I can’t really stop myself from reading the old threads… they’'re like stories unto themselves…
not sure the Venn diagram of people who get into TASP overlap with that of people who obsess over it for months, but it’s just too fun not to do 
I don’t think my essays are very good or captivating, but I do hope that the administrators will comprehend my fascination with the seminar and trust my reliability as someone who will truly benefit from the experience. Is this naive of me? Should I try and expand my essays? I feel as though they answer the questions, but I worry that they aren’t very impressive and they don’t encompass what I would contribute to TASP.
Question: If you described your important ECs in your essays, should you list them in the short answers as well? Or should you list different things in that section?
@TheMadScientistX If I were you, I would include them if you have enough room, but 250 words is not a lot to list and describe a plethora of activities. If you have other activities/honors that you feel are relevant, I would prioritize those because you haven’t mentioned them, but if you have enough space, I would also write about the ones that you’ve mentioned in your essays.
@CreativeWalrus Alright, thanks. I added a mix of both.
Question: TASP Veterans, what are the service projects at TASP like? Would I be able to put them towards my Service Cord?
@mullophone this isn’t meant to be advice of some sort, but presumably 90% of the people who go through that tedious admissions process are also fascinated with it, and most would probably benefit from it… so I wouldn’t trust that sentiment alone to carry you into TASP. I haven’t read your essays, though, so who knows-- maybe you will get in. Just my 2 cents.
@mullophone Not a past TASPer, but I do know that during TASP (at least during Cornell TASP last year), you get placed into different committees that are charge of different things. One of these committees is in charge of planning service projects, so the students get to choose what projects they do.
@Kingtape @mullophone Will do re: interview tips, and yes, I’ll be filming several videos on creative writing in the near future, particularly on the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and also writing camps like the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio and Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop! I can definitely plan a writing tips video too 
@mullophone, I think that it’s important that you make it clear to TASP not only that you would benefit from them, but that they would benefit from your presence. Don’t sell yourself short - there is something that you, and only you, will contribute to the seminars, conversations, and service projects, and if you can tease that out in your essays, that would be amazing.
Speaking of service projects, at my TASP we did two very different ones. The first one was a prison library project, which was run by a library on campus (Cornell). We read letters that prisoners had sent in and wrote responses. The second was at a nursing home, where we separated into different groups to do various activities with the residents (I and some others painted little pictures for them on popsicle sticks). Both activities lasted around… three hours, I want to say. The prisoners activity lasted double that, since we split into two halves and sent one half on one day and the other the next.
@TheMadScientistX I would list the ECs to make sure you have consistency in your application, unless you’re running out of room.
Please concerning Tasp, I am close to completing my application but I still have some doubt in the short answer questions especially the first. Could I please get your point of view concerning the what to say and not to for those questions ?
@Kingtape @5toryt3ll3r Thanks so much for the help. I’ve fixed the things that were worrying me and I do feel a lot more confident with their efficacy. Still wary, though. Don’t wanna get cocky haha
Just out of curiosity, do interviewers have access to your application and essays? Or is the only information they receive the bare minimum (i.e. contact information, where you live, etc.)?
@hersheymoney they have access to your essays
@hersheymoney i hear that your interview is mostly about what you said in your essays
Is anyone submitted yet?
@mullophone Nope! I haven’t even started the second essay.
The third essay (the one about hurting someone and regretting it) is the most annoying one, IMO…
I applied on the 2nd of January!!
I finished my app, I just haven’t finished proofreading.
Does anyone know how likely we are to get the seminar that we predominantly selected?