<p>if you sent an admission paper to the columbia, do you get any confirmation or anything?
or do you just get your mail at september when you choose your courses? Thank you 
i was just wondering..</p>
<p>I’'m pretty sure you just get it in the mail.</p>
<p>Also, how long is Columbia every Saturday?</p>
<p>Also, someone mentioned free food… do they provide us with lunch? Snacks? Thanks!</p>
<p>Hey..I know I’m super late to this but I took relativity this past spring. The professor did an awesome job avoiding calculus most of the time. There were a few times we used it, but it’s definitely not necessary to know calculus to understand the class. It’s harder to wrap your head around some of the weirder concepts of relativity than to follow most of the math! Overall, great class. (:</p>
<p>@TheBalticSea - aw, I’m sorry!</p>
<p>@dlthf1026 - What? If you applied to this program, you should have heard in late June whether or not you got in. In early July you should have gotten a form asking you if you would pledge to donate money to help keep the program running. You will get a list of courses in early September along with a form to return with your top choices.</p>
<p>@pinkrose22 - Classes are 2.5 hours, from 10-12:30. They don’t provide food in most classes, but I think I’ve read that organic chem sometimes has. People do bring food and eat during class sometimes though. Coffee is especially popular. (;</p>
<p>I got my course letter today!
Which courses are extremely strict about attendance btw? Are there courses that aren’t strict at all?</p>
<p>I’m kinda in predicament because I have a performance on the first day of classes at 3 in Pennsylvania…Would it be bad if I left at 11:30??</p>
<p>Haha I’m pretty sure all courses are pretty strict about attendance. If you’re going to miss a lot, the first day you’re there find Dr. Blaer (the director of the program) and explain to him what’s going on. If you go to him (or call) directly he’s very helpful. (:
If it’s just the one time, it’s fine…you’re allowed to miss four! Have a parent write & sign a note and bring it with you to show the professor. He/she will let you go early if you have a legitimate reason. I’m not sure whether that would count as one of your absences, that probably depends on the prof.</p>
<p>Well good news! I found that driving directly from Columbia to the performance place is about 2 hours, so I’ll be able to make it in time! Though I might have to leave 5-10 minutes early…hopefully that won’t be too bad.</p>
<p>My choices for courses were Experiments in Genetics/Molecular Biology, Genetic and biodiversity, neuroscience, and organic chem! I was hoping to take experiments this semester and organic chem the next (just in time for APs?) :)</p>
<p>If I got in this year, do I have to start now? Can I not send in the sheet with the course selection and then do the program in the fall or wait until next year? Also, if I want to do SHP next year, but I take any classes this year, do I have to take the test again?</p>
<p>If you maintain a good enough attendance record (I believe 4 excused absences or 2 unexcused absences per semester), you can continue the next year without having to take the test again.</p>
<p>If you didn’t send the form in you should probably call the office asap. I don’t know if they’d assume you’re taking the semester off or that you don’t want to do it at all. It isn’t really fair to waste a spot someone else could be using.</p>
<p>Also, to sophiax27 - I asked my AP chem teacher last year if taking orgo would help me on the AP test and he said probably not. In retrospect, there was such a small amount of organic chem on the test (I really just knew prefixes & the basic groups) that he was right, and it would not have been worth it to take the class. If there’s something else you want to explore, don’t waste your time on organic chem since you’ll probably have to take it in college anyway. On the other hand, the experiments class sounded very cool! And of course if orgo is what you’re really interested in (for you, not exam preparation), go for it. (:</p>
<p>hey guys, so im a junior this year and i plan on giving this test whenever it is next, i believe in april. I got 800 on SAT II subject test, so i should be pretty much set for the math sections right? and for the sciences, what EXACTLY are the topics covered in it?</p>
<p>Please let me know, thanks</p>
<p>Earth Science, Chemistry, Biology, a little bit of Physics.
The math is mainly algebra II if I remember correctly, it’s not very hard.
The “challenging” section is more like critical thinking than pure math and I think this is what basically decides if you are in or not.</p>
<p>How much weight is put on the transcript? I have decent soph/junior grades so far(i’m a junior) but I have many B’s freshman year.</p>
<p>If I can score average 110-120 AMC and average 5-7 AIME would that be decent? I also have some experience in proof and discrete math.
