@emmm16 ahh i’m so glad to hear it ! i might try actually growing this channel to help people applying to all this stuff, so if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you mind commenting that on the video? 
thank you either way!!
the seminar was amazing! it’s three hours every morning, 9-12. mine was on creative writing, so it was pretty workshoppy, and we’d always do writing exercises and then share if we felt comfortable. the teachers were quite young and we all idolized them; they were just insanely cool. we did some really interesting exercises that i’d never done before, like going into small groups to enact a scene from a book we were reading in tableau and then analyzing how we ourselves and the other groups had physically embodied the themes, both intentionally and unintentionally.
the tasp community was really interesting too. i’m not gonna lie, sometimes i got really tired on sunday nights when we got down to business on all the self-governing stuff and people brought a lot of suggestions to the table, but it was so autonomous in a way that you aren’t going to get anywhere else. even if you don’t click with absolutely everyone in the group, i can guarantee you’ll find at least a few people with whom you’ll be close-knit, and my favorite part was that we could have philosophical discussions and also be total goofballs. if i’ve left anything out, i actually just put up a blog post on this, so it’d be in there! https://www.myivyeducation.org/single-post/2018/11/21/The-Telluride-Association-Summer-Program-Countdown-to-Summer hopefully this has been sufficiently thorough though XD
Hello all! Former 2017 TASSer and 2018 TASPer here. Really intrigued by the seminar topics this year! @5toryt3ll3r hit on everything perfectly, but if you have any other questions about the seminars, the community vibe, or the application process, I would be more than happy to help!
As for the earlier question about the book/media list, I chose to write a brief blurb for each piece that I included. It’s not mandatory, but it would be helpful for the application readers to gain a little more insight into who you are and what you enjoy, especially if you chose to include some more obscure pieces.
@Meiyonnaise @5toryt3ll3r thank you both so much!! so so helpful!!!
@kanagawa my pleasure!!! ^.^ lmk if you have any questions!
@5toryt3ll3r ah! im late but thank you so so so much!
you’re so welcome!! if you guys want any other kinds of videos just lmk, if i can help people in the same position as i was super recently i’m so happy to do it
Hey guys! I attended TASS last year and the essay prompts this year are super similar. For TASPers who did TASS, or anyone in general, do you need to write something completely new? I’m worried they will think I’m lazy if they compare essays and realize I basically copied everything, but I still want to write about the same experiences for, for example, Prompt 1.
Thoughts?
@ouchwhatwasthat When I was completing my TASP application last year, I recycled a few ideas and copy and pasted a few phrases from my TASS essays, which turned out perfectly fine. However, I would definitely suggest expanding on those ideas more in your TASP essays if you can, because there is no guarantee that the essays that got you into TASS will also get you into TASP. In short, feel free to write about the same experiences, but be sure to add more nuance or a new perspective in case they decide to look back at your TASS application file looking for evidence of growth. Hope this helps!
@Meiyonnaise any tips with dealing with stress and not obsessing/stressing over the program? I keep reading these testimonials about how amazing/life-changing it is and can’t help but construct this idyllic image of TASP in my head… probably unhealthy and only setting me up for greater disappointment once I’m rejected
@Kingtape I’m not Meiyonnaise haha, but I noticed your question and hopefully my two cents can be somewhat helpful to you!
I found it really intuitive to idolize TASP as well - it seems at the time like everyone else you encounter in the process does, and it’s so easy to see it as necessary for happiness, life, college apps, or anything else.
TASP is definitely great, but it isn’t perfect, and for me it was helpful to actively seek out those imperfections - not to make myself hate TASP, but to have a more balanced view of it. Living in such close quarters with other teens your own age can get sticky. The readings might not always be dazzling. Having to round up two other people to go into town with you can be hard, especially when everyone’s busy with homework.
Either way, your life will go on whether you attend TASP or not! Also, it might help to know that it’s not like if you don’t go, you’re missing out on this sort of exclusive club membership that other people get to have, or anything like that. The Telluride Association is awesome to a part of, but if you don’t go to TASP, it’s still likely that you’ll have similar academic experiences in college. It’s easy to see this as your one shot at a whole lot of different things, but that’s definitely not the case.
I’m going to be filming a video at some point about my experience at TASP, where I’ll probably go into greater detail, but I hope this helps you! And I’m sure @Meiyonnaise will have plenty to add as well. You’re going to be all right 
@5toryt3ll3r thanks for the tips!
