<p>woot woot</p>
<p>Just submitted!! Now, for over a month of sitting with my fingers crossed ;)</p>
<p>140 -160 for interview out of over 900 applicants. not good chances :(</p>
<p>any former taspers willing to read essays pm me…im reasonably concerned.</p>
<p>problem!
I’m having second thoughts on my seminar rankings! =O
I know my first choice, and I know my last choice, but I’m not so sure about the middle two:
Environmental Issues vs Caribbean Dialogs
so I like the environmental one cause its so pertinent to our lives and such, but I’ve always been interested in the relationship between art/music/literature and history, and even though I am not particularly interested in the caribbean, I AM interested in examining that relationship more in depth
but then I’d rather go to UMich than Cornell just cause I’d like to visit it and I can visit Cornell anytime since I can drive there and I know a lot of people taht go there.
any input!?</p>
<p>also, for your conflict essay, how long ago was the conflict? is a couple of years ago ok?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hmmm…I know this is not what you want to hear, but you will know best what you want to do. You could try writing your essay with two middle choices that are equal (making sure to back up your reasoning), because technically you can choose to have two of the same number on the online application. For example:</p>
<p>1-Cornell II (or whatever)
2-Cornell I
2-UMich
4-UTexas (or whatever)</p>
<p>Do you see what I mean? This is (obviously) a little risky, though, because I believe they would prefer a clear cut ranking. In any case, you’re going to have to do a little thinking…</p>
<p>And my conflict is from a few years ago, too. Good luck writing/editing! :)</p>
<p>My conflict essay is about how I’ve grappled with my religious beliefs over several years–not really one specific <em>incident</em> but a number of examples. Is that too weird? Do you think I should narrow it to focus on just a single event? I would appreciate any advice!</p>
<p>I’m sorry if these questions have been asked before but I don’t have a lot of time to sift through 60+ pages of posts!</p>
<p>Include title for essays? Yes or no?</p>
<p>Citations needed? I hope not.</p>
<p>I think titles are entirely personal opinion. If you don’t think it needs a title, don’t include one.</p>
<p>Citations are probably preferable, but not necessary. The only place I really think you could possibly need one is the critnal. If you can, do it, but don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>I cited for the critnal, gave titles to the issue essay and the critnal, and just left citations and titles off of everything else because I didn’t feel like they needed it. I don’t know whether that was “right” or not, but the TA doesn’t seem like the type of organization that would care too much either way. I think (or at least I hope) they’re probably more focused on your content. Good luck!!</p>
<p>thanks disneyguy
and wink, i hope this isnt too late, but in the question I think they ask for a specific incident,so i’d start with that incident and then progress into how it has been a conflict for several years</p>
<p>so yeah I like my critical and my programs one, my problem/topic one is ok but its like really formal sounding so i dont like it much. but it’s wierd cause its formal sounding on a really casual topic that I was really hesitant about using and I’m 99% sure nobody here would ever use, but hey–whatever. my future plans essay is basically I think I want to do this but I really dont know, so don’t quote me on that, please. but my conflict is SUPER cheesy! =(
oh well</p>
<p>oh and i cited for my critical</p>
<p>my critical sucks, but i have two more essays to write!
fun times, fun times.</p>
<p>^ HOLY CRAP LOL THAT’S PRESSURE.</p>
<p>i don’t really like my “problem in a field” one 
sighh</p>
<ol>
<li>Microblaster</li>
<li>Disneyguy</li>
<li>Blue_sky</li>
<li>shrubber</li>
<li>illuminar</li>
<li>alamode</li>
<li>MSQ3881</li>
<li>Earilmadith</li>
<li>JJUYA</li>
<li>max0103</li>
<li>Zach130</li>
<li>Shuffle</li>
<li>D-Yu</li>
<li>foreverfree</li>
<li>secshisuhee</li>
<li>thericwu</li>
<li>ajkcorner1</li>
<li>panicpower</li>
<li>thepapercrane</li>
<li>pramirez184</li>
</ol>
<p>If I had known about the extension I wouldn’t have rushed. Oh well, nothing can be done. :/</p>
<p>well there’s like ten more minutes. i hope you have your apps in kiddies.</p>
<p>hahaha yes it’s done for everyone! congratulations to everybody who finished the app!</p>
<p>Umm, I have a question to the last year’s TASPers. I just realized after submitting the apps, I left the ‘Main Areas of Academic Interest’ totally blank (after all the hours of working on the essays, this is what comes down to :[ ). Is this going to be a serious blow to my chances?</p>
<p>Completed and submitted my application while listening to ‘On Mercury’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers on loop. (Play count went from 6 to 75. Whoa there.) Most stylish completion ever.</p>
<p>My essay topics sort of surprised me in the end. When I’m under pressure for submitting an application ideas just sort of flow right out of my head through my fingers and into my essays. Anyone want to share topics?</p>
<p>Critnal: Mine was SO nerdy. I wrote mine on a graphic novel. A few people advised me not to since it wasn’t purely text. I did anyways because the particular one I chose was fairly verbose at times so there was a lot of text to analyze in a critical manner. =] haha.</p>
<p>Problem/topic in a field that interests you: This one sort of surprised me. I was listening to a rock opera by one of my favorite bands and I was like ‘This sucks. There aren’t any topics that I feel really passionately about. I wish I could just write about this song instead. I freaking love this song.’ Then an idea popped out of my head and waved HELLO to me. I wrote about how my favorite way to hear a story is through a rock opera. Gosh, whoever reads my application is going to think I’m a weirdo.</p>
<p>Conflict: This one surprised me too. I saved it for last since I had nothing to write about but I began writing and like 20 minutes later I had a substantial amount of cheesy essay on my hands. This one ended up being really colloquial though. I wasn’t sure if being informal was bad but it worked out okay because my voice really came through in this one.</p>
<p>Future plans: Um I ended up really not liking this essay. I talked about all the dreams I had when I was little and compared them to what I want now. I might as well have written ‘When I was five I wanted to be a ballerina. Now I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT.’. Seriously. My conclusion was stupid too.
