ISSYP

Hello, my name is Eric Lasker and I am from a small town around three hours south of Toronto in New York State. I am applying to ISSYP this year and was wondering how cut-throat it is to get into the program. Also, did you guys like the program very much? I have been interested in this type of physics for a while now and i have read several books on the matter, but this is the first outlet that i have found for my interest so i really want to get in.

I am not sure if anyone still comes to these boards but thanks for any help.

Hey Eric

ISSYP is defintiely NOT cutthroat at all - it is actually far from it.
it is probably one of the most enjoyable summer schools EVER!

good luck with your application.

Bilesh

haha, awesome

I think my application is strong and I really enjoy this type of physics and look forward to being accepted/going.

Thank you for your response

hey, ya, what bilesh said.. I really didn't think I'd get in at all when I applied..

I thought physics was probably one of my favourite classes, but i didn't really know if i wanted to go into it or anything.. and after ISSYP it really got me a lot more interested.

The camp was kinda hard on sleep LOL.. well.. not really, if you don't stay up late and talk then you could probably sleep enough, but that's the fun of it.. the physics was each day on teh weekdays from 9-5 .. with some breaks for snacks and lunch, so they were long days of complicated stuff.. which make you tired, but it's fun learning it, and there's no pressure to do well on tests or anything so that made it better too..

and outside of the physics, the people looking after you make it the best time of your life, you do so much cool stuff, and they spoil you, so that makes it the best time of your life, hopefully you get in, and ggood luck with it!

Thank you for the response. I know a fair bit of information about the topic having read both a Brief History of Time and Big Bang by Simon Singh. I was planning on learning calc. this summer just for kicks so i think ill have some of the course done by the time i got in. I am pretty good at pre-calc, hyperbolas, matrices etc. Do you think that this will be enough math for the camp or should i attempt to learn more?...haha i just realized that i am typing this like i have already gotten in. Thanks for the Advice...time to go start that essay!

And yes have watched The Elegant Universe, pretty ridiculously good movie.

haha.. it sounds like you'll know way more math then I did when I went to the camp.. so you'll probably be fine.. but no matter how hard you try, you'll be confused.. so that doesn't really matter.. if you learn calc.. just skip limits.. only worry really about derivatives and there rules.. and then if you can start intergrals.. also, be good at trig/ special triangles.. cause i noticed those came up a lot.. but don't really worry.. half of us thought we'd be the dumbest ones when we got there.. well.. after the math prep book.. and there was people of all ranges, so it doesn't really matter hwo strong you are, as long as you try to pay attention/ work hard and don't fall asleep during the lectures you should be fine

Well.... I think some people who fell asleep during lectures and mentoring sessions could do almost all the stuff lol......

( sorry- inside joke)

but it probably isn't a good idea if you fall asleep :).....

tom .. he said, new york state :P.. and.. ya, i guess .. sujay kinda did give us a lot of equations.. but it was still enjoyable, even though I didn't understand it really.. it was good to be confused.. cept' when boris tried to make us sound like idiots.. LOL

Ahh Boris- .... all the memories ... :)

i loved my session. it was on black holes, and i bet no one can forget our 'big black hole/small black hole' skit. i sooo didn't learn anything in that, only that hott surfers who say sh*t a lot can apparently be smart.

Im Aakriti from India, applying for the ISSYP this summer.Am facing a few complexities and questions cross my mind

1.What exactly are they looking for in the essay?

2.Do we need to include FACTS or is it more of a personal statement?

help me if you can
i really wanna go!

Dont worry man. hahaha. calm down calm down.

Here is what you have to remember when you go:

- You will not get a lot of sleep
- You will be extremely sleepy

In the essay it is a personal statement. (I think there were 2 actually one was on a book and the other is your thing)

So make sure you got this personal statement down and youll be fine.

(Boris was a dumbass)

YOU DONT NEED TO KNOW CALCULUS TO GET IN! DONT EVEN STRESS! okay?
they teach you everything. :)
The below image exemplifies my point

hey.. Abysmal.. i dunno about that sleep part.. I think the only one who got grumpy from lack of sleep was you :p, probably cause you were so young.. it was way past your bed time haha.. jkjk

hehe alright! well i just sorta completed my application, it should reach then in another 2 days!
thanks!:)

ooh but I'm going to need tips and unofficial highlights on the programs

ISSYP was by far the greatest experience of my life. When you are there do not stress if you do not understand something, because either someone else will be able to explain it to you or you will all not understand together. Both of these situations can be fun.

I suggest staying awake (which can be difficult, particularly when they go on for years about polarization...) and really thinking about what you are learning. It seriously changes the way you see the world. Also, HAVE FUN. If you attend the camp focused purely on learning you will miss out on the opportunity to make friends with like-minded people. It is not often you meet a group of people who think so much like you, so take advantage of it!

Good luck with your applications!

Alright,thanks Kate
Lets hope my application gets accepted :)

lol. drink a lot of coffee! although all of it is interesting- it can get a bit too much...

yeah I agree with Kate- at what other time in your life have you been with 50 like-minded people-never- probably......
so enjoy it, soak it up.... and spend the rest of your life hoping for a reunion..:)

If you're really enthusiastic, learn Einstein's General theory of relativity :) before coming to the camp :)...

Alright peeps, Coffee it is! would tea do? its my latest fad! hehe.. anyway.. how cut throat is the application acceptance procedure?

