<p>@ SexyAznPrincess :- haha.(.lol) I gues i vl hav the same privilege;),but first lemme get in(:
wheres ur native and when have you applied? btwn you seem to be a prince…aint you?
Well…is he in cc? i wish to get more info on this homeschooling stuffs and how applicants manage to get in,lemme know if you can provide some tips.
best,
91</p>
<p>@pdawggy</p>
<p>I’m a guy. LOL. Physically at least.</p>
<p>@hanaanhashim91</p>
<p>Uhh, I’m Chinese (but I was born/live in the States so I’m not international) and I was at Socorro this past summer. And nah, I don’t think he’s on here.</p>
<p>@lc93430</p>
<p>Oh I thought everyone heard lol. I overslept one time, and one of the TAs in the beginning of class asked if anyone had seen me, and he said “Well, I was whipping him with my phone cord this morning…”, which everyone interpreted the wrong way lolol.</p>
<p>I dont get how people with actual math skills in ARML, AIME, High SAT’s and APs in Calc BC get flat out rejected while others…Basketball player??? Seriously…get accepted? I understand they want genuine passion, but won’t you find that first from people who have academic requirements?</p>
<p>Yo Ames, I think you’re forgetting that it takes most people a while to get used to you… don’t scare the applicants.</p>
<p>But hi everyone, I’m a 2010 Socorro SSPer, here to share my thoughts.</p>
<p>First of all, this is a VERY social camp. You can even tell from this entire thread that our campus had a great social dynamic, because, after all, the only thing people did was socialize. Do not be fooled by the website, which states that “students complete a challenging, hands-on research project.” The “research” you do is menial, brainless work like pressing buttons on a computer, and pales in comparison to any other research-oriented program like RSI, YSP, Clark’s, SIMR, Iowa SSTP, just to name a few.</p>
<p>The core topics of SSP are calculus, physics, astronomy, and programming. In my opinion, only two types of people benefit from the academic syllabus, and they are the people at either end of the spectrum. If you have no experience in any of the topics, you will be inundated with information and theoretically retain at least a smidgen of it. And if you decide to officially take some of these courses some time in the future, I imagine you would have an easier time. The other end of the spectrum is if you’re a complete genius, which there were a few at SSP. A strong background in these core topics allows you to understand the more advanced topics that the professors explore, like special relativity. I would say that coming into the camp, I was in the middle, with BC Calc and APC Physics under my belt, but minimal experience in either programming or astronomy. I slept through the first weeks of lecture because it was all review for the sake of those without experience, and I slept through the last weeks of lecture because I couldn’t understand a single thing that was being said. And this is the inevitable result of bringing together such an eclectic group with varying levels of expertise.</p>
<p>As for the “research” that we conducted, none of it was any ground-breaking work, so don’t get your hopes up. It’s all information that you can find on Wiki or Wolfram|Alpha easily. But it is advanced–so much so that the professors needed to baby our way through it, or else it would never have gotten done. My favorite was the day that one of the professors declared that there would be “no black boxes” in our orbit-determination education, gave a 3-hour lecture on transposing spherical coordinates to 2-dimensional coordinates that not a soul understood… then handed us a paper printout of his program and told us to type it in. And after we typed it in, they graciously let us use the function on the software we were using that calculated it all for us. I think what I’m trying to say is that astrophysics is advanced stuff, not something for high schoolers. In my experience, I hardly understood what I was doing, I just knew that there were equations that were handed to me and I needed to program them in. And to me, that kind of brainless, not-understanding-but-just-doing stuff is a waste of my time. Right now, I wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing about astrophysics, no lie.</p>
<p>But socially, SSP is a fantastic experience. It was a very pleasant change to be surrounded by people of similar interests and similar levels of intelligence. However, that said, it wasn’t a giant group of sexually repressed nerds who played WoW all day, although you will meet some… unique individuals (lucky me, I had 2 of those in my group, but I guess birds of a feather flock together). These were very down-to-Earth (no pun intended?), amazing individuals and I love them all very much–yes, even Ames-the-weirdo. We took field trips to White Sands (basically a beach), Elephant Butte (a lake), and other tourist-y places, in addition to observatories and crap that no one really cared about. Someone asked about sleep deprivation? It becomes your decision whether to stay up or not. Not very many people stayed up solely because they had too much work.</p>
