<p>So let me get this straight, grades still do matter alot for TASP? My frosh year grades were great... Sophomore year grades were pretty crappy (Couple of A's, lots of B's + C -- Darn you Calculus!)... although I got all 5's on my APs. This year I'm making straight A's, is this still going to sink my ship?</p>
<p>And how heavily is the interview weighted?</p>
<p>Oh, does that mean you volunteered to interview, or they contacted you about it? It would be so much fun.</p>
<p>nvision, I can only speculate, but I don't think those grades are going to keep you out of TASP, because quite frankly, they're are NOT damningly poor. </p>
<p>The interview is pretty darn important, I assume, because it's far more of an ability and character judge than most conventional US college interviews, and I guess the Telluride Association would have to rely on it as an indicator of how you come across in real life as opposed to on paper (the essays), and whether you would be able to contribute to and create a successful TASP. After all, the website does say that TASP is also all about living in a close-knit community, as opposed to just another summer program or seminar. So in essence, the interview is given considerable weight, although of course, I don't know how much.</p>
<p>For all you TASPers, I have a couple of questions:
1. One of you said on this thread that each person that got in had a passion for something. What's yours? What are some of the coolest interests your fellow TASPers had?
2. How good of a writer do you consider yourself?
3. How good of a debater>
4. Was everyone at TASP genius smart? What I mean is, should you even bother to apply if you're not?</p>
<p>Thanks, guys.</p>
<p>vegangirl: Meat rocks my world...well...my mouth</p>
<p>Lol, don't worry vegan girl, half of us were vegetarians, so you're among good company. Come to think of it, vegatarianism and ultimate frisbee are the two largest common themes I noticed with TASPers. </p>
<p>Now, my "passion" was linguistics, I wrote an essay about a language I created and did my pubspeak on it. I'm more passionate about music, math, and philosophy, but it was sort of an intellectual experiment for me, plus I like languages.</p>
<p>We had people who were nationally ranked poets, russian literature scholars, a guy who fixes bikes (also a kick ass writer), globber did something major with the federal reserve, jsn88, I don't even know, he did everything. ;)</p>
<p>Whatever you're interested in, everyone will be equally interested.</p>
<p>I think we all consider ourselves pretty good writers and debators, and I must say that that was the case. We had some great discussions.
Don't worry if you don't think you're a genius, most people don't think that of themselves (unless they're a real jerk.) Everyone thought everyone else was crazy smart, but no one could see it in themselves.</p>
<p>Basically, everyone is intelligent (as you'd expect) and is passionate about learning, something. Essentially, grade grubbers need not apply (unless you're REALLY good at hiding it).</p>
<p>Im probably going to go into the science and math fields later on in life but right now i am also really into debate and have placed high in states and did good at nationals. Do you think that could qualify me for a program like this. Also im really into politics and stuff.</p>
<p>Have no fear pyroman. I (among many other taspers) am a science/math guy who just writes well and likes to talk about issues. If you're a nationally ranked debator, you're way ahead many of us, lol.</p>
<p>You should feel very comfortable at TASP. Admittedly I often had no idea which poet people were talking about, but there were enough science people so I was comfortable. I might have given this story already, but we had a great time on a bus to the movie theater trying to derive the formula of a circle without calculus. And that can get quite ugly in a group setting.</p>
<p>Ooh, good questions vegangirl. </p>
<p>Basically, I'm proof that not only super-smart people get into TASP.</p>
<p>For example, take my passions. I really don't know, I guess I don't have a huge passion, just lots of things I like to do. Photography/layout/typography, badminton, and math competitions are my big 3, I guess. As for TASPer passions, slam-poetry was by far the most fascinating for me. Especially because I didn't know what it was before I went to TASP.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I considered myself a rather crappy writer before TASP; I've improved somewhat since then (we studied a style manual briefly in seminar, and that helped, along with the current necessity for college applications essays and all that). I guess you could call my writing concise and lucid, but not more.</p></li>
<li><p>Debater? Like in a formal setting? No idea really, we don't have that sort of thing in the part of the world where I live. But I do just fine in discussions.</p></li>
<li><p>And oh yeah, apply. This is aimed at both pyroman and vegangirl. In my opinion, people in TASP were super smart, but not in the stereotypical brainy-kid, obnoxiously in-your-face way, and it's once you start really talking to them that you realise just how deep their thoughts can go. Hard to explain, really.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And pyroman, I'm like pianoking. The quantitative subjects are my forte.</p>
<p>Yay for this thread being resurrected!<br>
Another question for jsn/piano and other applicants:<br>
What other summer programs did/are you consider(ing)? I wouldn't mind sticking around at home and getting a job, volunteering, etc., but if there are some other awesome humanities summer experiences that are rigorous and don't cost an arm and a leg, I'd love to hear about them.</p>
<p>New Jersey Scholars Program if you live in NJ. You have to be nominated by your school, but you can ask your guidance counselor about it if you're interested.</p>
<p>Eh, correct me if I'm wrong, but there just aren't any humanities programs that compete with TASP, even for pay. I personally only applied for TASP over the summer (didn't know about the science programs), and I probably would have been very bored had I not gotten in.</p>
<p>There are really no other programs that come close to TASP. However, New Jersey Scholars is the next best thing-- it has an interdisciplinary focus on one particular issue like TASP. I don't know if other states have anything similar to it. Governor's Schools are also good, and available in several states, but they are more focused on an individual course of study. The only ones that come close to a Humanities focus would be Public Issues, International Studies or the Creative Writing section of the Arts Gov. School.</p>
<p>Ironically, I applied to NJ Gov school of the Arts and got rejected, lol. However, think about it, Gov School is one state, TASP is 50 states plus the rest of the English speaking world.
