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i am a junior. I have applied to RSI, if you know anything about my chances there, plz give me a REALISTIC view. I know its competitive, I can take tough news. For the RSI app I only included the math/science stuff, i ommitted everything else.

SAT I (verbal: 750, math: 790)
this was as a freshman, do they count freshman year scores? plus, do they care how many SATs i take cuz i took over 3.... i took the one in january (reasonable chance of a 1600 i think, i consistently score over 1500, this one i felt i did better than the others)

PSATs
Verbal: 75
Math: 77
Writing: 80
total: 232

SATIIs
math 2c: 800
writing: 800
physics: 800
chemistry: 800

do they care how many sat 2s u take? i am thinking about taking bio and us history, but do they only allow u to put down 3 scores?

APs
European History: 5
Physics b: 5
Chemistry: 5
Biology (in progress)
Calculus BC (in progress)
US History (in progress)
Computer Science AB (in progress)
English Language (in progress)
BTW, English Language AP is only offered to seniors at my school, so i'm self-studying for this one, going to take english lit next year

DO colleges even look at AP scores?

I am on my school web staff, going to be technology editor next year. Slim chance I'll be editor in chief. School has large webstaff, over 40 staffers, around 10 editors. check out the site www.pvphs.com

placed 10th in the southern california section of the american chemical society olympiad.

scored perfect on the national latin exam for levels 1 and 2. California Junior Classical League member. Captain of the school certamen team for two years (it's something w/ buzzers, except latin); we won first in state my freshman year, third in my sophomore year.

member of JSA

i program in C++, Java
html, coldfusion, javascript (web based)

currently doing a science project (very basic though, first one)

GPA unweighted 4.0
GPA weighted 4.9 (thats at my school, honors/ap = 5) no class rank, but i would be top 5 out of 900.

cross country/track: frosh/soph and JV, maybe varsity later (doubt it)
also, maybe team manager of the tennis team (i dunno but the coach offered it)

also i intern at an IT consulting firm (about 200 hours there) where i write some programs for them in coldfusion

i have about 150 hours of volunteer besides the internship (including tutoring in trig and physics, etc).

what are my chances?? taking maybe 5-6 more APs as a senior.

additional random (pretty much worthless stuff) like National Honor Society, AP scholar, etc.

By Nobu (Nobu) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 10:46 pm: Edit

so can you walk on water?

By M6ixty2wo (M6ixty2wo) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:02 pm: Edit

i wish

By Residentevil (Residentevil) on Sunday, February 01, 2004 - 10:14 pm: Edit

Chances... Hrm...
Sir, you seem to be very adept in all areas of mathematics and science - and you mean to tell us that we must calculate that for you?
Shame on you. ;)

By Pacman (Pacman) on Monday, February 02, 2004 - 12:28 pm: Edit

It all comes down to whether you qualify for the USAMO. If you don't, then no RSI. If you do, then you have a chance.

Virtually all the juniors that makes RSI each year are USAMO qualifiers.

By Gottagetout (Gottagetout) on Monday, February 02, 2004 - 07:42 pm: Edit

What a pity. yes. no. nice shot.

If you were a malamute but had the power of telekinesis, would you break the sugar bowl?

I think not. Your chances are 100%/100% with a 100% margin of error.

By Memememe (Memememe) on Monday, February 02, 2004 - 09:16 pm: Edit

"Virtually all the juniors that makes RSI each year are USAMO qualifiers."

WHAT?!?!?!?!?

Check your sources. Okay, so I was a qualifier, but I didn't qualify until after I got my acceptance from RSI (although I've had good scores, i.e. above 200).

Also, you're so wrong in saying that almost everyone else is. The majority I think were NOT USAMO qualifiers. I mean, CS/math kids are a minority in the first place. You don't expect the bio kids to be USAMO qualifiers, right?

By M6ixty2wo (M6ixty2wo) on Tuesday, February 03, 2004 - 08:00 pm: Edit

well the thing is, i've never taken the AMC or AIME so i never had a chance. That's cuz my math teacher last year was stupid and didn't realize she forgot to pass out the sign up forms until it was over. same w/ most of the other olympiad stuff. The only one I EVER participated in was that chemistry one mentioned above. hopefully this year I will have a chance at USAMO, although I've never seen any of the tests so I can't say. Math has been my favorite subject for a long time though.

By Kewlkiwi102 (Kewlkiwi102) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 12:00 am: Edit

Wait...If your a bio or chem person they dont expect you to also have all the math stuff too?
Wow, I thought that they wanted the math no matter what based on what I have seen on these boards!

By Star69 (Star69) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 08:16 am: Edit

Have you any research experience?

