@Levnerad I think SSP wants to see you not just as a science person. “Things for fun” make you unique. Also, you can often go talk to teachers or ask them questions, which is a great way to let them know you better and show that you’re engaged in learning
do the teachers just have to fill out that evaluation form? they’re not asked to write a full “letter of rec”, right?
FWIW, the “what do you do for fun?” prompt is also on the MIT and Caltech applications.
Do you guys know if anyone was selected in the previous years in spite of having average grades?
@florencewelch666 Having average-ish grades may be okay if you have a super-heavy course load but, in general, you should aim for getting high grades even in challenging classes.
@isFress I actually have straight A+'s in all of my science related courses, but I’ve got some A-'s and A’s in some of the humanities related subjects in 9th and 10th grade, is it gonna be a problem?
@florencewelch666 oh my god i don’t think so! Man. I have many, many A-. I think A’s are good, at least I’d hope so. I have all A’s but a healthy amount of A-s, probably like 60%.
@stopthistrain Yeah it’s just that there’s a major grade deflation policy in our school, teachers won’t score us right unless we join their privet tuition classes, now not everyone can afford to do so. Third world country problems you know. Is there anyone though who got in with not so amazing stats?
Do you guys know what the supplementary material is? I guess I’ll attach the poster I did for my previous research.
@florencewelch666 I have straight As or A+s but I don’t have any national or international awards, competitions. Not sure whether I’m competitive enough. Also, sorry for your unfair grading system at your school 
For my supplementary material, I’m submitting astrophysics research I did that I also submitted into some competitions and where I presented it in a conference.
In the teacher evaluations section, it say type in your teachers school email addresses. I assume this means something like teachername@xyzschool.edu or something like that. The trouble is, my teachers don’t have these kind of email addresses, they use regular mail for official school purposes, and those are the emails I put in the teacher email boxes. Should I contact SSP to ask/inform them about this?? Will it matter very much?
Also, is/was this the case for anyone else here?
for anyone who’s been to the program, are there people here that don’t have amazing ec’s?
@jalopsy3 yeah I sort of have the same question.
@HappySquirrel Yep I do have straight A+'s un science and math courses, but a few A’s in humanities and an A- in PhysEd. And I don’t have international recognitions either. No research at all cause high school students are not allowed/given the opportunity to do so in my country :3. Are you international btw?
@OnAHyperbola That’s the case for me as well. I emailed SSP regarding this, and they said that it’s fine for them to submit the evaluations from their personal email addresses, considering the circumstances.
Hey guys by PSAT is 690 reading and 740 math. Should I add this? I feel like it is low. My other scores are 790 on Chem SAT II, 790 on Math 2 SAT II, and 5s on AP Stat, AP Chem, and AP Macroeconomics. What do u think. Should I add my PSAT scores to my ssp app?
Also, what are everyone else’s test scores?
Finally found the thread for this! I’m applying to SSP and YSPA.
@HappySquirrel Submitting research is actually a good idea. I think I’ll do that as well since I have done astronomical research outside of school since freshman year.
@beast2718 I got a 1300 on the PSAT 680 Reading 620 Math [I did better on math sophomore year (650)]. I haven’t taken the SAT or SAT Subject tests yet. I also got a 3 on AP Bio last year. I already included that in my application when I submitted my test scores (oops…).
Your PSAT scores are good. You should add them.
How many US students get accepted per year?