NJ Scholars... I wasn't recommended for it by my school, and if someone from my school did go, no one talked about it.
TASP and RSI are the ultimate ways to spend the summer before senior year, and as I've read on countless admissions-type-things, this is something that makes adcoms notice.</p>
<p>However, I spent another summer taking a course at the local community college and working at a supermarket. Try for some other summer programs, I'm sure they'd be very rewarding, enjoyable, and look great on your apps.</p>
<p>Ironically, I applied to NJ Gov school of the Arts and got rejected, lol. However, think about it, Gov School is one state, TASP is 50 states plus the rest of the English speaking world.
NJ Scholars... I wasn't recommended for it by my school, and if someone from my school did go, no one talked about it.
TASP and RSI are the ultimate ways to spend the summer before senior year, and as I've read on countless admissions-type-things, this is something that makes adcoms notice.</p>
<p>However, I spent another summer taking a course at the local community college and working at a supermarket. Try for some other summer programs, I'm sure they'd be very rewarding, enjoyable, and look great on your apps.</p>
<p>Hey_la: I might have misunderstood your post, but TASP (along with RSI) are completely FREE. You only have to pay for transportation to and from (and there's even a scholarship fund for that if you need it.)<br>
Speaking of free, summer programs that cost $6000 ( <em>cough</em> Harvard Summer School) are nothing more than something for the school to do when the dorms are open over the summer. They're banking off they're name, don't fall into it. A job, in my opinion, looks far more impressive than going to HSS (or whatever the acronym is.) Think about it, you show that you haven't had everything handed to you and have to work for your spending money (even if this isn't true, it gives the impression.) Imagine how pompous it looks to be so rich and -as far as they are concerned- untalented that you can drop 6 grand for some summer program. Btw, I've never heard of anyone who applied to a major university's summer program and been rejected. Correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>Wow, that last comment sounds incredibly patronizing.</p>
<p>I hope you aren't suggesting that pre-college programs are worthless. I agree that they're overpriced, but I think you would also agree that working at a supermarket probably wouldn't beat conducting research with Cornell faculty (part of their pre-college program) on a college application (since that's how you construed hey_la's motive, pianoking, though, in my opinion, research would alos be more rewarding).</p>
<p>From what I know from people who have gone to programs at Harvard, Cornell, and Brown, they just take classes with random professors not from the university.<br>
Of course research experience in a lab is something you wouldn't have been able to do and is definitely worth the money. I was just pointing out that people think that Harvard Summer School is their ticket to acceptance, and this is just not true.</p>
<p>Meh, sorry hey_la. I know basically nothing about humanities summer programs in the US. </p>
<p>And yeah, many of the <em>insert prestigious university</em> summer programs are a little too expensive for my taste. But I was also going to apply to PROMYS ($2200 for six weeks, I think) at Boston University. </p>
<p>Mentioned this because everyone's talking about free vs. not. Judging by various threads on this board, you'll have fun at basically every program. But then there are the very real benefits of no cost, and greater stimulus (both intellectual and interpersonal) that you get from programs like RSI and TASP.</p>
<p>Well it think that you can also have a good time at some of these summer school programs. I have this friend who is a senior now and he went to the stanford summer school program and had a great time learned calculus very well and etc. Said it was one of the best summers of his life. So i guess you can have fun while at these summer schools but as Jsn88 said, you can have all this and alot more at programs like RSI and TASP without paying.</p>
<p>Man, I can wait for the apps to come out. I wanna start working on those essays. =)</p>
<p>I hope you aren't suggesting that pre-college programs are worthless. I agree that they're overpriced, but I think you would also agree that working at a supermarket probably wouldn't beat conducting research with Cornell faculty (part of their pre-college program) on a college application (since that's how you construed hey_la's motive, pianoking, though, in my opinion, research would alos be more rewarding)."</p>
<p>To an extent, Pianoking's absolutely correct. Most summer programs accept anyone who applies...and can pay. Generally, the free ones are among the only highly selective programs, and the colleges know that. Sure, it shows dedication to your academics to take classes over the summer and pursue your passions, but an admissions may be just as impressed by the work ethic demonstrated by a summer job. A third possibility that blends the two is a paid or unpaid internship in a field that interests you. Such an internship may be hard to get, but certainly shows academic interest and dedication. The main things to be wary of are things like "Leadship Conferences" and "Who's Who in America's High Schools" that want you to pay money for some supposed honor. Remember, a real honor will be given to you for FREE.</p>