What Is TASP Like?

PurpleTurtle
Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:27:50 +0000

As a 2009 TASPer at Cornell, I think I might be able to answer some of your questions.

I’ll agree with wombatsoup in saying that those who apply simply for the prestige aren’t going to be able to write those essays, or pass the interview, for that matter. Believe me, 7250 words + an hour of conversation say a lot about you. (The, what, 6.5% admission rate confirms this too.)

Workload will vary by seminar. I was in Cornell II, “Empire of Prisons,” based more on social studies, while the other half of us were in Cornell I, “Pleasure and Danger,” which was about the body (to be specific, more about the philosophy of sexuality). Cornell II people had a lot of reading, but it is possible to get by well by efficiently skimming. Of course, you’ll have enough time to actually do the reading too. Cornell I people didn’t have as much to read quantity-wise (at least from my perspective – I may be wrong), but given that they read a lot of philosophy, it was probably denser material.

Environment will also vary. Personally, I loved Ithaca. And to it me, it was much better than what Austin sounded like. (So take all of these opinions as subjective.) TASP is what you make it; there will invariably be various problems and issues that you will have to face and deal with as a group. These difficulties, however, will only make your bond stronger, assuming that all of you deal with them in a mature fashion.

At Cornell, we had 16 people in each seminar, totaling to 32 total. I think UMich and UTAustin each had 20 people.