<p>@kevinw00t</p>
<p>i’m applying too. idk if i’m such a great applicant , but i figure its worth a shot. i filled out the online thing but i have yet to write my short answers, get recs or send my transcript … im pretty late haha (nervous laugh)</p>
<p>and i was also wondering which is better, new mexico or california? because i’ve been to neither…</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Haha, I think most people would consider you to be somewhat of an earlier starter for this application. I saw plenty of procrastination till last minute in older threads.</p>
<p>As for location, since the california ssp is relatively new compared to socorro, look through recent threads like ssp 2010 or 2009. Those usually have great information about the admissions and locations. (Although most alumni STRONGLY favor the location that they went to, which is somewhat understandable :P)</p>
<p>Well, I guess both campuses have comparable facilities, etc pretty much. And don’t pick Cali because OMG CALI since New Mexico has some pretty cool stuff too. And you’ll probably sweat your balls off (I did, literally) regardless of which you choose. The main difference is the other 35 people you spend those 6 (or a rumored 5 for SSP 2011?) weeks with. Obviously, you can’t really know who you’re going to end up with so there’s nothing you can do pretty much. But Socorro 2010 > Westmont 2010. Our TAs were chiller, WE DIDNT CHEAT AND USE THE BLINKING METHOD RIGHT OFF THE BAT, we had more Asians (then again, we were jealous that Westmont had a cool black dude), we pranked harder (and first), AND most importantly, we were rollin’ 36(37) deep the entire way. </p>
<p>But who knows, maybe Westmont will have the better class for 2011. You can’t go wrong with either. But if you go to Socorro you’re going to have to deal with my weird ass self on reunion day. (You: Welp, Westmont it is then.) Haha shut up.</p>
<p>^
Wow! Interesting to say the least… Thanks for the insight, sounds like both campuses definitely have their own ups and downs. But you lost me on some of the terms…(blinking method? rollin’ 36?), I have a feeling this program creates a LOT of inside/science jokes. </p>
<p>Personally, the whole OMG CALI thing does make me kind of favor westmont. New Mexico has its own quirks and uniqueness, haha. And as for the 5 week thing, I sincerely hope you were dreaming that. Doesn’t look like the cost has gone down any, I’m crossing my fingers for six weeks!</p>
<p>Well on the front page</p>
<p>June 18 - July 24
New Mexico campus in session
June 25 - July 31
California campus in session</p>
<p>5 weeks, right? Unless typo?</p>
<p>Hmm I’m thinking of applying…but I’m only a sophomore and I haven’t taken physics D=
Also, I’m enrolled in regular chem since IB sciences aren’t offered to sophomores, and my chem teacher doesn’t particularly like me…</p>
<p>I am in IB Math SL though (it’s somewhere in between Calc AB and BC (?)), and my math teacher is pretty awesome. Should I apply next year since she’ll be my teacher for HL too and I’ll be taking IB physics + bio junior year?</p>
<p>Yeah you guys didn’t get the e-mail? The economy’s ruff and the board made an executive decision to cut the program back a week. Sucks.</p>
<p>Ouch… I thought I saw somewhere that alumni were giving so much support that it might become free! Or maybe that was another program… Oh well, 5 weeks or 6 weeks, this program still looks wonderful.</p>
<p>Westmont is a beautiful campus. And you can’t beat Santa Barbara–california sspers go to the beach…</p>
<p>Socorro SSPers get a white sand ocean, an awesome lake, and a variety of things other than beaches.</p>
<p>hey guys im starting to work on the essays now but im stuck on choosing a topic for the last essay (the 500 word one). would it be better to write an essay on a significant challenge/proud achievement that reveals personality traits and skills or an essay on why you really, really, really want to attend SSP 
if i write an essay on the first topic, i wont really be able to talk about why i want to attend SSP anywhere in my essays :S any advice would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>My suggestion is to combine the two. The ideas you have are similar to what I did for my final essay. </p>
<p>This is what I did: I started with a significant challenge and talked about how that significant challenge led me into my love for science and eventually ssp. Really, think about a connecting factor and connect the two, it doesn’t have to be blatantly obvious. Because if it really reveals a lot about your personality traits and you really really want to go to ssp, there is bound to be a reason that personality trait led you there. I spent more time talking about the challenge and condensed why I want to go to ssp down to a few lines. </p>
<p>And if you do want to pick between the two, I would say go with the challenge. They want to know more about you.</p>
<p>(1) In the short answers section on 6th question, could anyone be more specific the examples of special accommodation in terms of academics?
(2 Shall I submit the application on Jan 31st, if this is the case it would take 4-5 days to reach at SSP office in United States,or shall I send it by 24th of Jan in order to make sure it reaches office by Jan 31st,2011?(international app deadline).</p>
<p>Thank you RoisMaria! Your post gave me another idea for a different topic I could do that would include the “significant challenge” component as well as lead in to why I like science and why I want to go. </p>
<p>@hanaanhashim91: from what i’ve read, i believe january 31st is the postmark deadline, so you only need to mail it on that day for ssp to consider your application. i’m an international applicant too! :D</p>
<p>Hi everyone, does SSP care a lot about Standardized test scores? I’ve only taken the SAT once in Sophomore year (1780), and barely improved on the PSAT this year. I haven’t taken any subject tests and no ACT. But my grades have been pretty solid A’s, just a B in Physics first trimester (brought up to an A lately). And I can only find the Science and Math teacher evaluations, do you just use either one of them for the extra evaluation? For the first essay topic about favorite Science topic, would Computer Science fall into the “science” category, or a more traditional one like Physics would be more preferred? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance ^_^!</p>
<p>^Compared to these previous acceptees you are probably the best student they’ll have,</p>
<p>I’ve never done calc, programming, or astronomy, but it all sounds like a lot of fun. Here are my stats</p>
<p>PSAT: 223
GPA 3.9~ish
Classes this year- AP Chem, Honors Physics (high A or low A+), honors Precalc (A+), and other irrelevant AP’s (english, spanish, and us)
Did Harvard SSP last year, for what its worth
And i’m a junior</p>
<p>guys, Im not saying apply or not, but please please read the previous posts by those who attended the program, it is not intensive and seems to be very little learning as opposed to fun, depending on your priorities it may or may not be right for you.</p>
<p>@lc93430
hahaha i take it you’ve attended ssp? how did you find it?</p>
<p>i think its kind of pointless to apply to this program without having taken advanced physics, calculus, and at least basic programming. i mean i’m sure people have done it in the past, but those people must have amazing ecs, recs, and even more amazing essays. idk its not worth spending 5 weeks at a program without these prereqs imo.</p>