<p>yea i can't wait either. The semifinalists are posted the day before my bday, so that would be an awesome present. Even more awesome, would be to make finalist. :)</p>
<p>at this point I dont care if I win or lose. I just want to know.</p>
<p>Ben, while reading other threads I saw that you were admitted SCEA to the Harvard. Congratulations! I hope to see your name in the semifinalist list on the 11th.</p>
<p>Thanks. I think we have a good shot at sts semifinalist and an even better one at isef finalist. Good luck with college admissions. I'm sure you'll end up somewhere great.</p>
<p>I got a postcard saying they received my STS stuff before I even sent it out... Should I worry about this?</p>
<p>Ahhh, good luck everybody!! Just a week left :) I'm a bit disappointed, my school usually has four or five semifinalists a year so every year when they announce the semis, we have a big party. I'm going to be in DC (for a research conference actually, lol) so I'm missing said big party, damn. :p</p>
<p>is the competition for intel semis generally more competitive than for siemens semis? and does intel notify colleges of semifinalists, or is that the responsibility of the semifinalists? and finally, anyone how prestigious semifinalist status is in terms of college admissions?</p>
<p>Much, much more competitive. Intel is a generally harder competition, and more prestigious, if only because of the numbers and quality of entrants, which Siemens has yet to achieve. The beauty of Siemens is that, unlike STS, it focuses solely on the project. Siemens is probably the best indicator of a project's quality relative to the rest of the HS research pool (Siemens judging is much more incisive and generally "better" than ISEF's). The big problem with Siemens is that with the restrictions that it places on the projects that can enter, it will have a very difficult time reaching its full prestige potential. I brought this up with some big honchos at Siemens, lol so maybe they'll take it into consideration ;)</p>
<p>By the way, don't assume Intel will notify colleges of anything (although I hear they'll notify your top choice if you make finalist, but maybe I saw that in this thread :p:p). Send each college a big update letter in late February and mention Intel, if you win anything. Good luck!</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, Intel would send semifinalists an official form for college notifications. It is up to the applicant to fill out and mail the form.</p>
<p>Oooh, I can't wait until Wednesday!</p>
<p>I cant wait to see that I didnt make semi. Just completing the project was enough reward for me</p>
<p>I know that Siemens-Westinghouse notified all colleges-- STS does not.</p>
<p>GuitarMan, don't Siemens and Intel have about the same number of entrants (~1500) and the same number of semifinalists (300)? Is the disparity in the strength of the two applicant pools really that great? I got semi in the Westinghouse, but after hearing about how STS is so much more competitive... damn, I'm nervous. Congrats on your Westinghouse award by the way; it looks like you'll be an STS Finalist pretty soon. I'm just hoping for semis-- I don't have any chance to make finalist.</p>
<p>Good luck to all-- 5 1/2 days left. The suspense is overwhelming!</p>
<p>yea in the Siemens letter it said there were an unprecedented 1684 applicants, which I believe is the same number that enter Intel. However, while I'm unsure exactly why, maybe the applicant pool is more competitive.</p>
<p>I recall the Siemens letter stating the number of participants registered, though, rather than the number of complete applications recieved. Given that the online registration form didn't require much information, there might be a significant difference.</p>
<p>I think the competitiveness depends on the individual situation. For example, in Siemens, I think physics is more competitive than other subjects, like chemistry. Also, I live in upstate NY, where I would be compared against NYC kids. However, Intel doesn't have regional quotas, so I would be better off in Intel.</p>
<p>My advisor, who mostly does physics projects, has never had a semifinalist in Siemens, but he's had multiple finalists in Intel.</p>
<p>Yes, Siemens this year will probably have had more applicants than Intel did (regardless, the numbers will be extremely close--1600-1700 range). But remember, Siemens accepts teams while Intel does not. Siemens recieves significantly fewer individual applications than Intel does (probably about half as many). The problems are that Siemens papers are often, as mine was, unfinished versions of Intel papers, and more importantly, many people are working with humans and can't submit to Siemens because of its restrictions. These people do submit to Intel. My school, for example, had 10 Intel entries this year, and only 3 were able to submit to Siemens.</p>
<p>And yes, Siemens's strange region system (a byproduct of its association with College Board) makes it easier for some to win Siemens, and others to win Intel, depending on location. Generally the Middle States and West regions (particularly NY and CA) are underrepresented in Siemens because of this.</p>
<p>Four Days. Damn.</p>
<p>damn how the **** am i gonna get through the next 3 days.</p>
<p>This can't possibly be worse than waiting for college notifications.</p>
<p>well, in the absence of college notifications, we must direct our anxieties somewhere. And for those of us who were deferred, an intel semifinalist notification would be a very welcome addition to our update letters.</p>