<p>So what I took out of SSP 2010 was a whole new family of amazing, relatable people that I hope to remain close to for many years to come, if not the rest of my life. I also learned a bit of basic astronomy, like right ascension, declination, meridian, etc., but not anything that can’t be obtained from a scroll-down of a Wikipedia page.</p>
<p>For those of you wondering whether to apply, just do it. There’s no application fee, and it’s actually a pretty short app–what, like 5 questions? Nothing that can’t be BS’d on the last day (although it is semi-rolling, so the sooner you get it in the better). But note that admissions is very, very random. Not everyone who attended was in the top decile at their school, not everyone had 2000+ SAT scores. Some didn’t have calc/phys/astronomy/compsci experience, and some struggled with some of the more basic material. So if you happen to be rejected, don’t take it personally, as it is no indication of your intelligence or worth or anything. Or even your ability to get into college, which I know you really care about as well. And don’t hate on the girl from your physics class whom you think yourself superior to who did happen to get in.</p>
<p>One last note: SSP (the organization) is VERY college-obsessed. Every year, they ask for and create a spreadsheet of everyone’s college admissions statistics, i.e. where you got in, where you matriculate to. The executive director then proudly displayed all of this for us on a projector one day, as if a measure of personal worth or something. They also hound you for donations…</p>
<p>But yeah, that’s my long-winded story. Ask me if you have any questions? Meanwhile, I’m getting back to college apps. Hahahaha…</p>
<p>@hollakoala - Wow. I learned so much from your personal story. Thanks</p>
<p>And to international students (alum or prospective) - Do you need a student visa for SSP or can you have any visa?</p>
<p>@shushugah
I completely understand that you, and most of the other people that are accepted to programs like SSP, work extremely hard academically and are disappointed to see people like myself accepted. I know that I have never experienced the classes and rigorous schedules that many talented students take on, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Being in extracurriculars is totally underestimated–a great deal of a person’s character comes from what takes place outside of school. Just because a person hasn’t had the chance to, or even chooses not to, participate in AP courses or take advanced tests doesn’t mean in the least that they lack “actual math skills.” I still work hard in school and have academic statistics that are amazing, but I just don’t care to flaunt them because I have other things in my life that make me who I am. You may be surprised how much passion can come from someone less smart than you…even a basketball player.</p>
<p>I don’t have an issue with the EC like basketball…until that becomes their only skill, I myself am very involved in EC as well being a Boy Scout going camping, water skiing, 50 mile canoeing treks and camping. I also play basketball, handball and am on Swim Team, and there is much value to sports, but without math and science skills what good is SSP? I appreciate the review of Hollakoala because that gave me perspective on why NOT to apply to this fake program,</p>
<p>I’m beginning to have second thoughts on wanting to go to SSP. I understand that the social experience gained from it is excellent, and I’m not against having that. But I get the impression from hollakoala’s post that most people are not very involved in learning the material presented and related subjects. Would it still be a good idea to go if I want to learn about astrophysics, programming, etc. during my summer?</p>
<p>Happy new year greetings to cc members (:
regarding ssp app :- Do I have to choose/mention a specific research topic in application.
For the supplemental information along with the resume, can I send a 1 pg report of my research proposal, or should i send the report based on any astronomy project that i worked before?</p>
<p>Best</p>
<p>oops…does that mean one wouldnt be able to pursue any individual project based on the project they have done before(in astronomy)…What the heck is that…?
I have enough social experience, and all that i consider for applying is just bcoz i saw
the rigor of the program when other alumn spoke…
now @ hollakoala is talking something very different, and i respect your varied opinion
that most sspers doesnt share…
Please someone clarify</p>
<p>I can’t speak for anyone else from SSP. But for me, SSP is a life-changing experience, not just because I became family with a group of AMAZING people. </p>
<p>We did take a lot of college-level classes. And you will be challeneged every time they hand out new problem sets. As Mr. Bowdon said on the opening day of SSP, you will be surprised to see how smart you are, and how stupid you are. </p>
<p>I think the goal of SSP is not to simply teach you something you can learn fron textbook during summer, but to make you explore your potential. Before I went to the camp, I knew nothing about programming language, not even how to calculate 1+2. And the first progamming problem set I received asked me to write a program that visualizes the orbits of solar system planets. And somehow, with the help from my peers, I finished that task!