Pretty competitive; knives, ninjas and the song' everybody was kung foo fighting...'

lol... it isn't competitive ( but I'm not part of the decisions commitee....)so....

Hi guys and girls,
I am Vlado from Slovakia, a sent my aplication just today by fax, I hope it arrived:)
I work in one physics laboratory here in Slovakia and I want to acquire new physics knowledge at ISSYP. Im very interested in theoretical and experimental physics(especialy in quantum physics of super liquid helium 3 and its similarities in cosmological phenomena), so I hope I will see you in summer :)

Thanks Tom,
I try to explain you what superliguid helium is:)
Helium 3 is a Helium 4 isotope, and if you cool it down to several microkelvins, it becames superliquid (it has no viscosity).
So, thanks for informations tom.
Have a nice day.

youch the math review sheets sound creepy! shudders.. when is the list of successful applicants posted onto the official website?

oh no, dervatives i KNOW!:)
whens the list expected?

I just checked on the website, the list of successful applicants will be posted in May sometime. GOOD LUCK!

What session is everyone signing up for:
July 27 - Aug 8
Aug 14 - 26

Session 2 for me...Man i wish may would come faster!

Session 1, me
thanks swailes!

I guess I forgot to mention...I'm signing up for session 1

Session 2
Aakriti- derivates are quite easy, but the integrals are much more harder.Uff.Math...math... :)
Btw,are you from India?

Tom certainly gets the credit for suggesting this program. I think we talk more about quantum mechanics in Biology than we actually talk about Bio.

I would like to some of that math stuff from last year. I should probably know at least what calculus is if I get accepted.

haha.. sounds like my biology class.. I love doing proofs from discrete in it.. our teacher is really really.. well, kinda slow.. and teaches like we're in kindergarden (we do cut and pastes.. and dumb stuff like that).. so me and a few other people always ask teh teacher questions like.. why stuff happens.. when we know she can't answer..

anyways.. wish i had someone like tom to talk to in bio about quantum..

and, just get tom to teach you the calc haha.. the stuff we did isn't that hard.. it just goes over the main ideas..

yep i am from India
where are you from?

oh yes, thank you
aakriti.gupta90@gmail.com

It feels as though we're passing down the torch to a younger generation of ISSYP'ers..... ahh I feel sooo old.......

meh, i want the list to come out already

do we get emails or do we just have to check the list continuously?

you'll get an email with all the details once they pick the people. it took a long time for them to send them to us though. i was beginning to think they hadn't picked me..but then i got the email :D.

youch youch! i want the list NOW!!
i want to there ASAP!

Bah and what kills me is im counting down the days to may when it just says may sometime not may 1st aaaaaaaaaaaahhh

hey where are you from? and which batch have you applied for 1 or 2?

Im from Alberta, Canada. I applied for the second one in august...you?

Haha you'll find out soon enough :) I remember thinking the email was fake because I didn't expect to get in, it was such a surprise, probably because it came fairly late.

I think I will go insane if I do not find out soon!!!!!!!

i applied to the second session in August..

i hope the list comes out within the next week..

Me too....insanity is decending...i'm counting down till May still

I've applied for the first session that begins at the end of July..
I WANT THE LIST NOW!
I COULD KILL ALREADY!
argh!

I'm Alex, also an applicant for the second session. I've been to this thread a couple of times, but I'm just posting now because I'm going crazy checking that list all the time. What kind of stuff did you guys write about in your essays? Mine was a little on the short side, mostly about why I'm into physics and how much I'd like to got to ISSYP. I really, REALLY hope they post the list soon!

Yeah if they don't post the list soooooon I'm going to pass out and die!!! My essay was kind of on the long side...I wrote about why i love physics and math, etc. and why i want to go to ISSYP annnnnnd what i know about the kind of stuff they teach in the camp and why i'm interested in that stuffs. Pretty much sucked up.

anybody know how many people apply to ISSYP?

GASP!
its May 1st already!
squeal scream cries!

How many people checked this morning even though the list just says May?

I so checked before i went to school, at school twice, and as soon as i got home...and now just to spite me they are going to post it on may 31st!

me

Well, I checked it too. But only once, I swear! (OK well maybe twice.) Anyway, my interests are all the usual stuff relativity, quantum mechanics, theories of everything, ect. I'm particularly interested in the foundations of quantum mechanics, because I think there might be a lot of interesting unexplored territory there, and also alternatives to string theory, just in case. Here are some of my fave physics books, to give you an idea.
Recently Read:
The Trouble With Physics (Amazing! If I get to meet Lee Smolin I may faint or something like a complete groupie cause I love all his books)
The Theory of Almost Everything (Great Standard Model stuff, good descriptions)
The Road to Reality (Good read, IF you skip the first 16 chapters of math. Very comprehensive)

All Time Faves:
Surely You're Joking Mr.Feynman (Hysterical. Every wanna be physicist should read it at least once)
Feynman Lectures On Physics (I have the audio version on a continuous loop in my car. Needless to say not alot of people are keen to hitch rides with me)
Chaos (by James Gleick. Great writer, great topic, need I say more?)

There are loads more but this post is getting long and you're all falling asleep so I'll stop.

any idea how many people apply?

that's it...you tell 'em Tom! lol

hahha. you guys are all nerds.

tom you git why didnt you send the email!

when oh when will the list come out!? tra la la..
i never saw the nervous wreck side of me..
HOW MANY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS APPLY!?

its not just may, its 'early' may...that what they told me in an email i sent when I applied

anybody want to send them another email?