<p>my friend harassed me into applying, so here i am, freaking out about the fact that kids have known about TASP for years and have been studiously plowing through the classics while i've been on facebook. the book list is really intimidating. good to hear that there are others out there!!! </p>
<p>just curious: are there stats about acceptance rates? or even, how many spots are available?</p>
<p>Don't stress about the booklist, guys. Really. I listed Seventeen Magazine as a periodical last year. Hey, we're teenagers.</p>
<p>So just be yourself! And list the things you enjoy reading. They don't expect you to be literary scholars already.</p>
<p>The stats are something like 900+ apply, 180 interview, 80 something get in.</p>
<p>It'll actually be (86-18) this year because there are only 4 TASPs instead of the usually 5 :(</p>
<p>Last year I think they told us over 960 applied, and 86 were accepted.</p>
<p>Browsing these past few posts, I see my named mention quite a bit XD</p>
<p>Definitely DONT read others essays, it will do more harm than good and will degrade from the experience.
That being said, feel free to discuss topic ideas and all that good stuff, debate get passionate about it (shed a few tears as was the case with Haley and I's past phone call) just dont read others. </p>
<p>RADIONOWHERE: Dont apply, unless you find a way to read Faulkners greatest unabridged, Shakespeare's tragedies and the entire encyclopedia. :-P DONT worry about the book list, you should be grateful that that constitutes as an essay definitely the easiest one. For your own sake you could put title you have not read (Not Advised) a kid who did TASP from my school got into a discussion about a book he hadn't read but listed.</p>
<hr>
<p>Haley that would be so cool if we got to interview, I want to so bad. (R Jones referred to it as a power trip-- LOL)</p>
<p>You guys met Ellen Baer (For those who don't know her she is a demi-god)</p>
<p>I have told this to a lot of people, but this is how I can best describe TASP essays and the over all process . This shall constitute as the bulk of my advice...</p>
<p>When it comes to selecting students for TASP a lot of factors go into play, but the most important is that they are forming a community that will be living together for 6 weeks. Candidates aren't picked individually but with the entire group in mind. For them to ascertain this and the role you could potentially play in this community they are looking to get a complete image of who you are and what you can bring to this community. Hence the 5 essays are so important. </p>
<p>That being said..</p>
<p>You have all heard that grades, ECs and all the other stuff that typically forms a resume doesn't matter for TA admissions. The answer is yes and no.</p>
<p>No, in the fact that unlike college a laundry list of ECs wont help you nor will a 5.0 gpa insure or necessarily better your chances.</p>
<p>Yes, in the fact that ECs are part of you and if they see that the activities you are in are a product of your passion and a true representation of you. Then they see this flesh out in your essays and of course it will help. As ECs are a true part of you, obviously and hopefully that is the case. </p>
<p>So when it comes to writing these essays, this is why being you is so important. We got to meet some of the people that exist in the TA hierarchy and they are smart people (duh), so when they have over 900 people vying for 70 spots they have to cut people some how and those who don’t paint a clear picture of themselves will obviously be the first to go. </p>
<p>Aside from being you, the most important aspect of admissions IMO... is not to compare yourself to other applicants. Undeniably some of the smartest people apply and attend TASP but that is who they are, who are you? Realize not everyone can be #1 or even #100 for that matter, but no matter what "rank" you are in whatever superficial standard being uses, you are the only 1 of you so make that count.</p>
<p>Obviously no one in this group can tell you how to get into TASP, as there is no surefire way. These admissions are very subjective, but trying to cater to the "wants" of TA is foolish, once again being superficial won't gain you anything. It will most likely dampen your chances.</p>
<p>The only other advice I can think of is, for those of you who are antsy about your essays, lol I already have planned mine out, the topics don’t change year to year. (No guarantee)</p>
<p>The Essays are (well were):
+Book List
+Seminar Ranking
+Critical Analysis (Of a Book, but this is flexible.. I know people who did poems, songs and even artwork)
+Conflict Essay (About a conflict you have faced and how you overcame it)
+Issue Essay (Write about an issue you feel passionate about... You shouldn’t have to do research for this essay)</p>
<p>Good Luck to all, we are only about a month away from when the real application comes out. </p>
<p>-Corey</p>
<p>hm, just wrote a response and it got deleted. </p>
<p>no, you don't have to plow through classics in the past five years to apply to tasp. write about what you care about; your essays will be more meaningful that way. there is no "preparation" you can do for your essays. tako covered most of what i was going to say. </p>
<p>corey, yes and.. no. sort of. well, you can talk to me later.</p>
<p>Thank you for correcting me.</p>
<p>Well, not necessarily correct me but remind me that I did not attach a disclaimer (if you may) with my post.</p>
<p>What I am trying to capture is the TA philosophy, obviously everyone has their own perception of what this is and it means different things to different people.</p>
<p>What I was trying to convey in a nutshell (I have a terrible way about me as far as verboseness goes-- I am a terrible writer much more articulate in person) is that this process is truly one of a kind. What they value and look for is unique to itself and should hence be treated as so. </p>
<p>For this sake as I see it, everyone exists in this sort of bubble and through society's perception we have come to push the limits of this bubble, by this I mean by not lying but really pushing the truth (basically everyone is trying to look the best they can (not pointing fingers or any of that, its just a social construct)). And what I was trying to say is that this isn't how telluride works... Well from my viewpoint. </p>
