So this summer I am working in a Research Lab at a university and want to enter the Intel STS. However, the PI says that in the summer (~2 months 5 days a week for 7 hours) is not enough time to make much progress. What do I have to do during the summer to make sure that I can enter the research at the science fair if the PI cannot complete many experiments? It should also be noted that I have not been given an independent research project, but rather he has simply allowed me to learn different research procedures that he will complete (I.e. Cell splitting, microscopy, etc.)
I would agree. The only person who I know did well in Intel was working on his project for a year and a half. What grade are you in? Could you continue research during the next school year? Also, what exactly would you be presenting if you aren’t doing anything original?
I am a rising Junior, so if I were to continue my research next summer, the. I would not be able to add the Intel STS award to my college application…
Well, all I am doing in the lab is learning about what other post-docs and other higher-ups are doing. I am not carrying out my own experiments. Could I still submit what the others are doing, even though they will probably publish their research later?
Ahh, so you wanted to do Intel STS because its for the app.
But WAIT.
“I am a rising Junior, so if I were to continue my research next summer, the. I would not be able to add the Intel STS award to my college application…”
How do you even know you are going to win? Just because you spend a couple months on a project doesn’t guarantee your win. You need to be passionate bout what you do, and clearly, you only want to spend a couple of months on a project for the app, while others deserve the work they done spending over a year and doing amazing work with tech, med, or environment.
You can’t submit research your postdocs did because that’s not your work. You put no effort into it. Unless you use their work as past literature review or something and cite it, they are supporting your own individual work. The people are mentors, they guide you but they don’t do your work for you. You’re only learning about research procedures.
I don’t know what your doing with Intel.
Sorry but I don’t get this.
2 months of lab time is sufficient - I know two finalists who spent ~2.5 months at a summer program working on their projects from start to finish, and they were obviously okay in the end - but you’ll need to spend a lot more time at home reading and writing your paper.
I can’t use the experiemnts that the post-doc has completed for my paper? An I’m pretty sure 9-12th graders can submit for Intel…only seniors can submit for Siemens individual paper.
<< Research conducted alongside adult researchers
in a research institution is allowed, but adequate
acknowledgement of ownership throughout the application
is vital. Consideration should be given to the extent to which
the research qualifies as independent research, given the
student and adult responsibilities. >>
@wonderfulreads thanks…I must had misread the document originally: Intel STS is only for seniors. @penngirlpending I’m not doing the research for college apps; I’m actually interested in the field. However, I am applying to science fairs 75% for college apps and 25% to learn about presenting research and writing papers.
I guess I’ll try my luck at Google science fair and Intel isef because we have made a lot of progress in the last couple of weeks.
@ILDocter to be honest, you sound like you expect that if you put in effort, you’re going to get guaranteed results. That simply isn’t how this stuff works. I’ve seen amazing projects not even qualify as finalists, and I think that ISEF/GSF is weighed far more toward the personality of the person (and not necessarily just the research). I did very well at ISEF this year but I’m not under any illusions that my project was THAT much better than everyone else’s in my field.
@berkinit2021 What exactly do you mean by personality of each individual? The personality of reviewer? Or personality of submitter? I don’t really see personality, except perhaps in rhetoric and style in paper or about me.
Btw congrats on ISEF! That’s incredible
darn just do what my friend did and casually win $75,000 without doing much of anything aside from becoming fixated on a few words and spamming me in chat
@berkinit2021 I do not think that by any means I will be guaranteed to win anything at all in Intel or Siemens. I understand how competitive the competition can be and that success is determined by a combination of an amazing project and luck. But if I apply this year (and probably not get to semi finalist stage in any competition),then next year I will have learned from my mistakes, which would put me in a better position for success.
@RinTohsaka my project is regarding nerve cell maintenance. I love the topic, but I’d really like a more active role in the lab, because I haven’t been given an independent research project (which is justified because I don’t have any lab experience). Hopefully, in the future, I’ll be able to do my own experiments under the guidance of a higher-up.
@andyis Pretty much, yea. Most of the people that I met that had 0 personality (i.e. ability to make personal connections very quickly with the judges [this can be anything from making them laugh to them liking you enough for them to give you their card]). These people didn’t do very well.
That being said, there is only some threshold level of intelligence/personality that is needed to do well. After that success is about the quality of your work and how ‘beautiful’ the idea is (note: I’m not saying you have to be a genius; the opposite actually). I did well despite having an idea that was not ‘beautiful,’ but I think a lot of that was because I’m better at communicating than most of the people that were there.
@berkinit2021 did you do your own experiments to form a conclusion that you based your ISEF paper on, or was the idea already formulated prior to any work being done? Like did you basically base your project off of other lab members’ work of did you discover something yourself?
@berkinit2021 So basically that is the process after getting called in as a semifinalist, as in the reviewing session (which I have herd is hard to achieve). But yes, that makes a lot more sense. I was wondering how one would communicate a social personality through text (possible but difficult to maintain with academia) . Also, I think it may help with finding a professor to help out (maybe). Thanks for clarification! I’ll definitely watch out if I do ever make it past the first round:P
@ILDocter I did my own experiments. It was more of an engineering project, but really there are very few differences between the top scientific and engineering projects. I will say this: if you are going to do engineering (esp. robotics or software), PLEASE do something actually scientific. I cannot tell you how many people I saw with what appeared to be posters that belonged at a trade show.
@andyis I did ISEF this year (as I’m not eligible for STS for another two), but I made a lot of friends who were finalists so I can provide some insight. Basically the first round (submitters -> semi’s) is all about the paper. Make sure it is well written and flows well (both logically and rhetorically). Sound science and a well written paper will clinch semi’s every single time. Beyond that, to become a finalist, they are going to be looking more at your essays and who you ‘are’ as a person. Make sure that your essays and rec’s reflect your personality (i.e. nobody who was the stereotypical 4.0/2400 student who only played an instrument and went home to study every day made it). Most of them said that @MITChris 's frequently linked ‘Applying Sideways’ helped them with the app.
If you make it to the finalist stage, you’re already golden. Beyond that it’s very subjective. My advice is definitely more applicable to the science fair side of things, but some of it still holds true.
Hi! I am currently a junior and contemplating dropping my research program at my school. I am very interested, however, in doing research over the summer (and possibly making it into a intel sts prokect). Do you know the name of the summer program that your two friends went on? If I could do a program, I would love to do that. But as of right now, I may have to find one independently (and stay in the school program). @glasshours