<p>One of the sheets they gave us had the average PSAT score of SSP '08ers. 71 CR, 76 M. The average score of SSP '08 applicants was 70 CR, 75 M.
People with a wide range of scores are applying and people with a wide range of scores are being accepted, and there's almost no correlation between scores and acceptance. Stop worrying about SATs and keep working on those essays :-D</p>
<p>^ Standardised tests don't count for ****. After about 2000 cumulative (number pulled out of nowhere), it's just pointlessly fine divisions between scores.
Besides, you can't change your numbers now. Quit obsessing.</p>
<p>Essay advice ahead.
Something needs to be said for quirky essays. They are awesome, if you can pull them off. Don't try too hard to sound perfect/normal; individuality is a good thing.
Also, you don't need to prove your love for science. It's perfectly ok to talk about your guitar obsession, or your massive collection of origami models, or intense debates about Blade Runner. Almost anything goes.
Most importantly, have fun with these. Make sure they convey who you are, not who you think they want you to be.</p>
<p>yea brainstorming right now. problem is, i'm just the average guy, with nothing "quirky" about me. i can't find anything different/unique about me, ya know?</p>
<p><utter disdain="">You won't get in if you're normal.</utter></p>
<p>Seriously, though, just write about your interests and passions, however cliche you may think them to be (or as this advice may seem). One place to start is to examine what keeps you sane. DDR, for example, would be a fascinating thing to read about, if done well.</p>
<p>Whats DDR?</p>
<p>i'm getting a funny feeling that you're not talking about Dance Dance Revolution...or are you?</p>
<p>^I'm almost hoping they are :)</p>
<p>Well, my essays (besides #1, 4A, 4D) were about singing, being a vegetarian, and my Gold Award project. I even managed to work in THIS IS SPARTA! (couldn't resist, it fit perfectly...)</p>
<p>Dance Dance Revolution is <em>exactly</em> what I am talking about.</p>
<p>ah DDR. that drives me nuts. i dont understand how people do it.</p>
<p>This is probably a good time for a disclaimer of sorts.</p>
<p>The views expressed here are solely the views of this individual and do not necessarily agree with the views and admissions methods of, and should definitely not be attributed to, the Summer Science Program.</p>
<p>What is this Dance Dance thing? Some kind of American joke I guess :p</p>
<p>ahhh man DDR. <em>almost</em> as fun as swing dancing</p>
<p>So I have a question about admissions. I'd very much appreciate it if somebody could tell me what the correct email address for such an inquiry would be. Or, if you somebody here knows the answer, that'd be good too.</p>
<p>My conundrum is this: I've basically tested out of all the math classes offered by my school, and therefore am not taking a math class this year, though I am still studying math independently. This would seem to pose a problem as far as the requirement that I get a recommendation from my current math teacher. I do have a good relationship with my AP Stats teacher from last year who is also the math department head, and with whom I have coordinated some of this study. Perhaps I'd be able to get a rec from him?</p>
<p>@Anarch</p>
<p>I had the same situation when I applied. I just asked a teacher who previously taught me to also explain my situation in the rec letter.</p>
<p>I read some of the pages before about SAT etc. So heres my speil on it.
Last year the average PSAT of a SSP APPLICANT was I believe 145/160 (one thing to notice is that SSP does not care much about the writing section). The average score of a participant was like 148/160. On top I would say that PSAT scores tend to be lower than peoples SAT.
Do notice again that scores don't matter much but still they are important. The general trend is that (and this is with college admissions too) after you are in the 99th percentile, scores don't matter as much.
At the end scores are not the defining factor but they are still important.</p>
<p>@WesIdjet</p>
<p>Thanks. That seems reasonable.</p>
<p>who here is having trouble making everything fit? i mean, 250 words? i cant seem to organize my essays so that i dont talk about anything twice..if u know wut i mean.</p>
<p>You can exceed it by approx 10% I guess?</p>
<p>^cool, that sounds good. still, though, there is not enough room to elaborate sometimes.
so for #4 a,b,c,d did you guise write one whole paragraph, or 4 separate ones for each a,b,c,d part.</p>
<p>^ I wrote 4 separate things.</p>
<p>Like this:</p>
<ol>
<li>A. yada yada....</li>
</ol>
<p>B. I like cheese...</p>
<p>C. Bananas too...</p>
<p>D. yada yada...</p>
<p>So I labeled which part was which, with a double space between A/B/C/D parts. </p>
<p>My total word count was 1408, when the limit was supposed to be 1250 total. So I guess I was pretty close to th 10% over rule... But everything fit on two pages, so that might be a plus...</p>