What Is TASP Like?

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
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<p>So far, all I've read on this website has been about how TASP is the most prestigious and if you do it you get into ivy league blah blah blah. I want to know what the experience is like. I love learning and being with people who are of intellect and are genuinely interested in the things that they learn. However, from this website, it seems like everyone is applying to TASP because its the most prestigious and theyll "automatically" get into the top school that they apply to, NOT because they are genuinely interested in learning. Are all the kids at the program going to be of this type? Obsessed with being the best, going to the best college, planning out every single moment of their high school career specifically for the purpose of getting into the so-called best college in america? Not that, of course, going to a top college means that you do not genuinely love learning. However, I think everyone knows the type who only does things in the hope that it will boost their college resume above everyone else. If TASP is full of kids like this, than I don't want to do it. If TASP is full of GENUINE kids who love learning and are not doing this for the added-college-resume perks, then I would love to do this.</p>

<p>OK, rant aside, other questions: what is the environment like? workload? is there time for fun?</p>

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<p>As a general rule, people who apply simply for the prestige don’t have the drive/intellect to write the insightful essays that are required to actually get into the program. I don’t have time to answer the rest of your question at this movement (and trust me, it will take a while) but at my TASP everyone there was genuinely interested in learning. You can literally have a conversation with someone there about anything. Also as for the “automatic acceptance” thing there is no evidence to support that. Correlation =/= causation, though I’m going to be honest and say that it is a great admissions thing and everyone there was aware of it. But it is so much more that, and I (or other TASP allums) will explain what I mean later. I admire the way you’re looking at it by the way.</p>

3

<p>Alright, I will attempt to answer your last three questions. Again, the response is going to be completely inadequete (I’m in class right now and pressed for time) but I’m sure it will be supplemented by other 2009 TASPers since TASP is still very much on everyone’s mind.</p>

<p>Environment:</p>

<p>So much of this depends on the individual TASP. There are a lot of common threads however, the first is the incredible amount of freedom to plan your own time. Outside of seminar and meals most days are unstructured, so a lot of people go out and explore the city (Austin >>>> Ann Arbor, Ithica btw), nap, go to the gym, or just chill. It is also impossible to decribe the amount of fun that spontaneously happens for little or no reason, such as the water fight/dance party/fight over umbrellas that happened just because it rained or randomly staying up all night listening to music and singing for no reason at all or riding a bus to the end of the line because it sounds cool. I really could go on all day about this. As you may or may not know organized social/community activities are planned in in house communities and agreed on at house meetings, which you will come to have a love/hate relationship with if you end up at TASP. There is also a lot of really substanial conversation going on, but not neccesarily classically intellectual conversation (though there is a lot of that too). The most fulfilling of these usually happen in small groups or one-on-one. It is not unusual at all to have conversations lasting hours or going until four o’clock in the morning. One is considered an early bedtime at TASP.</p>

<p>Workload:
This varies from TASP to TASP and day to day. I know our seminar by its nature didn’t assign a ton of work, but we had a pretty substanial final project that required some field research (Which was awesome, btw). Overall it was never overwhelming but it was certainly enough to make the seminar run well. Expect a few hours a day. </p>

<p>Time for fun:
I kind of answered this already, but there is a lot of time for fun. Fun going to concerts and other organized events, fun playing monopoly, fun dying of laughter multiple times a day. It is an absolutely intense, overloading amount of fun.</p>

4

<p>Wombatsoup covered it pretty well. That’s essentially how it is. But then keep in mind, all TASPs are different. UT Austin TASP definitely seemed to have a different vibe, since we’re in a real city and all. That was the biggest selling point for me, haha. We were able to do a bunch of things that may not be quite “TASP-like” or whatever, like go to not one, but TWO concerts, plus a bunch of other random goings-on in the City. Some of the most exciting experiences of TASP, IMO, were just really walking around town at night toward the house and just screwing around.</p>

<p>Oh, and definitely at TASP there will be a few of those kind of people. It is pretty hard to get into, but no system is perfect in weeding out prestige-hungry mongrels. After all, it **is **pretty prestigious. </p>

<p>Really there’s always something to do and someone to do it with if you’re looking for it. People are people; TASPers put off assignments to the last minute and BS them in discussion too. Sometimes you’ll even get sick of seminar. But it’s really awesome to have the experience and all, and you’ll be doing a ton of learning from the people around you as well. </p>

<p>All in all, if you’re looking for people with a genuine love of learning, yeah you’ll find it. If you’re looking for a good time, you’ll find it. All in all, the least you can do is apply. I mean, totally free, six weeks, and you come out of it totally enlightened. It isn’t perfect, but it’s worth doing. Plus, free.</p>

<p>Oh, and if any of you get into Austin, I can recommend you a few places to check out. Austin’s such a beautiful place; I miss it :(.</p>

<p>P.S. They cut U Mich TASP this year, so now it’s down to three. Not trying to scare you away or anything, but that’s the truth. Still, try your best. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Oh, and another cool thing about TASP is that the Telluride Association has a huge group for alumnus on Facebook that were in TASP in previous years and go to all sorts of schools. Great tool for networking, and many of them are just plain awesome people. It’s really great if you’re touring colleges and need a place to crash overnight or anything. Plus, not to mention, they’re really great people. May be too pre-professional for your tastes, but that option’s there too.</p>

