<p>Welcome Pandas to CC!</p>
<p>As i have said to someone else who just joined us at CC, you dont know what your getting yourself into.... lol</p>
<p>oh dear...care to elaborate, pyroman? what are you suggesting about cc??</p>
<p>I was a TASPer. Now I read TASP applications. (Lucky you.) So, a few words of advice: Show us that you're interesting. There are lots of smart kids - why should we pick you? SaveThePandas - both depth and breadth is important. If you write all the essays about a similar topic, make sure that you're not saying the same thing over and over. You can write a critical analysis about any work, as long as it is critical (and NOT a summary). And, for the love of God, don't use the same essay you used for the Ayn Rand fiction contest. We KNOW.</p>
<p>Additional information:
Mailings are sampled by zip code to help ensure regional diversity. However, your actual PSAT scores aren't that important to us. If you didn't get an application in the mail, download it: <a href="http://www.tellurideassociation.org/TASPApply.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.tellurideassociation.org/TASPApply.html</a>.</p>
<p>Hello to all! I've been lurking this thread for quite some time now (I've read EVERYTHING! lol), and I've finally mustered the courage (and recieved the activation-account email) to post!</p>
<p>I'm honestly pretty intimdated by the whole "prestigious summer program" deal, but I'm going to apply and give it my all.</p>
<p>I've just drafted down a few things for the essays (ahh! the perils of procratinaton!), and here's what I've got:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Poem Analysis: I'm still deciding between two different poems by a Muslim-Indian journalist. One is about the 2002 massacre in Gujarat; the other focuses on injustices througout history, including the Holocaust. Which to choose?</p></li>
<li><p>Specific Problem/Topic: The plight of recent immigrants to the US. My family immigrated to America as prisoners of war from Kuwait, and I saw my parents struggle night and day just to make ends meet. Life was so tough for us, but we weren't any different from the thousands of other immigrant familes in the US. I was planning to do a general essay on recent US immigrants (1990-present) and cite my parents' personal accounts as specific examples. Idk though...</p></li>
<li><p>Conflict Analysis: Hurricane Katrina devastated my hometown, located in coastal Mississippi. I felt as if my life was over (severe financial constraints, destroyed house, parents constantly fighting, etc)...but my mindset eventually changed for the better. So basically I'm going to write about how I dealt with losing virtually everything, got over the PTSD, and matured so much as a person. </p></li>
<li><p>Preferences:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1) Islam (Uni of Michigan): I'm a Muslim, and prior to Katrina, I'd been very involved with the local mosque activities for years. I led and organized charities, hosted events, helped teach an Islamic History class, wrote newspaper articles dispelling myths about Islam, etc. However, there is so much more out there for me to discover about my faith, and I think this program would be a great opportunity. And plus, I hear that Michigan weather is perfect during the summer! :-)
2) Civil Rights Movement (St. Louis): I live in Mississippi, the state with the most brutal history of racism. In fact, about 25 years ago, the local KKK burned down the mosque in our area. It applies so much to my home, and I'm very interested in it.
3) Foreign Policy (Cornell I): I'm not an expert in the foriegn policy of other countries, but I'm pretty familar with America's foreign policy.
4) Writing (UT Austin)
5) Mideval Stuff (Cornell II)</p>
<p>AHH! these are just ideas, and nothing is set in stone yet. Tellurider, does TASP ensure equal geographic representation? (i.e. will my being from Mississippi, the "underacheiving state" make any difference in the admissions process?) Do they select at least one person from each state?</p>
<p>Also, will leadership positions in school (I'm class president, involved with Student Gov't, all of the "typical" stuff) help out any?</p>
<p>This summer=TASP, internship, or a job at Burger King...</p>
<p>Thank you so much!</p>
<p>My card says to download an application from the website. The only problem is that the website doesn't seem to work. Is anyone else having this problem??</p>
<p>The website is kind of iffy...I kept trying, though, and it eventually worked for me. If you still can't get it to work, pm me and I'll email you a copy of the pdf file (you too icicle, if it still doesn't work!)</p>
<p>Thanks, but its ok... I managed to get the pdf version. I have one question though, can I print this out, fill it in, and mail it?</p>
<p>Thank you Tellurider! </p>
<p>Well I'm off to finish my essays. By the way, I decided I'm not going to do Pride and Prejudice after all. I completely forgot that we could do our criticism on a poem too, and I happen to be in love with one very meaningful poem. </p>
<p>Tellurider, thanks again for your advice!</p>
<p>Good luck everyone!</p>
<p>StrawberryMango: Telluride does its best to ensure all types of diversity in its programs. While this includes geographic diversity, TASP does not have a one-student-per-state quota. </p>
<p>Involvement in student government and other typical school activities will not make or break an application, but we're trying to get as full a picture of you as is possible in a relatively limited number of pages. Include the things you do, but don't make things up just to impress us.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, Tellurider or any other TASP evaluators...</p>
<p>What is it like to read the TASP applications? Do you guys read them as a group or individually? Is the evaluation ground a very solemn, serious setting (analysis probes and white lab tables galore) or more laid back (Starbucks!)? And about how much time is given to each application? </p>
<p>I've always wondered about these mysterious application evaluation processes...Perhaps you could answer some of my questions and tell me something about them. That's all. Thanks!</p>
<p>so i just found out that my super-genius friend of super-geniusosity got a TASP app in the mail and has decided to apply too. my chances have just taken a turn for the nonexistent. Oh well. I'm still so excited about some of the seminars that I can't help but want to apply, and if I don't get it, I'm sure I'll find something else cool to do this summer.</p>
<p>Tellurider, is there a rubric for judging these essays? For example, 10 points for style, 10 for analysis, etc.? I know that it sounds horrible, but I've always wondered how the admissions committee manages to read each one so carefully and then filter through all of them.</p>
<p>Hey vegengirl, I think that's something worth asking to someone like Tellurider, don't you think?</p>
<p>I mean, if someone in your region gets accepted, does that necessarily affect your own chances? I guess it makes sense if it does, but then again, diversity is not necessarily achieved by geographic location.</p>
<p>maybe they'll just decide Colorado is so cool they have to accept you, me, and my friend. That would be awesome:)</p>
<p>LoL, that would definitely be awesome!</p>
<p>What's so exciting about even applying to TASP is that it's kind of similar to applying to colleges, in terms of that period of waiting to hear the reply back. God, I love that period..lol.</p>
<p>Suspensful, I guess? Thrilling...</p>
<p>I don't think that's a time I'll be looking forward to. SourApplezz, do you also get excited when you jump out of airplanes? lol, just wondering...</p>
<p>I WISH I jumped out of airplanes. Skydiving looks like so much fun.</p>
<p>Unless you die.</p>
<p>dang, are you guys almost done with your essays... except for revisions of course..</p>