<p>It’s August, honey. Go read a book and wait till December to do TASP things, or at least wait until all the other TASPers have unpacked their suitcases. The climate and personality of the CC TASP thread is very, very different from the actual climate and personality of TASP. Most of your questions can easily be answered by searching the archives or googling TASP.</p>
<p>Also, the Telluride House has a subscription to Sports Illustrated, FYI.</p>
<p>Sheesh. I see the magic of this summer is still lively.</p>
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<li><p>TASPers are all brilliant to their own degree. Some TASPers read and enjoy philosophy while others think it’s the “quacking of ducks”. The knowledge base is generally very diverse. </p></li>
<li><p>From the inside information I hear, there will only be two Cornell TASP next year. So, you are in luck and kind of out of luck. Chances to make it into the program are even more competitive than this years 5% but you are guaranteed Cornell. At least from what I hear. Also, having a bias being a UT TASPer, I think that the city was a great place to have a TASP. There was always things to do, cool events, live music and great opportunities. </p></li>
<li><p>Some of the essays I’ve read are brilliant to me, but knowing from personal experience, the essays don’t necessarily need to be mind blowing. I think the better word in this situation is insightful. Some of us (<em>cough</em>me<em>cough</em>) are not the best writers out there…</p></li>
<li><p>Generally, TASPers are Ivy League quality pre-application. They have the drive, intelligence, and stats to apply to top-tier schools. TASP looks good on an application, but by no means does it mean acceptance to a top-tier school. </p></li>
<li><p>The workload is dependent on the seminar and your professors at TASP. At my TASP, the reading and essays weren’t particularly heavy, but the workload was made up for in field research, photography, and video watching.</p></li>
<li><p>TASPers are/will be some of the greatest people you will ever meet. The bond between TASPers is still something I have trouble describing. It can almost be described as a sense of home, where you truly belong and feel safe. I know with my TASP, most people still keep in contact with each other and there are always TASP-y reunions. In fact, two of my TASPers spent time together this summer on a roadtrip down the West Coast. And five of us, spent a day in Philly earlier this summer. Honestly, at the end of TASP, I found that the people I had only known for six weeks had become closer to me than most of my friend at home. So yes, TASPers are very close.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Rambling on at five am. Yeesh.</p>
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<p>Erm, I’m a dude… ;)</p>
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<p>…So does my house. It just didn’t seem like the deepest reading a TASPer would be doing, whereas the kids at my school wouldn’t read anything more difficult or meaningful outside of classwork.</p>
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<p>Sweet. 
Thanks very much Antagonist, that was very… insightful. I appreciate it.</p>
<p>Also… one last question. Do all the essays need to be very personal? Like, for the essay where you pick a topic or problem you’re interested in, do you need to discuss its relevance to you or do you just go very in-depth about the problem itself?</p>
<p>I think about half of your questions can be answered very easily, as I’ve noticed that most of them contain the phrase, “Does X have to be…”</p>
<p>So no, your issue essay doesn’t HAVE to be personal, but it also doesn’t have to be impersonal. Your essays don’t have to be themed, but they don’t have to be diverse in relation to themselves either. You don’t have to make your booklist book-length in number, but you also don’t have to limit the books you include. No part of your TASPlication HAS to be anything, and worrying about being orthodox is generally a waste of time, IMO. Just write passionately and authentically.</p>
<p>^You make it sound so effortless… I mean, I really want to put some time into these essays. There’s six of them. This is what I’m talking about… I can’t crank out six brilliant essays within the span of two weeks or so, although you former TASPers may have been able to do so. That’s why I figured I’d get started early; not now, but perhaps in mid-October or so.</p>
<p>It isn’t effortless, it’s just so less mathematical than many people want to make it. I don’t think my essays were brilliant and I <i> know </i> they were imperfect, but I/every other TASPer got in because we care, think, and write about the products of the two.</p>
<p>So basically, don’t feel like you HAVE to be anything, but do care, do think. I think you’ll find the alumni community is always willing to procrastinate on a paper (or procrastinate their procrastinating on Facebook, in perhaps my case) or whatever to answer a question or help a brotha out on this semi-wack website, so use us. Good luck!</p>
<p>Interview!</p>
<p>i didn’t get in 
i was heartbroken. did any of you get in?</p>
<p>wow, did y’all do the “frates” think? That kind of makes me want to go to TASP now…</p>
<p>Hola,Se</p>
<p>Any one knows the PSAT cut off point to apply the TASP?</p>
<p>Oh by the way do we need to be invited by some institutions like PSAT to apply for TASP?</p>
<p>Also,can someone give information or a link about the essays that’s required for the application? are the four essays’ (4, right?) topic given by them?</p>