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<p>around how many people are at each campus?</p>

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<p>As a 2009 TASPer at Cornell, I think I might be able to answer some of your questions.</p>

<p>I’ll agree with wombatsoup in saying that those who apply simply for the prestige aren’t going to be able to write those essays, or pass the interview, for that matter. Believe me, 7250 words + an hour of conversation say a lot about you. (The, what, 6.5% admission rate confirms this too.)</p>

<p>Workload will vary by seminar. I was in Cornell II, “Empire of Prisons,” based more on social studies, while the other half of us were in Cornell I, “Pleasure and Danger,” which was about the body (to be specific, more about the philosophy of sexuality). Cornell II people had a lot of reading, but it is possible to get by well by efficiently skimming. Of course, you’ll have enough time to actually do the reading too. Cornell I people didn’t have as much to read quantity-wise (at least from my perspective – I may be wrong), but given that they read a lot of philosophy, it was probably denser material.</p>

<p>Environment will also vary. Personally, I loved Ithaca. And to it me, it was much better than what Austin sounded like. (So take all of these opinions as subjective.) TASP is what you make it; there will invariably be various problems and issues that you will have to face and deal with as a group. These difficulties, however, will only make your bond stronger, assuming that all of you deal with them in a mature fashion. </p>

<p>At Cornell, we had 16 people in each seminar, totaling to 32 total. I think UMich and UTAustin each had 20 people.</p>

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<p>And, funny thing is, no one at my TASP was especially prestige-hungry, I think. The fact that one attended it is definitely good for college applications, but I doubt that was the primary reason we applied for TASP.</p>

<p>There is definitely time for fun. In general, activities involving everyone (movies, field days, and for us, trips to the gorges) are planned out as a group (i.e. all of you, proposing and voting on various ideas and plans). But informal activities are just as great. For example, I personally loved playing volleyball in the field behind the Telluride House. And at least in our TASP, most people seemed to hold to the idea that Fun > Academics, at least when it comes down to choosing between playing volleyball or going to Collegetown and reading or working on one’s paper.</p>

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<p>I agree with the fun>academics aspect of TASP, though I would put it in broader terms: people>academics. It was not something I had expected before I applied to TASP but when I was actually there I completely understood why and stuck to it, with few execptions. For the majority of people, spending time with the other TASPers either in fun or serious conversation took on more importance than work, especially at the end, though we all did all the assignments and most of us did at least sections of all of the readings out of respect for our professors and our seminar. </p>

<p>Also I really don’t think there were any prestige hungry people at our TASP either but in all reality how would you even know? I really don’t think it is possible to “fake” your way through the TASP application process. </p>

<p>There are 18 people at UT and UMich(RIP). And Purple right now the phrase “better than Austin” makes my brain hurt trying to think of a way it would be possible, so it truly is subjective which environment is better for each person. And I have heard that the house/meals are better at Cornell, but I don’t think you can beat Austin for city.</p>

<p>Oh and Obstinate there were three concerts if you count the Cipher performance. I’m still mad at our whimsical suitemate for hearing the place name wrong.</p>

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<p>And you can’t beat Cornell for nature =) I still miss the trees, the waterfalls, and the gorges.</p>

<p>We went to see two or three movies, hiked for an hour (one way) for a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and had half a dozen guest lectures. And many trips to the gorges.</p>

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<p>That might be why I liked Austin so much: where I live we have PLENTY of nature and trees. You had a lot more guest lectures I know that, we only had three (I’m not counting planned parenthood or the Plan II presentation as guest lectures). We went all over the place at our TASP, we have a list somewhere of ~25 places we went collectively.</p>

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<p>Oh yeah, and let me add that if any of you are reading this and are URMs, please don’t hesitate to PM me for more specific information and help along the way with the application and anything else TASP-related. Not discriminating or anything, but one thing about TASP that struck me was the disturbing lack of minorities, Hispanics especially. I think our TASP was the only one with Hispanic representation, if I’m not mistaken, and 1/2 to be exact. </p>

<p>Yes TASS is there to encourage African-Americans to apply, but I believe there needs to be some sort of training to smooth out the transition between that sort of atmosphere and the TASP atmosphere. There were quite a few uncomfortable moments that would’ve been less so if there were more minorities there to relate to really. That’ll happen even moreso in most schools, but at least in college there are resources and groups for different minority groups to meet others from similar backgrounds. I’m still not convinced that some people there weren’t racist (though most there were varying levels of awesome indeed) </p>

<p>Oh, and once again, let me reiterate: More minorities, more experiences are definitely needed in TASP. It’d be great to see more of us representing and learning from such an experience as it, because in a way it mirrors what you’ll experience in college. So please don’t hesitate to ask more!</p>

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<p>I agree with Obstinate’s post on minorities, and would add that please feel free to PM me as well. </p>