‘In any case, if the whole ‘college’ thing doesn’t work out I’d like to think I would make a very good ballerina.’ I don’t know how I let myself submit that.</p>
<p>Seminar preference: This essay uttered the word ‘stoked’ but was pretty nondescript otherwise. I pretty much just said how I’d love to go to any of the seminars and enlighten myself. =]</p>
<p>Book list: I really don’t know what they’re going to make of my book list. It’s all over the place. I have like five books and two periodicals (One of the periodicals was The Onion. They’re probably going to hate me for including that.)</p>
<p>I’m curious about everyones final thoughts on their essays and their topics. Which essay would you rewrite if you had the time?</p>
<p>OMG, I forgot to put any periodical down too. Jesus, what’s wrong with me :(</p>
<p>It’s okay to forget something! I don’t think adding or removing a few things on the book list is going to make a huge difference.</p>
<p>I just realized I made a few mistakes. On my activities I accidentally put down my position held in a club as ‘mover and shaker’. (I put it as a placeholder but then forgot to remove it before I submitted it. Oops.) But TA seems pretty chill so they won’t chastise us for a few mistakes, right?</p>
<p>Oh, Ooops… I just submitted mine because I’m central time. I didn’t even realize that they would expect Eastern… Oh, well! The email didn’t specify, and I’m sure they won’t mind.</p>
<p>Those sound like good topics, Shuffle! I’m particularly interested in the Problem/topic one…</p>
<p>My essays:</p>
<p>Critnal: (DON’T LAUGH) A Feminist Critique of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings with emphasis on Eowyn. I thought it was interesting! (Poor readers…)</p>
<p>Problem/topic: I wrote about film music, and the benefits and drawbacks of including it/excluding it/using pop and rock songs. Again I liked it!</p>
<p>Conflict: I wrote about my decision to quit dance in eighth grade (which was VERY hard for me) and my experiences being perceived as gay when I really wasn’t. Kind of an awful time for me, actually. The essay is a little cheesy, though.</p>
<p>Future Plans: This is my gimmicky essay. I honestly don’t really have any idea regarding what I will do in the future, so I outlined various possibilities as though I were a “cat” in [the Schrodinger’s Cat Thought Experiment.](<a href=“Schrödinger's cat - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schrodinger’s_Cat</a>) It’s so incredibly dorky and stupid, but I couldn’t think of any other way to make “I don’t know” interesting. Obviously it’s not about me being both dead and alive, it’s about me being a professor and a writer and a doctor and…etc. You get the gist. This is definitely my “I’m out on a limb, God I hope this works” essay.</p>
<p>Seminar Preferences: So. Dry.
1-Cornell II
2-UTexas
3-Cornell I
4-UMich</p>
<p>Book List: Crazy convoluted no theme whatsoever. That sentence had no grammar, but that’s how I think of my book list.</p>
<p>If I could rewrite one, it would probably be the Seminar Preference. However, if they absolutely hate the gimmicky-ness of my future plans one, then maybe I’d re-write that… I don’t know. I thought it was funny!</p>
<p>We’ll see. I’m glad I don’t have to think about this for a while. SO NERVOUS!</p>
<p>MY HEADD!!! wooooow… </p>
<p>it’s OVERR! NO MORE TASP APPLICATION TO HAUNT MEE!
i finished the book list at like 11:58!!!
do they see the exact time you submitted your app?
cause i’m scared that they might be like “wow. she wasn’t well prepared…”</p>
<p>ahhh… now all i can think about is rejection.</p>
<p>there can be miracles! (:</p>