By Cnn (Cnn) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 11:35 am: Edit

actually i think one could "cheat" and walk on water.
since humans are diamagnetic. So we can somehow place anyone in a diverging magnetic field near the top part of a vertical current carrying solenoid (solenoid would be vertically placed in water lol haha), the person would be levitated above and after sometime when his Fw=mg balances the upward magnetic force he would be suspended in mid air(hehe). adjusting the solenoid we could make the person seem as if he is standing on water(actually he would supended with his feet just but NOT touching water). for the walking part the solenoid would be move forward underneath and .. the person has to act like hes walking this is real funny and dangerous.
if the person touches the water omg.....
ELECTRIFYING EffecT!!

By Miscanon (Miscanon) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 05:28 pm: Edit

hahaha Cnn you get that from Physics C? =)

By Kewlkiwi102 (Kewlkiwi102) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 06:06 pm: Edit

Not really any research experience (too young to work in a lab till this coming summer; school doesnt support us in doing Science Fairs etc so its kinda hard), but I am a USABO semifinalist...if that helps anything. I've gotten a couple science awards. Im cptn of my school's ScienceBowl Team- 4th in our region in our first year.
Very good stats (1600 on SATI, 800 Bio SATII, 4.5 gpa on a scale that 4.3=A+). Amazing reccomendations. Any chance at RSI, or should I just give up hoping?

By Sunflower189 (Sunflower189) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 07:43 pm: Edit

Kewlkiwi, you sound a lot like me...unfortunately. I was USABO semi/SB captain/1600, with a few random other awards and a bit of research. And I pretty much applied because the former SB captain was going to lay the smackdown on me if I didn't, because my rejection was deserved.

It may come down to where you live...my HS/state is really competitive. There's no shame in trying, and you've got a shot.

But just to give you some perspective - in three years at my HS, junior RSI rejects have brought home four international olympiad medals instead. That's not even counting the rejects who didn't medal until senior year. It can get ugly...but good luck.

By Korinfox (Korinfox) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 08:41 pm: Edit

evidently we all are from the same extremely competive area, Greater Metropolitian DC Area, with Blair, TJSST, and Montgomery County...

By Kewlkiwi102 (Kewlkiwi102) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 09:21 pm: Edit

Dear god, Sunflower, you didnt get in when you applied? All hope is gone.
I give up. theres no chance im going to get in...Then again, it does make me feel good that I'm so much like you! (not that I stand a chance of making it to the IBO...)
on another note,where are you planning to go to college? MIT?


Oh, and it does look like we are all from the greater DC area...kinda funny actually. I mean, we might have met eachother and we dont even know it!

By Sunflower189 (Sunflower189) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 09:48 pm: Edit

Hehe, yeah, we might have...though you're in a better position to know than me ;)

And don't worry too much about it. I didn't quit sucking at things (by RSI standards, anyway) until about midway through my junior year, which was of course when the RSI app was due. And I have yet to be accepted by anything that's not a college that requires an app. Got rejected by a scholarship for 12-16 year old innovative types, among other crimes of utter suckishness. Which explains my frantic resume-padding last summer...go fear-induced productivity binges, w00t.

And yeah, I'm seriously leaning towards MIT. Of course, it's the only college that hasn't accepted me. Arrrrgh!

By Kewlkiwi102 (Kewlkiwi102) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 09:51 pm: Edit

hahahahahaha like you need resume padding.
about USABO, how did you think you did on the semifinal exam? I thought I did pretty well, but Im the only one at my school who took it so Im trying to gauge what other people thought.

By Sunflower189 (Sunflower189) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 10:19 pm: Edit

It was one of those that's really not hard, but at the same time far too easy to screw up. I took a very similar exam as a 7th grade biology final and got a D+. (Off-by-one bug = Satan.) I liked last year's sooo much better...critical thinking, mmm.

BTW, rumor mill has it that results are due next week. But I'm hijacking the RSI thread. IM me at IsotopeOfAngel.

By Memememe (Memememe) on Wednesday, March 10, 2004 - 10:57 pm: Edit

What is this rumor mill? Perhaps you have been prodding CEE people? Like Paske (yes, that's how you say it)?

Don't worry about hijacking this thread. There's a *real* RSI thread somewheres:

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/discus/messages/99/50679.html

By Emeraldlotus01 (Emeraldlotus01) on Tuesday, March 23, 2004 - 12:59 pm: Edit

omg, the semifinal exam. ack! that was one messed up test. did anyone else think that? just in the format the questions were made and such.

sunflower189, results are coming out this week? yay, i can find out that i didn't make it sooner than expected. hehe

By Marlgirl (Marlgirl) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 11:03 am: Edit

I had about the same profile plus a year of research at UCLA and I got rejected. I wonder if maybe having a girl from my school get in the year before hurt me? I ended up going to a math camp at Stanford and had an AMAZING time there... so if you are interested in math and RSI rejects you, strongly consider that option.