<p>My daughter was recently named an Intel STS finalist. She applied RD to some very competitive schools. Could anyone clarify the impact of being an Intel STS finalist on admissions to the top ivy leagues (i.e. Harvard, Princeton, Yale).</p>
<p>It’s very good. Nothing is a guarantee, and one still needs grades and a personality to round out the application, but it’s one of the best single achievements one can have on a college application, and the schools you mention even compete to get Intel finalists to matriculate.</p>
<p>Lets just say that the extra-curricular activities are like icing on a cake, the actual cake however remains an applicant’s gpa and SAT scores. </p>
<p>while I appreciate the caution and apprehension that everyone is demonstrating in overstating the significance of this accomplishment on college outcomes, and maybe I’m not familiar enough with the Intel process, but do people really think there’s a significant chance that an intel STS finalist doesn’t have the GPA and SAT necessary to be competitive at any school?</p>
<p>I appreciate all the responses. My daughter has good SAT scores (~2300) and good GPA (3.9 UW- lot of AP and honors courses). With that information, do any of you have any more insights about the impact of this achievement?</p>
<p>So this is a chance thread.</p>
<p>Like people have said, intel sts finalist get competed for by colleges… Like, colleges will want your daughter (including hypsm) </p>
<p>To be honest, with those SAT scores and that GPA, your daughter is pretty much in.
As others have mentioned, Ivies included will definitely count Intel STS Finalist as a massive advantage to all other applicants.
Assuming that your daughter has some other ECs, then it’s pretty much a win for at least one of the HYPSM.</p>
<p>Don’t be too confident about its boost though. I know a couple of Intel STS finalists (including myself) who were waitlisted to MIT. </p>
<p>That being said, I did get likelies to Yale, Stanford, Penn, Columbia, Duke (w/full ride consideration) </p>
<p>While STS undeniably had some role in the likely letters, it probably wasn’t the sole reason. Yale for example, gave me a likely letter before I got named an STS finalist. </p>
<p>Best of luck to your daughter! I am sure wherever she ends up, she’ll do great and be successful!</p>