@nvb123 I’m not really kidding, so what should I do about the application?
@harvardgrad2020 assuming you have all the recommendations and transcripts out of the way, then I suggest just working through that app as fast as you can. It’s definitely possible in one day, but I can’t guarantee that your essays would be stellar. I would stick with your intuition on the personal statements and just express original ideas. Don’t go too far trying to research a topic or trying to show knowledge (mainly for question 1), as you may not be very developed. In general you should stick with ideas and topics you completely understand and are confident in explaining. If you are really tight on time, I suggest cutting the length of essay questions 3 and 4, as although those are important, they are likely not as important as questions 1 and 2. Answer question 2 in a straightforward manner, don’t try to be too flowery but still show passion. Good luck!
The essays have a maximum character count of 5000, does it hurt my chances if mine are around 1400 each? Or should I elaborate more?
I tried to keep it concise and easy to follow, but I think I may have taken that to the extreme, since it isn’t reaching even close to the character count.
@nvb123 How long have you worked on your application? Also what did you describe in your long range goals?
@confusedtryhard it depends on the ideas you’re trying to get across tbh. I think if you can communicate your passion and experiences concisely, that should be fine. The character count is quite large so I’m sure that they’re not expecting everyone to reach it on all the essays.
@harvardgrad2020 I worked on my application as soon as it opened in November, but I did the majority of it all through winter break. I submitted it on Friday. Regarding long range goals, I talked about my goals with research in college and why I want to focus on the specific fields that I want to perform research in. I also mentioned post-college things, but didn’t go into too much detail because it’s impractical to have a solid plan that far ahead and I wanted to keep things open.
@OleColtrane not sure if my research mentor will make rec deadline. will this significantly hurt me if I have 2 other good recs from STEM teachers?
If our college dual enrollment classes are already on our school transcript, do we need college transcripts?
@nvb123 Thanks for taking questions, I second everything you’ve said.
@recvolleyball If your research mentor can’t make the deadline that’s fine, the other two recs are probably more important, so if they’re good quality then don’t worry too much.
@exa526 Probably not; they really just need some verification of the grades you got in those classes. If you can get the college transcript then definitely send it in, otherwise the school transcript should be enough.
Only have two things to say in response to the newest email
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What the heck does weather have to do with admissions
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YEET!!!
Does anyone know if we can edit our app if we already submitted, given the deadline extension?
I didnt go to school today to complete the application and did a final submit - later checked my email to note that deadline is extended to 18th 
Of course am happy that its done with - but my timing is off…lol.
You cannot edit your application other than references after you submit.
hey, a lil late to this thread and new to college confidential but I thought I’d post my stats anyway.
submitted my application earlier today, figured i should stop obsessing over it.
white male, go to an average public hs in maryland.
no research experience unfortunately, dont live close to any universities or labs.
psat junior year: 1480 math: 750 reading: 730
sat junior year: 1590 math: 790 reading: 800 (mildly salty about the one wrong math question, especially since i got 0 reading and writing questions wrong)
ap’s: freshman year- ap world: 4 (only ap available to freshman at my school)
sophomore year- apush: 4, ap physics 1: 5, ap computer science principles: 5
(all the available ap’s to sophomores)
junior year- ap gov, ap calc ab, ap english language, ap physics 2, ap psychology
gpa- 4.0 uw and not sure about weighted
class rank- 1/302
ec’s- vex robotics competition sophomore and junior year, only programmer, ranked 8th in state last season
MESA, have placed at least top 3 in state for all competitions ive been involved in
PBIS student leader- teach a once a month class about character/responsibility/etc to underclassmen
computer bowl- didnt do to great last year, might have been because our team knew 0 java, still got 11/20 based on test score so thats chill. hoping for more this year lmao
congressional app challenge- second in district
thats about it
considering i have had no chances to get research experience and how many amazing high schools there are in my state i dont think my chances of getting accepted are that good, but i figured it was too good an opportunity to pass up. hopefully rsi decides to be a homie and let me get some research experience.
good luck everyone
Hello, I have a question about my first essay.
Essentially, my first essay is a tad narrative like - explains me reading a space book and getting excited over science kind of thing. Is this okay, or should it really be all logos kind of arguments?
Submitted everything today.
Well, this is a moonshot - but you never know when these sort of things work out!
@owenmitch1 Yeah, one of my essays was more of a story than an essay too. It could definitely work as long as you answer the question in the prompt - so as long as you talk about some of the important questions in astronomy (assuming that’s what your field is) you should be fine
@icecrasher I had no idea how selective RSI was when I applied - all I knew was that it was a good summer program that one of my friends did and loved. So you can imagine my surprise when I got in!
Did you ever hear about how many students applied?
@hebegebe You’re probably not going to like what I’m going to say… Last year about 1,500 people applied; I believe that was only domestic apps, but it may have included international apps too. All in all, the acceptance rate was about 3%. ?
That is what I had heard as well, so thanks for confirming. Son’s application went out a few days ago.
If i got a 2 on my AIME( first time not very good I know, trying for a better score this year) should i even put the score on my app or put it to show i took the AIME test?