<p>So I figured since the official Intel STS 2013 deadline just passed (even for the Sandy victims!), it was time to make the CC Thread. I know results don't come out for a good 6-7 weeks but I thought we could discuss our projects and experiences...and complain about college apps haha. </p>
<p>Cheers everyone!</p>
<p>Yeaaaaaaaaaaah. So(: Any ideas how they review our apps? Is it mostly weighed toward the report or essays?</p>
<p>What I’ve heard is that the report matters most for deciding the semifinalists. After that, most reports are about even so they look at the essays, ECs, scores etc. (normal college app stuff) to decide the finalists.</p>
<p>That kinda makes me feel better. It’d be amusing if the same 300 for Siemens were selected as Intel semis also LOL. But that’d be pretty ridiculous, I’m guessing they have different judging criteria. But at least we both know we have decent papers from siemens =)</p>
<p>Haha yeah. I’ve heard Intel is more competitive though-I’m not sure if all the Siemens semi’s apply to Intel but an entire new group of kids apply only to Intel (partially because they were too lazy to finish by October 1). From my school we had 2 kids apply to Siemens but now 4 for Intel.</p>
<p>Ohhhh, I would think the opposite since Intel requires so much more work (essays and lots to fill out). I think I’m the only one from my school applying for both though, so not sure.</p>
<p>Is it bad if your research wasn’t extensively groundbreaking? Interesting and applicable, but not amazing, haha.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on everyone else’s research too. I think those are all factors, but obviously amazing discoveries always stand out xD Does intel also ensure almost every state is represented? That would make things easier if you are in less competitive states.</p>
<p>judging from the list of semifinalists last year, I wouldn’t think so. Stuyvesant high school in NY had more semifinalists than my entire state (which is arguably pretty competitive, too…)</p>
<p>Yeah, but they try to pick at least one from each state, so if your project is decent (but would not have made semis in let’s say CA) it might make it in other less competitive states. Buuuuut, yeah, that’s a small detail xD</p>
<p>I don’t think so, actually. Only like 20-30 states are represented in the semifinalist pool. Intel also makes no mention of geographic location as a factor for selection.</p>
<p>Yup, yup, you’re right. Unless no decent project is submitted from the other 20 states, which I doubt.</p>
<p>I’m a high school freshman but I can’t wait to compete senior year (that is, if I make it, haha)</p>
<p>I only got into my research project last year, actually. I wish I could just redo high school and do everything right! Ah, c’est la vie.</p>
<p>For judging I know they have an initial round and then another round to determine semi-finalists. Any idea how long they spend on each portion of our application for the initial round and semifinal rounds (each portion being 1) Research Report, 2) Essays, Extra Currics)?</p>
<p>I think Intel criteria is way different than Siemens, they look more at the whole person, so I doubt it would be similar.</p>
<p>My project wasn’t complete in time for Siemens. I’m not optimistic about Intel, but it was worth a shot 
My project is in the category of medicine/health. I did about 8-9 weeks of full time research over the summer, so it wasn’t as lengthy as some other projects. Still, my results were interesting and applicable (at least I think so l0l).</p>
<p>Again, this is just what I’ve heard, but I think they look more “holistically” when narrowing down good papers–>semifinalists and semifinalists–>finalists.
Out of curiosity, what did you guys say for your essays (most specifically your potential as a scientist, and the biggest discovery within the next 20 years)??</p>
<p>So…I’m just gonna bump this thread. About 20 days left till announcement.</p>
<p>Also, how superb does the report have to be? I did work on organic solar cells and I didn’t have much help writing the report so I did what I thought I should put in there. I did a really good job about talking about background and applications, but I feel I was a little weak in the actual science part–I have what is necessary (my procedure, how I made solar cell, etc.), but I may have “dumbed” it down a little. I wasn’t sure who was going to read my report (whether they have superb knowledge on my topic or not)…what does Intel look for in these reports? I thought I did reasonably well on the other parts of the application (essays, stats, etc.)</p>
<p>So apparently this year Intel STS is starting a “badging program” where they give you virtual badges if you have particularly good essays and/or research report, but don’t make it to the Semifinals (you also get them if you DO make the semifinals…so dont panic!) They said that the badges would be released in “Late December”–has anyone heard from them?</p>
<p>The only badge to be released in late December is the Entrants Badge. [Intel</a> Badges - Society for Science & the Public](<a href=“http://www.societyforscience.org/sts/badging]Intel”>http://www.societyforscience.org/sts/badging)</p>