<p>I obviously do not know what goes on behind closed doors, nor does anybody. But, I am trying to demystify the mystery that will never be demystified. Lol, I should just shut up now then I guess..</p>
<p>advice may not be the best description of what I have provided to you, I really actually have no idea how to categorize it. In honesty this response stems from my dealings with a particular individual (not one who exists on CC-- Haley knows what I am talking about).</p>
<p>thanks guys. and haha, giantredlobster, i've actually begun one of faulkners! you're a junior this year?</p>
<p>Yeah, I am a junior and I am applying to TASP... I went to TASS.</p>
<p>And by no means was I bashing on those authors, sometimes it just takes extremes to convey my point.</p>
<p>oh no i know, it was mere coincidence. how was TASS?</p>
<p>Well I am applying to TASP, lol.</p>
<p>But, no, it really was arguably the best experience of my life, it is a lot of fun and quite invigorating experience.</p>
<p>You also use what you have learned, knowledge and skill wise quite a bit.</p>
<p>Jenny and Corey are, as always full of wisdom. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, though- even though there are probably some people reading this who hate seemingly sanctimonious "advice" to "just be yourself" (I know that I tend to)- I really do think it's true in this case. Many, many of my friends from TASS wrote their essays the night before they were due. Others (actually, I only know of one :D ) started working on them in December, submitted drafts to a teacher for editing, all that jazz. Really, whichever process is best suited to your writing style is the one that will be best for you. The fact that you're on CC reading about this in November might imply that you're more of the 2nd type ( :) ), which is fine, but be careful not to edit out your voice. My (haphazardly written) essays were certainly not my most polished work, but the fact that I myself frantically typed them out two hours before the deadline effectively ensured that my voice wasn't diluted.</p>
<p>Factota and tutors for each seminar are posted!</p>
<p>I want to apply for TASP, but I leave for Europe on the 16th of June, and I will be gone for 9 days. So if accepted to TASP, I would only be back from Europe for a few days before having to leave, and I'm not sure how my mom would feel about that :)</p>
<p>I'm sure your mom would feel just dandy about her child going to one of the most pretigious summer programs in the country for free...</p>
<p>sounds good. its nice to hear that kids who've gone/are applying to TASP are actually real people and not academic supergenius robots that just study all the time and are above and beyond sharing their worries and advice with their competitors</p>
<p>Do the booklist how you feel most comfortable with it. I'm sure it'll please all of you to know that I actually divided my booklist by how much of the book I had read. :P</p>
<p>And yes, there were a few books that I hadn't read more than a quarter of. I felt my choice of books represented a part of me that my lack of time to read them didn't have the license to take away, so hey. =)</p>
<p>what were the interviews like, TASP veterans - besides for the asking about books you didn't quite read part?</p>
<p>They vary - interviews range from rather informal (like mine! :D) to being harshly interrogated by a panel. It all depends on your interviewer...your fate lies in their hands :P</p>
<p>But all interviews, no matter what style they're in, are one word - thought-provoking. They will make you think. You will probably contradict yourself multiple times. They will take your essays and ask you questions you haven't even thought of. They will make you think in ways you've never thought before. You will sound stupid. But it's okay! All they want is to see that you have an open mind and that you're capable of thinking on the spot. I think...we'll never actually know what Telluride is looking for (until I become Ellen Baer. Then I will know.)</p>
<p>But yeah :) Once your interview is over, know that you just survived what will probably be the hardest interview of your life. (Then be sad, because you will never be forced to think so hard...until TASP. Then you can be happy again.)</p>
<p>the interview was pretty intense. it was by far more difficult than all the college interviews i've done so far; forget the standard "what's your favorite class" or "what extracurricular activities do you participate in" questions. i had three interviewers (but one forgot to show up; he slept in, hehe), and one of them was a plasma physics professor who went to TASP in the 1960's while the other interviewer was an anthropology and urban studies double major at the university. they had copies of my essays annotated, and took turns firing questions while the other person jotted down notes. the interview was more of an intellectual exercise than a "let's get to know you" interview; they did ask a couple of questions about what i was interested in (although that could be because i talked about art and psychology in my future plans essay), but for the most part the interview was entirely essay based. they challenged me to refine my arguments and tie ideas together (my literary analysis discussed e.e. cummings' theory of literary cubism; they asked me to apply the theory to multiple situations, including my parents' marriage). </p>
<p>like tako said, i must've repeated myself a million times before figuring out what i was saying for a couple of their questions. i have to say i'm thankful that it was at a cafe, because whenever i needed a moment to think about their questions, i took a long gulp of coffee. =) but don't worry about the interview now; wait until the applications come out and work on those essays. you'll have ample time come march to worry about that. and yes, after the TASP interview your college interviews won't be nearly as intimidating and intense. or interesting. :)</p>