<p>Yes, some of us were on CC during seminar. Facebook was altogether more popular, though. (In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, TASPers are mostly human. Except for a few oddlings.)</p>
<p>So I just finished my third essay, and they’re all less than 1000 words. Is this okay? Did any former TASPers have essays this short?</p>
<p>yes, as was previously stated, word count is less important than content. you’re fine with <1000 words, i know at least one of mine was about that length. don’t fret! [UT, see:sailors]</p>
<p>how long should the “discuss the seminars” be? it says be succinct…like a paragraph per seminar or…?</p>
<p>Yeah, I was wondering that too…I’ve been trying to find out about what word count “succint” means…
Anyways, I just found this forum and it made my day, it’s so helpful!</p>
<p>Just answer the prompt and include what they tell you too. I think the committee will decide from your other essays if you will be good for the program. Mine is short, only 350 words for that one but i will bump it up to 500 once more thoughts roll in.</p>
<p>I wrote a paragraph for each seminar, and actually ended up ranking them 1-1-1-4 (blech, I didn’t like UMich’s at all) which is kind of unconventional, but whatevskiez. You should be good as long as you cover each component of the prompt, methinks.</p>
<p>Just curious, how often do people end up in their last choice seminar? UT Austin (cultural diplomacy) and Cornell I (democracy and diversity) both really interest me, but Cornell II (gods and heroes of the Celts and Vikings) isn’t as appealing to me.</p>
<p>How screwed am I if I’m not done and haven’t got anyone to proofread any my essays yet ):</p>
<p>At least one normally admitted TASPer (not WL) was given their last-choice seminar. It does happen.</p>
<p>@EricLee, if you finish your essays and they have the ideas you would like them to have, having someone proof-read them is not really necessary. I’m only having two of my essays proof-read, the rest are going to be completely from me.</p>
<p>Just to chime in, a few thoughts from the weird kid from SoCal. </p>
<p>Yes the rumors were true, and it was totally weird about using the CC names, but that’s something I think that was unique to UT '09 (others to a lesser extent). It won’t define your experience, unless you want it to. There’s always going to be really weird people at TASP, a good mix, and let the surprise come later on. That’s the fun part of it. </p>
<p>So yeah, don’t trip about essays and do your thing. Be yourself, and stay in this thread or not. Every experience can be different. Some good friendships came about through here (and some interesting ones, to say the least). Until the day that Antagonist is like, the TASP god that wields the all-mighty acceptance/rejection wand, every opinion is subjective. One person’s experience may be different from another, wholesomely. Some people live through the nostalgia for years following it, some people get over it within a few weeks, and some practically disappear off the face of the Earth following it. That’s just how it is. You’ll realize that quickly after the experience once you talk to past and present TASPers alike.</p>
<p>On an ending note, one thing that I heard from an '08 TASPer I think sums it up best: “The Anti-TASPers are often the coolest ones that you’ll meet, bar none. The kids that don’t fit the idealistic image of what TASP is to a T. They’re amazing.” Take that as you will; some TASPers would completely disagree, and others will be like “Hell yeah!” </p>
<p>See ya later, and if you need any help and whatnot, PM me. I don’t follow this thread religiously or anything, but I’m around, doing the whole college-application process thing.</p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>To continue that thought: TASP was a great experience, however you choose to define it. I think every group goes into it with this idealized idea of strong community and collectivist spirit and everything. So did I. But some of my favorite experiences of TASP were the spontaneous bus rides to, well, anywhere. Walking around the UT Austin area. I mean, our seminar was sort of the anti-TASP in and of itself, since we were required to go out into the city to study subjects, which I found amazing and enlightening. So it all depends on the people you are around and your factota. We lucked out in that ours were very lenient and encouraged activity that TASP purists would probably scoff at. And I’m sure that this year’s UT will be drastically different, but there will be plenty of exceptions to it. </p>
<p>There are many examples of “anti-TASP” behavior that is a nice balance to the TASPiness of every group, much of which it’d be best not to hear until after you’re done with the experience. But really, don’t rely on our experiences. Create your own, and it will be your own. That is all.</p>
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<p>I’m not disputing your experience, because it’s your experience. As you know we are on the same page to certain extent, though we disagree about some things. However, that is a statement of “fact,” and not an opinion. We didn’t call each other by usernames in conversation, that’s absolutely ridiculous. It is possible that Antagonist was called an “antagonist” in a joking way, and your were called obstinate in the same fashion, but that’s only because they reflect aspects of your personalities (you have to admit this). I’ve never heard anyone refer to another person in a real conversation by their username.</p>
<p>Fair enough. Like I said, every experience is unique.</p>
<p>And for the record, if someone PMs tokenadult and requests the thread to be closed, it can be with substantial reason. Just sharing.</p>
<p>Oh, and bears and dogs, Furby never made it to the interview round, so he doesn’t really know much about TASP.</p>
<p>for the “literary analysis” prompt, do you think it hurts you if you analyze a “fluffy” book (ie, twilight) vs. a more intellectual one?</p>
<p>Ok, I have a question, for those of you who attended TASP- Was there anybody in your session who actually lived close to the site? I’m kind of having a little dilemma with ranking my seminar preferences since I live by one of the sites this year and I’m pretty familiar with it. The two seminars I’m really interested in are Cornell I and UT, but I think I’m a teeeeeensssy bit more partial to the one which is being held where near where I’m from. Still I’d be absolutely thrilled to attend either. I guess my question is whether I should try to branch out more and rank the other one higher?</p>
<p>One TASPer at UT-Austin was from Texas, maybe a couple hours?</p>
<p>The fluffy/intellectual literary analysis question needs to be submitted to Ask-A-TASPer. It’s coming up every three pages…</p>
<p>mmmk, thanks. I think I’m going to put them both at 1 and just see what happens!</p>
<p>Sorry, i just don’t think that reading through 40+ pages of posts will be very efficient. Do you have a quick answer?</p>