<p>Needless to say, congrats to all these kids who earned this achievement! While nothing is a guarantee of admission, it certainly is favorable to garner achievements on a national scale. When an applicant has accomplished things or has any other significant news since sending in their application, they most certainly should update their colleges. An email or snail mail addressed to their regional admissions officer updating them with this news and anything else of signficance and reiterating their interest in the school is in order. My kids (who never heard of Intel....what can I say...we live in a rural area and I never heard of it until I came to CC) did update their schools in Jan. of their admissions year with significant achievements since filing their applications. One of my kids also had won a national award in her field (like Intel, I had never heard of it until I read about it on CC and she entered) and sent that off to her colleges with a couple of additional things of note. That is what I recommend for the kids on this thread who achieved Intel Semifinalist. When you ask "can it help?"....well, it certainly can't hurt! :D</p>
<p>How many semifinalists are there and how many finalists and how many winners? Just curious.</p>
<p>300 semifinalists, 40 finalists to be named next week, then that 40 goes to DC in March and from among them a top ten, in order, is named. Top prize is, I believe, $100,000(?) All finalists get $5000 and the top ten get from $10,000 to $100,000 (again, I believe).</p>
<p>By all means, have your daughter send a quick note to her college reps. It certainly cannot hurt her chances with her schools. My son landed a national honor that gives him a week-long trip to DC in March and a chance to meet the President. He dropped all his schools (that he had applied to at the time) a quick note. He got e-mails from all the reps congratulating him and saying that they would add this to his file.</p>
<p>Another parent of sf here. The one with the shortest title. <wave> :)</wave></p>
<p>Top ten also get a four-year full ride scholarship.</p>
<p>No they don't. They get scholarships from $100,000 down to $10,000. Unfortunately, $100,000 does not cover four years of college at a private school.
As for whether it helps, of the 300 semifinalists (all seniors), I would guess 299 of them applied to HYPS. I know mine did. Now finalist is quite a different story. Reaching that level significantly ups a student's chances.</p>
<p>Congrats! Never heard of Intel 'til I come here (CC).There was a girl on TV getting her check last night, here in the Bay Area. She got 1k, and they said she was in the running for a a quarter mill! Waiting on Harvard and Stanford. She mentioned her research, but darned if I can remember what she said. OP, was that your D?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11454970%5B/url%5D">http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11454970</a></p>
<p>^ wow! 16 of 300 from the Bay Area!</p>
<p>59</a> LI students are Intel science semifinalists -- Newsday.com</p>
<p>Long Island high schools have produced nearly 20 percent of this year's national semifinalists in the Intel science competition, even in the face of an economic crunch that has some educators wondering whether districts can continue funding intensive research classes in the future.</p>
<p>In all, the Island generated 59 semifinalists, short of the record 88 produced in 2002. Still, this year's number on the Island is more than double that produced by New York City's high schools, and also more than double that for the entire state of California.</p>
<p>Leading the way, as usual, was Ward Melville High School in Setauket, with 11 semifinalists, making it the third-ranked school in the nation. All student honorees named yesterday won $1,000 each in this preliminary round, and their schools were awarded equal amounts.</p>
<p>but are all 16 of the kids Indian or Asian? I realize I am making an assumption from the names. How representative is this of the whole group of semi-finalists?</p>
<p>Wow! That Long Island "cluster" is even more impressive! I'm also noticing I wasn't the only one who never heard of Intel before CC. So how much does it have to do with being around people who know about and do this kind of thing?</p>
<p>on LI, 30 of the 59 were Asian or Indian by name and pictures</p>
<p>what I know of the local Intel scene on LI the schools that have multiple winners have programs that are connected at significant levels(parents in the fields, teachers that run their programs and $$$ to fund them) Our school enters many but according to the teacher who runs the program said on the QT that the connections will never be made that are present in the top producing schools. I know of one kid who was a semi not this year, however, had no project in the works 8 months before, the teacher whips out a subject and a mentor and tada, a semi finalist was born, no joke. It is wonderful to see the true winning kids who have no connections yet make it, few and far between.</p>
<p>Local girl was an Intel semifinalist, waitlisted at MIT. She ended up a finalist, and was admitted to MIT, but told them no thanks.</p>
<p>The answer is that "semi-finalist" will play a very small role in admission. Much smaller than reported and still much, much larger than it should. </p>
<p>If the Intel competition were to stick to its true purpose, it would defer all announcements until May (well after final decisions at colleges are made) because the final selections are based on a lot more than individual accomplishments and include many components that should **not **be part of a college selection and not be considered by colleges that value integrity and unrigged competitions.</p>
<p>And, by the way, examples such as the Long Island "cluster" represent everything that is wrong about the individuals and schools that have made the Intel competition such a racket.</p>
<p>momreads,
Is your son's program Senate Youth? If so, I bet he will love it. My D was a delegate a few years ago and it was without question the most meaningful experience of her high school years (and she was a two-time major award winner in National History Day).</p>
<p>Last year, a local girl was a semi-finalist. She took numerous AP's throughout high school, held leadership positions, played a Varsity sport, many hours of community service, 100+ weighted gpa, held down a part time job, summer research at an Ivy, and still didn't get into Brown.</p>
<p>xiggi -</p>
<p>By "rigged" and "racket" do you mean "biased by its nature in favor of those who (i) go to schools that stress the importance of the program and have developed a strong network of mentors and institutional connections over the years; or (ii) have other strong connections such as parents or family friends who are research scientists"? Or do you mean "actually corrupt"? If the former, I agree (having daughters who have attended one of the schools that has historically had many semifinalists and finalists over the years) and think that's a good reason for colleges to look at them with a bit of a jaundiced eye. On the other hand there is something to be said for making the most of even an unusually good opportunity.</p>
<p>If you believe they are actually corrupt, as in the projects that enter are judged on something other than their scientific merit, I'd be interested to see some evidence. Or do you mean that it is simply too hard to tell where the student's work ends and the "mentor's" contribution begins?</p>