Never taken earth science. Good knowledge of chemistry, some physics background (will improve throughout the year), decent bio. 800 math sat II. Just from this (which is a very vague description) do you guys think i’d be fine?</p>
<p>ALSO: I live in Fairfield County, CT. Is it still worth it to apply even if I’d have to take a train every Saturday?</p>
<p>Did you do the Waksman Scholars Program at Rutgers? Cause I did that too if you did lol.</p>
<p>If you get into this program, do you go to it the rest of your high school career? Or can you only do it for a year?</p>
<p>imma take the test the next time it comes around. only thing is, imo i’m pretty OK at science, but i fail at AMC-type math questions. i skipped two years of math, but i just can’t wrap my head around them. it’s very strange. will i be able to get in? :l</p>
<p>Okay so at this point I took the test about a year and a half ago, so I don’t remember very many specifics. Just a disclaimer.</p>
<p>@kunal436 - Getting an 800 on Math 2 certainly does not mean you can do this type of math. It’s like AMC with no calculator (basically what tvremote said about testing thinking skills). In fact, a friend of mine who scored an 800 on Math 2 was not accepted last year. The EXACT topics are (in order of prevalence) bio and chem, then a few questions each of earth science and physics.</p>
<p>@mistervert - I take a train every Saturday, and it’s kind of nice. Annoying because I have to get up early to catch it, but it’s actually pretty relaxing to just sit back and watch pretty things fly by out the window. (: Also, yes, it sounds like you’d be pretty prepared for the test…not that you can really “study” for it anyway. And I’m pretty sure most of the emphasis is placed on the test and not the transcript, but there are many parts of the application and I am obviously not on the admissions committee.</p>
<p>@collegejunkie - You are in the program for the remainder of your high school years. :D</p>
<p>@pancakeparty - Teach yourself how to think. Do practice AMC problems or just do your math homework without a calculator. It works, trust me. The problems aren’t about knowing actual math, they’re about figuring out methods on the spot and being able to calculate quickly (because of time restraints, not because you need that to succeed in the classes offered, but still).</p>
<p>I am very tired so please excuse anything that makes no sense. ._.</p>
<p>Hello everyone–just a quick question regarding Fundamentals of Chem versus Chem I</p>
<p>Ok, I know through reading the course descriptions of the basic differences between the two. Fundementals of Chem is less intensive and more “basic.” I haven’t had any chemistry since junior year of highschool which was about 7 years ago (non-trad student). Would it be prudent of me to maintain my current schedule (Gen Chem I) or switch to the intro course? I’m confident I can catch on quick and plan to study old textbooks for the month leading up the beginning of classes. I’m also concerned, though, that I may be in for a rude awakening and/or am in over my head. Those who have taken either of the courses please advise..thanks in advance guys!</p>
<p>hi shp-ers! </p>
<p>now that our first course this school year is over, I think it might help other students to post their candid opinions of the course(s) they have taken through SHP to help us pick courses for this semester. </p>
<p>This is my first year. I took neuroscience- it was interesting and the professors really knew what they were talking about however it is HEAVILY lecture based and can get really complicated really fast if you don’t pay attention. I only understood maybe 20-30% of the material, because it is very fast paced. that said, I liked that they included a lot of modern research in the field because it is a relatively new field. they also helped us work through research papers, which was boring, I’ll admit, but I think it was good exposure to real scientific research and I was happy when I finally understood it (because lets face it: scientific papers are confusing unless you are an expert in the field…)</p>
<p>I am hoping to take a lab based class this semester. let me know how your classes went! thanks and good luck to prospective SHP-ers taking the test in march.</p>
<p>I’m a fresh and I’m applying to the SHP for the first time. Reading previous posts, I gather that the test is pretty hard. I have never taken the AMC but I’m in Alg II Honors right now. I also know that the science part is very general with emphasis on earth science, bio, and chem with little physics. Right now, I’m in physics and I’m kinda worried about the challenge math and science part. What does everyone suggest I start studying?</p>
<p>haha ferredoxin, I think i was in your class. yea that was one hell of a class.</p>
<p>@ninjacat14 the science is basically general principles. I am sure you can deduce the answers if you just focus.</p>
<p>Id “worry” about the challenge section. literally, if you have the time, go through this thread. the exam is reused every year and test questions are recycled. so, if you just read the discussions that some of us made after the test, you can get a general sense in what type of questions there are. AND remember the answers; there were 2-3 questions on the test that I did not get to finish, but I knew the answer because it was on this thread haha.</p>