<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>So, I was wondering...how prestigious is an ISEF grand award? (Not the first place....more like...4th?) Also, do you think research is important in high school? I do it because I like it...but sometimes it gets in the way of school stuff (like AP tests). I think its worth it...what do you think?</p>
<p>Really big f-ing deal.</p>
<p>But you shouldn’t do research because you care about winning prizes or because you think colleges will care. Do it because you love it. It’ll just become an annoying burden if you don’t enjoy it. Research is about the pursuit of knowledge and answering the unknown or coming up with new questions. Publishing and winning prizes are nice, but not really what it’s about. So, if it’s really worth it to you, you won’t care that it decreases your AP studying time.</p>
<p>A 4th award in category isn’t quite mind-blowingly amazing, but it is quite a nice thing to be able to slap onto your college admissions forms. I don’t even know if there is such a thing as 4th overall…</p>
<p>Yes, actually I got 4th in a category thus yr :)…they have a couple ppl place for 1-4 for each category. Ok, thanks!! I do it cause I like it…but now I’m completly screwed for my self study APs that I neglected</p>
<p>haha, I absolutely admire you… not even for getting fourth place, just for being able to attend ISEF in the first place. Good luck on those APs! (Agree with everyone else, ISEF is much more important!)</p>
<p>Lol, thanks so much…there goes sleep for the next week! But then I can start on next years project…lol</p>