<p>I think they give you about five or six lines to write a little about some of your ECs; basically just what it is, what you do in it, how much time you spend on it. I think they ask you about awards and work experience also but they are small parts of the application. Again, this is last year, and they’ve already changed one part of the process (transcripts for finalists only) so I wouldn’t be too reliant on this. It’s still very early also.</p>
<p>Harambee: There is a lot of time to hang out and get to know other TASPers, and the amount of freedom there is great compared to other summer programs. On a typical day you are obligated to attend seminar, which is three hours every weekday morning, and go to lunch and dinner with everyone (which is something that you will want to do, trust me). A few times a week you will need to go to a presentation or guest lecture of some kind, or a group event that you decide on as a TASP (part of the whole self-governing community thing). The rest of the time is yours to spend. You will certainly have time to explore, I guarantee it, and though the rules as to what you specifically can and cannot do (curfew, etc.) vary depending on your factota (RAs/tutors/guidance counselors haha), they are in general very reasonable. If I remember correctly our TASP’s curfew was 11:00 on weeknights and 1:00 on the weekends, and there’s was no “bedtime” or anything similar. We were allowed to go anywhere on the UT campus by ourselves as long as it was known where we were (we had a whiteboard for this) and we could go anywhere else in the city as long as we had someone with us (another TASPer I mean, not a factota). Feel free to ask for more specifics.</p>
<p>Wow, that’s pretty sweet. Thanks for the response wombatsoup. I thought the program would be more intensive, and you would have rigorous/crazy schedules. I like the freedom that they let you have.</p>
<p>Last year, over 1000 applicants -> 130 finalists -> 68 accepted + 10 waitlisted. It will be harder this year, though, with only 3 seminars instead of 4.</p>
That makes it easier to get into Harvard than to get into TASP, statistically speaking. BUT, I’ll still apply. I’m not going to let the fear of striking out keep me from playing the game.</p>
<p>Topics, actually. There are a few, and I think they’ve already been listed on this thread. But because me so nice, here they are again:</p>
<p>-Literary analysis (of a book, poem, essay, etc.)
-Issue of concern/topic of choice
-Conflict (internal or external) you’ve faced and how you handled it
-Future plans, or if you’re unsure, the reasons for your indecision
-Rankings of the programs and reasoning
-Book list (not an essay, but people tack it on this list anyway)</p>
<p>Happy writing, kiddies! Hit us up for more deets/questions if you’ve got 'em.</p>
<p>p.s. I’d just like to point out that, as proven by its 2010 seminar topic, UT is the best TASP as usual. Not that I’m biased or anything.</p>
<p>Wait, i was reading in another thread that you have to have a big list of books or something. Is this true?. The thread was from 2006 so i don’t know if it’s outdated or anything.</p>
<p>You need to list significant books that you’ve read in the past year. It doesn’t have to be a particularly long list, although mine was (for several reasons).</p>
<p>-Literary analysis (of a book, poem, essay, etc.)
-Issue of concern/topic of choice
-Conflict (internal or external) you’ve faced and how you handled it
-Future plans, or if you’re unsure, the reasons for your indecision
-Rankings of the programs and reasoning
-Book list (not an essay, but people tack it on this list anyway)</p>