<p>Haha, yes! All my Davidson buddies are up there :).</p>
<p>cpq, He is a really nice guy, too. My BIL and family live three doors down from the high school. My SIL is a teacher in Bayonne and says they are not kidding about working in the closet.</p>
<p>Shalashaksa64, I am a fabric artist and a part-time 401(k) administrator (education: journalism and political science) and my husband works for the federal gov't in a regulatory capacity (non-scientific). DH did attend Bronx Science back in the day, but earned the disappointment of his calc and physics teachers by NOT doing a Westinghouse. It had been expected of him.</p>
<p>curious77, the big trend we noticed was the huge number of bio/chem-related projects that clear to the final rounds. With that comes a preponderance of judges in those fields. This makes it tough for folks with projects in less-common areas. A lot of the finalists had done ISEF at least once.</p>
<p>Countingdown: But that goes both ways, though. If someone has a project in a less popular area, say behavioral science for example, it may give the judge a fresh breather from the countless biology and chemistry projects he or she sees. And that fresh feeling may be what pushes that project into the semifinalist round.</p>
<p>S was at National Symposium last year and they had so many medical related projects they pushed some into other categories in order to try to balance out the chances to win something. S's was moved into Computer Science. It was not a good fit for his work since the judges were not well-versed in S's area. But he figured that issue was balanced by the overwhelming odds against him in the medical category. So it was 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Similar issue at ISEF and State fairs. THe medicine category is huge. But science fairs give more awards in categories with more projects, which is a good idea. But that doesn't work in a competition like STS or Siemens.</p>
<p>Let's say that there were not many judges in a couple of fields represented. I am uncomfortable saying more here.</p>
<p>At both Siemens and Intel, expert readers are assigned papers in their specific subject areas at the semi-finalist level. A bio person will not read your math paper for the SF round. (Both programs do a blind read -- they do not know your name, school or other identifying info. At Siemens, one is not allowed to include any mention of mentors or schools on the backboard/Power Points.) </p>
<p>At Siemens, students present their projects (with Power Points, etc.) in front of judges from a wide range of disciplines. Each student meets privately for a round of follow-up questions with the entire judging panel after the presentation. All judges are present for the entire process. </p>
<p>At Intel, the interviews were conducted by four judges, all of different subject areas, and they did not ask anything about one's project. There are several panels of judges, so the same four people will not talk to each student during this phase. There is <em>no formal presentation</em> of one's project to the judges at Intel. There is an informal session where the judges walk around and talk to students. Big Difference. Be prepared to have your theoretical physics project evaluated by several judges who specializes in life sciences. </p>
<p>At both Siemens and Intel last year, judges had to cancel at the last minute and were not replaced. Unfortunate, especially if the judge was the panel expert for your subject, but it happens. Be prepared.</p>
<p>Curious77--We noticed all of the medical projects at the symposium also. S competed in Life Science. I think all of the life science projects were medical except my son's (even though there were several categories that seemed to fit the medical projects better). The young man from Bayonne was in the Life Science category. </p>
<p>S's project could have gone into either Life Science or Computer Science. I kept thinking that we made a mistake going with Life Science, but he placed, and who knows, he may not have placed if he'd gone into computer science. We did watch some of the computer science presentations, but the ones we saw were math projects.</p>
<p>At ISEF, S competed in the Animal Science category, but the animal science judges brought a computer science judge over to help them judge his project.</p>
<p>Okay so what does all this mean. I did a project on behavioral science and moved into the semifinalist round. But at this point, I feel that my chances are very small because of the great number of biology and chemistry projects.</p>
<p>The judges really do look seriously at each project; just don't expect there to be a lot of judges with expertise in your particular area. Be able to discuss how your research might have applicability to other disciplines. Have an sound bite version of your project -- a 30-second description of your project and its importance, stated in a way that an average person can understand.</p>
<p>A little confused...if you get the semifinalist package (no check), does that mean you're not a finalist? Or does every semifinalist get a package regardless whether he/she is a finalist?</p>
<p>Perpetual- I think if you read the cover letter carefully you will see that all semifinalists receive the mailing and that semifinalists are indeed in the running to become finalists. I think your confusion may come from the way Seimens handles it with a list of semifinalists that does not include the regional finalists. But STS decides the semifinalists and then from that pool determines the finalists.
Best of luck.</p>
<p>@curious77, thanks</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>It seems that we're all anxiously waiting for the results.
How about we kill some time by talking about what our projects were? I would be interested in knowing what you guys worked on with great passion. :D</p>
<p>so, when do finalists get contacted by phone? I'm not counting on myself at all, but I'm just curious to see.</p>
<p>It was posted on one of these threads that the past year's finalists were called the night before the announcement. So this evening. Good luck to all the semifinalists.</p>
<p>has anyone heard anything yet?</p>
<p>nope not yet, though i don't live in the east coast so not sure when the calls would come out here in the west</p>
<p>come on, someone's bound to get it here on CC!!! Please do tell when you get a phone call! :)</p>
<p>Lol, it would be interesting if they didn't call anyone this year...back to analysis homework...</p>
<p>Good luck to all semifinalists!</p>
<p>ugh, it would be just too cruel for them... I haven't been able to concentrate. although I know I won't get it, (my research was just not that good), I'm still anxious! I just want to put this all behind so I don't have to worry about it anymore.</p>