (1480 is plenty good imo) that’ll do the trick. List your subject test score to show you’ve taken other tests. Your lack of tests won’t matter much you have the required PSAT score, and if your school doesn’t offer APs then that won’t hurt you at all.
I also have a q: I’m a current junior in a boarding school and I have done a virtual research program online recently, where I wrote a 30+ pg research proposal, got a really good rec, and am going to get published in the program’s (high school) journal. However, I haven’t really done any projects in a lab apart from a brief 1 month internship over the summer (because I really can’t, there are no labs in my school area) and thus haven’t entered any science competitions. Would my lack of research exp count against me? Is it even worth applying?
In my defense, that AP score is in a fluke and I’m taking 5 more this year, but only 3 tests (Chem II (hopeful 4), Music Theory (hopeful 4), English III (hopeful 3))
@EiPi Not sure of the exact number but I think there were around 4 or 5 CA people as well as a few others from the West Coast.
@Anonymousia I would submit both if possible, but if your PSAT is a lot lower than your ACT then you should be fine with just submitting your ACT. I’m not 100% sure so if you want you can contact them. Formal research experience is not a requirement; I knew people at the program who had never done research before. As long as you have experience and passion in STEM that you can write about that’s good,
@hebegebe If you can’t get the PDF of the score then I think you should be ok with not having it.