Research Science Institute question - RSI

Parents Forum
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<p>I have a close friend who is Hispanic who is homeschooling her two sons. The dad is an engineer so both their sons are ** very ** advanced in math. Because they are homeschooled, their opportunities in sciences have not been as wide reaching. Yes, they have done the standard “honors” science curriculum and have had some access to labs, but math is really their strength. </p>

<p>Their son recently took the PSAT. His scores will qualify him as a semi-finalist and he was, not surprisingly, tops in math. He recently received an invitation to apply to RSI. </p>

<p>The rest of his college portfolio, incidentally, will be stellar with many unusual achievements in sports, performing arts, community service, etc. He has not done the SATs yet. </p>

<p>The family has asked me to try and get more information from CC and other sources. They had never head of RSI before. (Actually, I had never head of RSI until I posted on this board!) Would their son have a serious chance on the basis of his math, if he hasn’t done independent science research on his own? What are the general odds of making it in or not?</p>

<p>If he doesn’t make it into RSI, can anyone suggest a math/science summer program for a very talented URM to look into further. He is highly motivated and used to doing independent work. and is eager to participate in an organized summer program.</p>

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<p>yes, he has a good chance and should apply. RSI has definitely accepted homeschoolers before.</p>

<p>Other math and science camps are listed here. Some of these are also selective and involve a significant application process. Unlike RSI, they also involve some cost to participants. But all would be easier to get into than RSI. <a href=“http://www.ams.org/employment/mathcamps.html[/url]”>http://www.ams.org/employment/mathcamps.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Another great resource for info about math programs and activities is here:
<a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com%5B/url%5D”>www.artofproblemsolving.com</a></p>

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<p>Cami:</p>

<p>1moremom’s S did RSI. Maybe she will see your post and respond or you can PM her.
For math lovers, there are two programs besides RSI that should be considered: PROMYS and MathCamp. Texas137’s S did Mathcamp and loved it. My S did PROMYS and loved it, and so did Marmat’s S. Both PROMYS and Mathcamp have a test (usually posted on their website around late January/February) and require recommendation letters. PROMYS offers number theory for first-timers; Mathcamp offers a wider ranger of topics for shorter periods of time as well as guest lectures.
Mathlovers should also check up the artofproblemsolving.com.</p>

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<p>Well, here’s a 62-page RSI thread
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=101097[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=101097&lt;/a&gt;
pointing to a 127-page RSI thread from 2004
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/archive/index.php/t-364.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/archive/index.php/t-364.html&lt;/a&gt;
which, in turn, points to 18 more RSI threads. :D</p>

<p>Here’s also a 27-page SSP discussion <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=34619[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=34619&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>and many discussions on summer programs:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=26515[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=26515&lt;/a&gt;
Summer Programs: Recommendations from Parents
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=260411[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=260411&lt;/a&gt; Research Projects?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76239[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=76239&lt;/a&gt; Summer Academic Programs</p>

<p>There’s also MITES program at MIT: <a href=“MITES – MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering and Science”>MITES – MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering and Science;
<a href=“Loading...”>Loading...; NASA SHARP research apprenticeship
<a href=“http://www.rockefeller.edu/outreach/[/url]”>http://www.rockefeller.edu/outreach/&lt;/a&gt; - similar to RSI, rockefeller university science outreach program
<a href=“http://www.umsl.edu/~sep/stars.htm[/url]”>http://www.umsl.edu/~sep/stars.htm&lt;/a&gt;
and other research programs.</p>

<p>For Math, I agree that Mathcamp and PROMYS (and ROSS?) are the best, and several others (SUMAC, HSSIM, …) were mentioned in discussions here on CC. They may also want to check out Clay Research Academy <a href=“http://www.claymath.org/programs/outreach/academy/[/url]”>http://www.claymath.org/programs/outreach/academy/&lt;/a&gt; - but Clay and RSI are extremely competitive.</p>

<p>Collection of directories and lists
<a href=“http://tbp-highschool.mit.edu/highschool/[/url]”>http://tbp-highschool.mit.edu/highschool/&lt;/a&gt; MIT list (outdated, but still useful; my favourite list)
<a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/…_R_Programs.php%5B/url%5D”>http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/…_R_Programs.php</a> Artofproblemsolving list
<a href=“http://www.ams.org/outreach/mathcamps.html[/url]”>http://www.ams.org/outreach/mathcamps.html&lt;/a&gt; AMS list
<a href=“http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/links_104.htm#summ[/url]”>http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/links_104.htm#summ&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/linkA4.htm[/url]”>http://cty.jhu.edu/imagine/linkA4.htm&lt;/a&gt; summer programs (CTY list)
<a href=“http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/summer.htm[/url]”>http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/summer.htm&lt;/a&gt; Hoagiesgifted list
<a href=“http://www.nagc.org/summer/intro.html[/url]”>http://www.nagc.org/summer/intro.html&lt;/a&gt; NAGC list
<a href=“http://www.pymath.com/ListMathCamps.php[/url]”>http://www.pymath.com/ListMathCamps.php&lt;/a&gt; list by state (Math)
<a href=“http://www.sciserv.org/stp/[/url]”>http://www.sciserv.org/stp/&lt;/a&gt; searchable directory (Science)</p>

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<p>Whoa! Thanks so much for all the links and information. I will be seeing her tomorrow and will pass on the information.</p>