Telluride Association Summer Program ( TASP ) 2008

<p>so i can see that some TASPers wrote their first essay on a nonstandard book (like children's books or Dr. Seuss). But is it necessarily a bad thing if we stick to more traditional texts? I chose a recent New York Times bestseller, but i guess it's not as "out there" as some other choices...</p>

<p>ajkcorner: I would think they want your current activities as well. And sure, by all means, write down Spanish as a language (as long as you can sustain an basic conversation in Spanish, that is!). From my experience, though, neither your activities nor the languages you speak will have a significant impact on your acceptance at all, so try not to worry about those aspects too much. :D</p>

<p>Earilmadith: No, it's not too "out there" at all. It's definitely been done in the past. I think it can be a powerful and interesting essay if well-written and well thought out, so go for it if you're up for the challenge! </p>

<p>mc1600: No, it's not a bad thing. It's not about what you analyze (although I gather an interesting choice can get you some bonus poits!), it's about HOW you analyze it. The whole point of this essay is to assess your critical thinking skills!</p>

<p>hey, applying to TASP here too. :) </p>

<p>i have a problem. a while ago, i asked one of my teachers to write me a rec by the mail-in due date (jan. 22) and he said yes. now he says that he probably can't make it because of seniors' letters. </p>

<p>now what? is TASP lenient with these kinds of things? would sending TASP a teacher note explaining this help at all?</p>

<p>What is the general sentiment about mentioning personal religious philosophies in essays? I mentioned a lot about my atheist preferences and when my sister edited it she told me not to FLAT OUT state that I was an atheist to avoid discrimination, but it's still pretty obvious. Also I included some stuff about personal religious discrimination in one of my essays..I personally think all of this is just fine and dandy to include, but she still is firm in her resolve. Opinions?</p>

<p>Also, for those of you applying online, are you just putting the transcript envelope and recommendation envelope in one big envelope and sending it..or are you sending them separately?</p>

<p>if i use stereotyping as a personal conflict i overcame, is that too much of a cliche?</p>

<p>Haha, before I answer questions, I will warn all of you: Feel free to doubt me because these only represent my personal opinion. I too am a Tasplicant, so it's not like I have some kind of magical store of knowledge. There's my caveat.</p>

<p>nyneve: Hmmm, well, because that's your only option, I would definitely have him/her write a note. Are there any other teachers who WOULD be able to send their rec in on time? That's a bummer, though.</p>

<p>randomnerdz: I think it would be okay to mention it, assuming that your beliefs are relevant to the rest of your essay. There's no way TASP will discriminate against you based on your religious ideas. I am applying online, and will send in my transcript and my rec separately (because my school doesn't give me the transcript. They send it directly, not allowing any "unofficial" stuff to be put in with the transcript. My school is weird like that).</p>

<p>D-Yu: It can be, but if the issue is of personal significance, I think it would be a good topic with which to extrapolate upon your own personality and views. Just write well!</p>

<p>my conflict essay is also probably about something really cliche, but I hope I described it / analyzed it well enough. </p>

<p>AHHHH SO MUCH WORK THIS WEEKEND...
good luck with your essays everybody!!! :)</p>

<p>kathy_violin: Thanks! I was at a loss on what to put in the activities section because I recently switched schools and a lot of the activities I was most passionate about got left behind :( And yeah, I can do conversations... I'll include it, I think.</p>

<p>Disneyguy, thanks for the reply. i'm sure a different teacher could make the deadline, if they really tried, but that'd be pushing it because i only have a week. >< see, i thought my teacher could make it, so i didn't ask anyone else for a letter. i'll probably have to run with the note option. </p>

<p>anyone else with any ideas about this? :)</p>

<p>i don't even remember a place to put down languages spoken... don't stress too much about the actual application. remember that TASP application =/= college application. </p>

