<p>Hi all! Is anyone here a parent of a former Intel STS semifinalist or finalist? Looking for some tips or suggestions as to what you found helpful for the application :)</p>
<p>It was years ago so I can’t pass along any advice, only good wishes! :)</p>
<p>Also years ago for my son, at this point. I know there were short answers which my son completed–we just proofed them. Also, a description of the project and what he did as well as a letter from his mentor. I’m not sure there was really anything that we as parents could do to help. It probably helped that my son went to a math/science magnet school, where most of the seniors did a research project and entered the competition. