GrammerNazi

It has kept me entertained to an extent, that's for sure.

ItsAThing

bbccpp, which seminar are you interested in? Maybe you should try Literature takes On Moral Complexity. You seem to be into making moral judgements about people you've never met.

MutaRiSC

Just looked at the prompts. Can't say I'm too happy.

The first three are okay. Literature takes on Moral Complexity might be interesting and food might lend new insight.

I'm afraid the last, Dark Phrases of Womanhood: Black Feminist Approaches to History and Literature, doesn't really interest me. I don't have anything against black people nor do I dislike feminism; its just that it has no bearing upon my life.

What do you all think?

cleverforever

e^10

you're the most hilarious. thanks for stickin' round - i have no idea why i'm here when i have things to be doing. all of you on this thread that have no idea what's going on (the majority, but s'okay), you'll be really pleased at how much time you've wasted being on here instead of being the sort of human that would benefit from a summer spent thinking. but still, i can't blame ya. stay awake.

eeeeeeeee

re mutarisc: well i'll say that, with the obvious exception of the lit one, the choices are way more eclectic/weird than last year's and i like that. i mean, "FOOD"? come on.

it's okay not to be interested in a topic--i basically flat-out refused to attend the "democracy and diversity" one last year in my app--but the "it has no bearing upon my life" justification seems a little..off...to me. i mean, if it has "no bearing upon your life" insofar as you are not a) a woman or b) black, well...it doesn't have to, in that sense! i don't think you necessarily have to be directly affected by the implications (although insert spiel about how "EVERYONE IS AFFECTED BY THIS TOPIC WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO IT") of an academic topic to be interesting in learning more about it!

like i don't think, e.g., the politics of evolution (which was one of the umich seminars last year) affects me directly because i go to a private school where legislation on teaching that stuff isn't really an issue (is that still an issue anywhere?! i would probably know this and much more had i done this seminar! [this post has hella parentheses]) and i'm not interested in studying evolutionary biology in college or anything but! i think it still could have provided a wonderful experience perhaps because it's something i am predisposed to know so little about. or something. (i went to the other umich one, btw)

basically i don't think a topic has to have a huge, tangible effect on your life for it to be an interesting area of study or for you to want to learn more about it--although it's acceptable not to really be interested in it. just something to consider.

also consider the ****ing awesomely heated arguments that will inevitably stem from that seminar. hell yes.

edit: this was an unexpectedly long response. oh well. enjoy!

GrammerNazi

I ****ing love food, so that's kinda my first choice now.

StudiousMaximus

After some consideration, I've tentatively decided to apply. *loud applause*

And I'm kind of with Muta. The last topic doesn't seem too interesting to me. But maybe I'll warm up to it.

Also, I'm extremely envious of last year's TASPers who got the "Politics of Evolution" seminar. I'd die for that topic.

watchmesoar

You don't have to be interested in all four of the seminars - when I applied, I said I absolutely wasn't interested in attending one and it was perfectly fine. Be honest, because if you happen to get placed in a seminar that you have no desire to do, it will not be much fun.

eeeeeeeee

i hope i didn't come off wrong in that post. for clarity: not being interested in that fourth seminar doesn't make you an ignorant bigot or anything. watchmesoar makes a good point in saying that you not only have the right to not be interested in a topic but should definitely definitely say if you aren't. but--and i may be wrong on this--i feel like if you write that you're not interested in it because "it doesn't relate to your life" or something similar, that might sound some alarms for your application-reader-person. or not. maybe.

shinexalive

A rather interesting discussion xD I'm pretty excited for this and though getting in is a long shot, I'm still going to hope. ^.^ I'm thinking the FOOD seminar, since it very much relates to my life! And I'm not really considering the fourth one either...I feel kind of bad, but yeah.

MutaRiSC

I was thinking about reading the Confessions of Saint Augustine. Do you guys know what kind of literature TASP likes to see?

watchmesoar

It's not so much about what you pick as it is about what you write and how. Anything from Mark Twain to Harry Potter.

supersizeme

As someone who grew obsessed with this program prematurely and saw rejection in the first round, let me tell you, spend your time elsewhere. Start thinking about your essays, since the prompts hardly ever change (and when they do, not by much), but spend your Junior year focusing on academics and what Telluride would want you to be doing: reading intellectually stimulating books, writing and attempting to engage in dialogue on these things however you can.

Edit: I don't mean spend your time elsewhere as in "don't apply", I mean you have time and don't start obsessing over it so soon.

Antagonist

The only advice for everyone who is a TASPlicant, coming from a former TASPer and now an interviewer/TASPlication reader is to be yourself and speak in your own voice, be concise, and support your ideas.



There is no "typical" TASPlicant/TASPer, and there's very little you can gain from this thread, other than preTASP communication, which is a Telluridian nono.

GrammerNazi

I meant for the purpose of the thread to be more for the discussion of the application, how writing essays is going, and the like for applicants. Just a pillow for potential TASP-ers to scream in, or a friend to gush to. Upholding that purpose is dependent on other CCers themselves.