<p>nyneve, if the rec is a couple of days late, it shouldn't be too much of a problem since it's a postmark deadline and not a received-by deadline, meaning they'll wait awhile to receive all the applications. but if it's two weeks late, that might be a problem, so you can email telluride about that directly.</p>

<p>no one here can really tell you if your essay/situation is "too much of a cliche." if it describes an aspect of you or if it sheds light on who you are, and you can write an awesome essay about a seemingly bland situation, then that's certainly better than a bland essay about your summer experience visiting the dalai lama with tibetan buddhists (although that would be a worthwhile experience, with or without the bland essay ;)).</p>

<p>ajkcorner, i didn't get your pm because my inbox was full, but you can try pm-ing now or shooting me an email will work if you still have questions.</p>

<p>Hey just found this forum and I had a few questions.</p>

<p>Exactly how prestigious and helpful is TASPs, because I've basically been getting a flood of summer program letters (Including one from Stanford)? I hear just applying is helpful on it's own. Will I receive some sort of letter or document just for applying? I need some advice.</p>

<p>do any of you previous tass/taspers have old critical or conflict essays you're willing to share?</p>

<p>is the critical supposed to be written like you would write a movie critique or something or is it more of making an argument of an idea that the author might have wanted to convey in the text, like you do in school?
for example, my last lang essay's thesis was something like "Through the novel The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje argues that national identity is an inexorable characteristic of man." Is it supposed to be something like that, or talking about what you think of the novel/your response?</p>

<p>ahh the english patient! did you get to watch the film, too?</p>

<p>Midgit91, TASP is prestegious and many of the TASPers get into top colleges... but I think it's more of a correlation thing than causation.... and i dont know of any certificate you get for applying</p>

<p>Uh, no, you most certainly do not get a certificate for applying. Why would you? It's not like you get a document from Harvard that says, "Good job, congratulations for applying to Harvard!" that you can show off to your future employers. W-t-f. Don't apply to TASP solely because of prestige, because then it's a waste of both your and Telluride's time.</p>

<p>What is helpful about just applying is the fact that you will have 5 excellent essays that you can make use of during your college application time.</p>

<p>amazing book. sensory detail is...wow.
i didn't get to see the movie! it's been out of the library for ages and I'm not in the mood to spend $5, haha.</p>

<p>I just sent in my rec/transcript, and all I have left to do is write my seminar choice essay!</p>

<p>Of course, my other essays all suck. Except the booklist. But that kind of sucks too because I read so widely that I look all fragmented and schizophrenic. So I'll probably stay up really late the night before attempting futilely to revise. Whoot.</p>

<p>I’ve been lurking around here a bit, so I figured I should stop being creepy and come out and say something. So hi.</p>

<p>I got the little application thing in the mail in December, and it was really exciting because I had been looking for stuff to do over the summer, but all the university programs were so expensive. And so then I googled TASP and ended up here…. and I’m so glad I did. gahhh everyone sounds so smart and awesome and I’m most definitely in love with what my summer could potentially be… which really scares me because my essays are not getting done. I’m having trouble translating the thoughts in my head into coherent syntax, (which is kinda what’s going on now too haha) and the acceptance rate is death. </p>

<p>On the bright side… I’m not doing SAT practice. So I guess that adds up to contentment.</p>

<p>I can't believe I just now thought of this, but my legal name and the name I go by are completely different... so on the online app and my transcript, it says my legal name... but for my teacher letter, it's probably the name I go by, though I'll never actually know now that I think about it.</p>

<p>anyway my question: Would it be weird if I included a little note along with my teacher rec and transcript? I know I'm being paranoid, but what if they think I'm trying to use like a sibling's merit? Should I try to get my counselor to write the note for me?</p>

<p>Wow I just realized my critical analysis is possibly the nerdiest thing I've ever written.</p>

<p>Scratch that. ALL my TASP essays are on my 'nerdiest things I've ever written' list.</p>

<p>Believe me, you are certainly not the only one.</p>