<p>Actually, from what I’ve heard, it sounds like this year’s Cornell TASP had a pretty good range of minorities. I’m Asian myself, and there were at least half a dozen other Asians, several Hispanics, and several blacks. We did have more TASPers (32), though, compared to the 20 (?) of the other TASPs. But indeed: more experiences definitely contribute to a better TASP.</p>

<p>Again, feel free to ask me about the TASPplication process, or anything about TASP in general. I will try to be as helpful as I can, and I’m sure many other TASP alumni (such as Obstinate above) will agree.</p>

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<p>UT TASP had the following racial breakdown (excluding factota, there were 18 of us):
6 white
3 black
1 middle eastern
2 south asian
5.5 east asian
.5 hispanic</p>

<p>I come from a tiny town that is more than 95% white, so this was “diverse” to me. Obstinate, on the other hand, attends a school that is less than 5% white (I believe?). Understandably, we have different views about what constitutes diversity. I do think our TASP was fairly white-and-Asian-heavy compared to the ideal/past TASPs, but I wouldn’t say our group was homogeneous by any means. </p>

<p>I consider diversity to be more than a racial issue. I was more bothered by the lack of diversity in political beliefs/religious views than I was by racial makeup, since I believe that what you’re able to contribute to TASP is so much more than the color of your skin. I never would have “swapped out” any TASPer just so we could have a more colorful or manufactured group. I think every white person deserved to be at TASP, just like every black person and every Asian person, etc. I’m sorry that Obstinate was as dissatisfied as he was with our demographics. </p>

<p>I don’t pretend to believe that our TASP was perfect by any means, and I too would encourage minorities to apply. However, I think we should abandon the idea of TASP being a recipe that requires exact ingredients to be meaningful, when in actuality it is a hodge-podge of imperfect awesome that can’t be measured in percentages and numbers.</p>

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<p>It isn’t simply about the amount numbers, but also about points of view and life experiences. Chances are, skin color/socioeconomic status can and will dictate the way one sees the world, naturally. As I’ve mentioned, Telluride does a great job in encouraging African-Americans to apply through TASS, the sophomore seminar, and low-income kids for both with their travel/work stipends, though this goes only so far.
One problem is visibility. How can it be on the radar for many kids who may not go to top secondary schools or otherwise wouldn’t be able to be exposed to such a program? </p>

<p>Another part of the problem is the mere nature of the program itself; to live the “life of the mind” is very much a priviledge and a middle-class notion, which kids may pass up for an experience that offers a learning opportunity and work experience.</p>

<p>I’m not saying there’s a certain magic number of minorities, but to truly create a diverse class of people from various backgrounds, it wouldn’t be so if it is an opportunity only applicable to some. Thus, as I’ve mentioned, I’m here to help.</p>

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<p>Well said, embeezy. I, too, was concerned at first about diversity of opinion, but it turned out to be much better for our TASP than I expected.</p>

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<p>i was a cornell tasper as well. maybe it was just the fact that i come from a fairly parochial community and from a school with a whopping 98% caucasian population, but our tasp was diverse by my standards. honestly, there seemed to be a tinge of a middle class pattern, yet the variations in cultural and geographical backgrounds were overwhelming and exciting for me. out of our 32 we had so many combinations of races and cultures that i dont even think that many taspers could be categorized as asian or latino or african american. i dont think that the categorizations could come close to capturing their backgrounds.
whether tasp could use greater diversity or not, it is worth it on all accounts. tasp is simultaneously challenging and invigorating. the taspers Make the experience/ it is not just determined by the setting of austin or ann arbor or ithaca and not just the title of the seminar. if you are looking for a place of acceptance, and for people who give a damn, then go for it.</p>

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<p>I am a parent of TASPer 09
I heard about it through grapevine and went on to read every thread in this site. I totally strongly crazily believed that this is made for my kid and convinced him to write essays and apply without telling much what he was getting into. He still has no (maybe some) idea what he had given.
I shared freely every other info about any other stuff, Marie Walsh Sharpe art camp, Questbridge, etc…
But I did not tell anyone about TASP.
Why? I think I did not wanted any competition from other ghetto school artists or same geography area that could outdo his essays.
My excuse was that kids who know would knew anyway, some smartest one would even get invitation to apply. I knew few CC ers from same town who did not make it.
Now, to repent my sin, I tell everyone I meet who has younger kids who like writing how wonderful it has been and they should totally apply.
One thing everyone could have done to spread diversity (race, money wise) is to broadcast its merit and recruit more kids from the class or in the neighborhood. I am sorry I didn’t. Amen.</p>

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<p>Not a problem bears and dogs! That’s how it works either way. I find that to be my mission for this last year. I’m a college peer counselor at my school, and my friend and I plan on drastically improving our school’s awful college information website with information on summer programs. We also plan on giving a large presentation on free programs such as TASP that not only look good on college apps, but are extremely worthwhile opportunities at that. I also plan on doing a bit of outreach at other less affluent local high schools, both for TASS and TASP. </p>

<p>Though many kids may not find the idea appealing or be turned off by the general lack of people that look like them, even if just 2-4 kids from each apply, it’ll do a world of good and certainly help some kids from really bright kids from lower-performing Los Angeles schools to the road to success!</p>