I know this might be starting to sound vindictive/ a case of sour grapes before I’ve even gotten rejected, but can you mention some other things that irked you about TASP/ were not ideal? Just to break this “Garden of Eden” idea I’ve got going, what with all the “TASP was the most amazing experience of my life!” consensus permeating CC
I have trouble imagining WHY it’s so transformative. I understand you form close bonds in an environment tailored to that, and that the program by its structure promotes intellectualism rare in the typical HS. But the way you read some people, it’s like they’re fresh out of a cult, preaching the wonders of our Lord and Savior TASP
(I’m a bit of a hypocrite here because I’ve totally bought into that)
@Kingtape Sorry for the late reply! And I totally understand your skepticism; the Telluride Association is pretty vague about what exactly goes on during the six weeks (which only adds to the cult-ishness), but here is my general experience: Telluride programs are not the same year to year, or location to location. During my time at TASS, my professors were absolutely wonderful and made an active effort to get to know us, but we did have quite a bit of internal drama within our TASS group. There were multiple times in which we had to organize group house meetings that would last for hours in order to diffuse the tension among us, and homophobia was a particularly serious issue for some of us. Yet, everything else about TASS was completely worth it. On the other hand, my TASP community had very little drama and we regularly stayed up until 4am on weekends binging netflix shows or talking about everything from the frivolous to the deeply philosophical. The conversations that I experienced both in and out of the classroom at TASP were unlike anything I’ve ever experienced; we discussed everything from gender performativity, to urban graffiti as a form of cultural jamming, to gentrification in Washington. Our main issue, oddly enough, was actually with our professors! Our professors were both incredibly brilliant and I have the utmost respect for them, but at times, they made our seminar readings feel unapproachable and it was sometimes difficult to connect with them.
Also, just to put it out there for applicants who are struggling to choose their seminar rankings: I participated in TASP at Maryland this summer, which is unique because it is a new Telluride location and it (along with Michigan) only contains 16 TASPers, compared to Cornell which has 28 TASPers. As somebody who has participated in Telluride at both Cornell and Maryland, I believe the smaller 16 TASPer environment at Maryland and Michigan is more conducive for community bonding. As an additional plus side for those who are interested in politics, our TASP group frequently made visits to Washington D.C. at various points throughout the program; we actually got to participate in the Families Belong Together rally at the nation’s capitol this summer! With that being said, I will say that we didn’t have much diversity in political opinion. In my TASP, we all tended to lean pretty liberal, but that may have been a case of self-selection based on our seminar topic. But, regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, expect your viewpoints to be rigorously challenged; if you don’t believe this is a good thing, then perhaps TASP may not be the best fit.
Whew, I just realized this post is really long! I hope it’s detailed enough
@Meiyonnaise That was totally detailed enough! Thank you.
Feelsbad… can’t PM due to lack of posts 
@Meiyonnaise
Regarding the political homogeneity, are moderates or republicans left out? I can easily imagine being the one person not to go to some sort of liberal rally like the ones you’re mentioning because I’m a right-leaning moderate
Also, are some of the more radioactive topics up for discussion, or will you get shut down by being in the minority? WouId I be skewered for bringing up Charles Murray as a topic of discussion? (not saying I agree with his views, but he’s the most obvious example I can come up with atm)
@Kingtape Although you will most likely be in the political minority considering the seminar topics that TASP has this year, I can assure you that you will definitely not be shut down or left out for speaking about your political views. The radioactive topics are definitely up for discussion, and I would even say that controversial topics are what TASP thrives off of, as long as everyone goes about it respectfully. I’m sure that your professors will be glad that there will be dissenting opinions during seminar, and everybody, regardless of whether they’re conservative or liberal, will be changing their mind about something at some point in the program; that’s a given.
@Kingtape @memeqween101 aaaaahhhhh reply to come ASAP, I promise!!! I’m putting up a video spilling all the tea tomorrow at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj18ZeOBE_gaJF-pW-6gVCQ, so I’m just waiting until then so I can link it and really give you guys your money’s worth, so to speak, and also to make sure my reply is as thoughtful and thorough as possible. But never fear, tea will be spilled come morning light, and so on and so forth. 
@5toryt3ll3r Eagerly awaiting! 
Currently on the “I’m never going to get in why I don’t bother” phase, i.e. the bottom of the never ending sine curve of admissions anxiety, but it’ll probably rebound to “OMG I totally have a shot” by tomorrow morning, right in time for the video!
on reflection i apologize for typing the phrase “never ending sine curve of admissions anxiety” like some 6th grader who just learned what a sine curve is
still excited for video tho
Do invites make a difference in selection or is it just marketing?