<p>So, I'd just like to know: does anyone have solid information on RSI as it relates to college admissions and how good it is? I've heard everything from a 100% to a 75% MIT acceptance rate, and everything from it being godlike on an application to it being useful, nothing more. Could someone please clear up the significance of RSI with regard to applications?
Thanks,
sran</p>
<p>P.S. I have posted this in multiple places. If this is forbidden, I sincerely apologize and request that the offending threads be deleted.</p>
<p>RSI and MIT base their admission decisions on similar factors, so there is a very high level of correlation. (in fact, this past year, Matt McGann, MIT ad com, also served on the committee that selected for RSI). But being a Rickoid does not, by itself, guarantee admission to MIT. An occasional one fails to get in.</p>
<p>Now, here's where my question comes in. A strong correlation, yes, but how strong a correlation? I interpret your words to suggest that only a few people have not gotten in, but is that really what you mean? Are you giving a correlation closer to 75% or closer to 90% or closer to 100%? There are so many myths surrounding this camp, I want to come closer to the truth. Do you know of anywhere where they have statistics of this sort of thing?</p>
<p>I've never seen statistics, but I'm guessing better than 90%. But the point is, if those particular students had stayed home and worked on a research project on their own or with a local mentor, they probably would have been accepted at about the same rate. The magic is not in RSI per se, it's in the people they select. Don't apply because you think RSI is an easy route to MIT. It isn't. It's harder to get into than MIT. Apply if you think you would enjoy the program and see what happens. If you get in, you'll still need to apply to some colleges other than MIT. And if you don't get in, you still have a chance at MIT.</p>
<p>I'd say there's literally only a small handful of RSI people -- maybe 10 as a high estimate in the last 4-5 years total -- who apply to any subset of {MIT, Caltech, Harvard} and fail to obtain admission by Spring everywhere they applied. As a caution, this is only a "very informed guess" -- I work in admissions at Caltech and know a great many Rickoids here and elsewhere, so I'd be surprised if some glut of rejected RSI kids completely slipped by me, but it could happen. Keep in mind that I doubled my initial estimate to avoid giving people false hope.</p>
<p>When pinned against the wall in an "official capacity" it seems bad for people in admissions to say that some particular program has such a serious correlation (people might think it's an unfair leg up); however, it's also sort of silly to dissemble.</p>
<p>Oh, and by the way:
[quote]
We didn't attend RSI because of what it can do for us. If you want to find the truth, apply to the camp.
[/quote]
Sounds noble, but it's less than the whole truth. I know a rather sizeable number of Rickoids for whom the college value of the program played a highly nontrivial part in deciding to do the camp, as opposed to something else, with their summer. I quite believe that <em>you</em> didn't go for any such deeply impure reasons, but the royal we is a dangerous pronoun : )</p>
<p>But if one is considering it for college value-type reasons, you sort of have to realize that a 75% admit rate, a 90% admit rate, and a 100% admit rate are not necessarily significantly different when compared to the 15ish% overall admit rate.</p>
<p>(And I do mean "significantly" in the sense of "statistical significance" -- if I had hard numbers I'd do the calculations.)</p>
<p>Static,
Please do not be mistaken -- I applied to RSI out of a love of what is to be done there. It is already a dream come true -- I will be doing research into planetary science, the way I have dreamed for 8 years. However, I've started doing my college applications now, and I need to figure out where to apply Early Action and stuff like that. If RSI can give me a strong boost at tech-related schools, then that means that I can apply EA to a school like University of Chicago or something (Don't know if U of C does EA).
Please note: I am attending RSI out of a love of what I will do there. I have a passion for science, and showing that is what likely got me in -- I've only done 4 AP classes and stuff, nothing compared to everyone else. However, now that I am in, I would be a fool not to take advantage of every opportunity it gave me. Waste not, want not.</p>
<p>Apply to MIT ED
Apply to Caltech, Stanford, and the gang, etc.</p>
<p>Don't be bad at RSI(Make friends)</p>
<p>Cross your fingers.</p>
<p>Done!</p>
<p>Note - I am sophomore, so I never got into RSI, MIT, or anything(well, i did get into NCSSM, but that isn't near this level), so take everything I just said with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>i think RSI would be a bigger plus at Caltech than MIT, so I recommend applying to Caltech ED for higher chance at getting in to one of your top choices</p>
<ol>
<li>Neither Caltech nor MIT does ED</li>
<li><p>Both of them does EA, so essentially, you could do EA to both school because that's what some rickoids did.</p></li>
<li><p>I wouldn't recommend doing that if you aren't interested in the school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>EA = early action, which allows you to apply early to multiple schools. plus, it's non-binding. (MIT, CalTech)
SCEA = single-choice early action, which allows you to apply early to one school. this is also non-binding. (Stanford, Yale)
ED = early decision, which allows you to apply early, but binds you to the school when you're accepted. (Princeton, Northwestern)</p>