<p>I can't believe there isn't a new SSP thread for this year yet. Let's post some great insights here! xD</p>
<p>SSP is a great program that shuld be srsly considered by anyone into math and science. Its fun, intensive, life changing................... and for all the asians its prestigious. </p>
<p>PS. Research has shown that the Socorro campus is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the Ojai campus. I am just sayin. Just puttin out there :).</p>
<p>SSP is definitely awesome. I wish I could go again...</p>
<p>And Ojai is definitely cooler:
1. Significantly less clouds. :P
2. Most amazing food ever.</p>
<p>I agree that SSP was definitely awesome. </p>
<p>I double agree that SSP Ojai is better. =D</p>
<p>Btw, care to introduce yourself?? So I know who you are? (especially if you're from Ojai). I know the OP since he's my dorm buddy, but I don't know the other two.</p>
<p>Hey. I'm thinking about applying to SSP, but I was wondering how intense the academics really are? Is the program prestigious? And how is the community? Also, if you have enough time, for the Socorro people: HOW WAS VISITING THE VLA? You don't know how envious I am of all the people who went there!</p>
<p>Ojai is definitely better (I'm Ojai '07 though).
If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>well the VLA was so cool.
SSP is prestigious (who knows how i got in lol) and difficult. The community is small, diverse and very intellectual. They are also people who are ready to have fun .Very fun summer. </p>
<p>GOTO Socorro, we went to some of the craziest places it was tight! oh boi!</p>
<p>good god, ssp is so unloved this year. this is going to turn into a beautiful, beautiful thread of reminiscing. hey, i'm not complaining.</p>
<p>i believe mit dude's the webmaster.
silver dragon, i don't remember who mit dude's roommate was. you hung out with the 10 christines and such a bit? yay for my terrible memory! we definitely need to put together a roommate list.</p>
<p>me. normally i'd refer people to my sn, but with ssp, i guess we were all eternally sleepy. i'm the K of BK, mm's roommate.</p>
<p>So I'm pretty sure I'm gonna apply to SSP. What are my chances? Here are some quick stats:</p>
<p>GPA: UW, a 4.0 or a 3.98 depending on how you treat A+'s (I tend towards the latter)
PSAT: I haven't gotten it back, but I got 223 on a practice test
SAT: I will be taking in Jan... the test results will come back before the deadline, but I dunno
AP's: No AP's available Fresh/Soph years :(, but am taking AP Phys, Calc BC, and French, self-studying Chem</p>
<p>I think I make up for my rather bland academics in my essays, or I hope. I did take "space science" my sophomore year and got an A+ both semesters. I don't know how I'll do, but I really want to go. "Astronomy, physics, calculus, and programming" are coincidentally almost everything I want to pursue in college/life.</p>
<p>So... good chance? bad chance? unknown?</p>
<p>^ hmmm not bad chances. But i feel SSP looks, like most colleges for great EC's. Like they are definetly looking for science EC's, but also like regular EC's that really distingush you.
There were a lot of kids who did well on tests like the AMC etc. I was not one of them, but i feel like the ssp committee liked my other ec's and my essays were pretty unique.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm from Socorro '08. It's an easy guess to figure out who I am. (L)</p>
<p>I'm not here to chance anyone, but take heart, 4.00 GPAs and 2200+ SAT scores are quite common at SSP. The applicant pool is pretty much self-selective. It's true that there were several people who made USAMO, ISEF, etc (we even had somebody who competed in IMO), but most people were just genuinely passionate in science, math, and almost everything else they do. </p>
<p>Ask yourself: does the idea of being in the dead of night armed with a notebook and a takahashi refractor telescope excite you? How about writing software and collaborating on problem sets that span everything from the cosmological constant to relativity to the Riemann-zeta function? Visiting places such as NASA JPL, the VLA, EMERtech energetic materials facility, White Sands, and the BEACH? And most importantly, bonding with 35 other brilliant students from around the world? The intense chess matches, late night poker sessions, pranks (hacks, if you will), or just being among a group of such interesting people? If ALL of the above GENUINELY excites you, then YES, you have a good chance at SSP. </p>
<p>And yes, SSP is academically intense. I remember pouring over about 3 problems on a pset for hours and hours and hours. Sure, you'll definitely lose some sleep, but that's just one of the things that made SSP just so exhilarating. Almost every day, I woke up quite surprised at what I was able to accomplish at 3:00 A.M. the night before. </p>
<p>As far as prestige goes, SSP is listed on MIT's admissions blog. This isn't word of mouth -- it's listed there along with RSI, MITES, Ross, PROMYS, etc.
MIT</a> Admissions | Blog Entry: "Juniors: MIT and other summer programs". </p>
<p>I'm sure colleges know about it. Just read the section on the SSP website about college preparation. Frankly, you shouldn't look into competitive summer programs for prestige and how much kick it'll give you in terms of college admissions. If immersing yourself in a collaborative and academically intense environment -- where learning is done for its own sake -- excites you, then why does prestige even matter? </p>
<p>I'll say it again. Genuine enthusiasm and interest in science are the factors that open doors to opportunities such as SSP. Just be yourself and show your passion in your essays and activities. The rest is up to the admissions committee. good luck!</p>
<p>this is for all the alumni: how similar are the rsi and ssp applications? I'm currently filling out the rsi app, and since the ssp app isn't out yet, i just wanted to know from some of you guys who applied to both last year.</p>
<p>ssp is less specific to research areas. i think one is about your interests in physics/math, one is in four parts about extracurricular interests and why you want to go to ssp, something you've overcome, and your biggest achievement, one is about your physics/math extracurricular interests, and i think that's it.. it's really not too gruelling, especially compared to college apps you'll do next year.</p>
<p>Ha ! i know u wesldjet. I am one of those ppl who participated in those instense chess matches. Trickstylez aka runaway bride.</p>
<p>Show passion in your essays and ec's. Good scores and grades just get your app into the maybe pile. The acceptance rate is like 20-30% but don't get cockt about this. The avg APPLICANT last year had an avg psat of like 145-150/160. SSP does not care about the writing section i believe</p>
<p>Srsly ssp is crazy fun. nerdy crazy weird fun.</p>
<p>The essay for ssp and rsi and fairly diff since rsi is more research orientated while ssp is almost like a college admissions.</p>
<p>thanks guys. one more thing -- i'm assuming you need teacher recs for ssp. did any of you guys ask the same teachers for both your rsi and ssp recs? i'm asking because i asked my math and physics teacher for my rsi recs, and since ssp is math/physics based, i would probably ask the same teachers again. are the teacher recs similar (so they can just print them out again and send them to the ssp people)?</p>
<p>I applied to ssp and rsi in separate years, the year I applied to rsi, I also applied to several other programs. I asked the same math teacher for both, mainly because I didn't have a math course my jr year, and a different science teacher each year. The teacher rec forms are different, but it's only a matter of checking off a few boxes and printing out a copy of the seperate letter and attaching it. I would probably ask the same two teachers to make it easy on them.</p>
<p>^Did your teacher type out his/her recommendation on a separate piece of paper? And then printed 2 exact copies, for each program? (RSI and SSP)</p>
<p>i asked the same teachers for the two. What my teachers did was write a generic rec like for maybe a college then change some specifics for each program.</p>
<p>What (s)he said ^^</p>
<p>Including another rec, such as a humanities teacher for example, won't hurt either. </p>
<p>Also, there's an article in Johns Hopkins CTY Imagine magazine about SSP in their "Beyond Planet Earth" issue. Check it out for some more info. </p>
<p>Imagine</a> Current Issue</p>