Maybe this sounds really simple to you, maybe you knew how to do this at age 7, but this is just a reflection of how SSP challenges each one of us, maybe it’s programming, or calculus, or physics. You can’t know everytihng they teach, right？</p>
<p>And to say we are "Social“, it means we are not robotic nerds that some people have in mind about a science camp. And your peers at SSP are not there just to have fun with. You will talk about multi-variable calculus at breakfast table when you are barely awake, you will talk about biology experiments conducted at Harvard University, and you will talk about politics and foreign affairs although you are all science nerds. Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but it is a fascinating experience to talk to people that are so diverse, so intersting, and so intelligent! You will be surprised by how much you can learn from your peers, and trust me, when you come to the end of the camp, you will be crying about having to leave this group of people. </p>
<p>Honestly, I can’t remember most of things they taught in calculus class. I have to admit that there are times that I just gave up and fell asleep in class. BUT it doesn’t make SSP any less valuable to me. After I came back from SSP, I was clear about what I want to do in college, where I want to go to college (anywhere with an atmosphere like SSP:MIT, Caltech etc.), how much I can achieve if I work hard enough, and what I want to do with my future.
It is certainly not the knowledge I learned that changed me or shaped me. Then what exactly is it? I can’t tell, but I know there is something about SSP that changed my life.</p>
<p>thank you @lc93430
I appreciate your input.(:</p>
<p>@shushugah/energize/etc</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call it fake, maybe falsely advertised, but it was definitely worth my time. Her review was real, and maybe that’s what killed your raging hardon. Then again, even if you had a real and down to earth review of RSI, Clarks, TASP, etc, they’d probably tell you that their experience wasn’t exactly what the website said it would be either. You have the opportunity to learn a crapload if you want to. It’s just mainly that what you get is what you put in. But realistically, you won’t want to spend every hour studying with all the socialization and fun stuff going on. You could, but why? I mean, for instance, say we had this hypothetical really antisocial kid that always liked weird things and was just eccentric. After 6 weeks at SSP, I guarantee that hypothetical kid will take his clothes off and go for a swim with a water gun, at the very least. In theory. And SSP takes people who are both smart and have personality. It wouldn’t be as fun with 36 straight up needledick nerds. Oh by the way, basketball players can get into MIT.</p>
<p>legallyblonde33: “I still work hard in school and have academic statistics that are amazing, but I just don’t care to flaunt them because I have other things in my life that make me who I am.”</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>shushugah: "I myself am very involved in EC as well being a Boy Scout going camping, water skiing, 50 mile canoeing treks and camping. I also play basketball, handball and am on Swim Team, "</p>
<p>You walked right into that one…</p>
<p>Maybe you’re the kind of person that fits the description of “sexually repressed nerd who plays WoW all day”? If you’re considering SSP, I suggest Westmont 
I heard they enjoy 8 player free for alls on Halo. Sounds kinky, eh?</p>
<p>Ugh, they should let alumni help review the applications and decide who to admit/reject, not just professors.</p>
<p>lol, I have a girlfriend and not a virgin either, haha, but I only refuted you to make a point, seriously thank you for clearing up what SSP is about, I simply know not to apply, because it’s not the right for me, have a good day,</p>
<p>After some consideration, I’ve decided that I’m still going to apply! Thanks for providing all this additional insight on the experience you all had at SSP. I realized that the balance of academics and social life was pretty similar to what I’ve had in other summer programs, and those turned to be quite beneficial to me in the long run, though I haven’t remembered that much from them. So I’m hoping SSP would provide me with a better experience of the same sort. It really sounds like fun, and I would be eager to go if accepted. (Unless RSI doesn’t reject me; RSI is firmly in my first choice slot.)</p>
<p>Hi prospective applicants and alumni of the SSP Program!</p>
<p>I must say I am quite excited about this program and will definitely be applying. Not very sure about my chances but several posts in SSP threads have given me hope! </p>
<p>How is everyone in regards to their applications? Not sure if right now is too early, but ive started writing most of the short answer. </p>
<p>Looks like a great program!
Any alumni have any biased decisions about socorro or santa barbara?</p>
<p>^It appears that the alumni here are heavily biased in favor of Socorro. 
^^It’s OK. It’s nice to have an honest evaluation of an experience before you apply/sign up for it.</p>
<p>I haven’t really started writing the essays, but I did get some decent progress on RSI essays, and I might end up reusing some material.</p>
<p>Heavily biased in favor of Socorro? NO. WESTMONT > *</p>
<p>SSP at Westmont = BEST possible thing you could ever do with your life!! :D</p>
<p>Westmont is definitely the place to be</p>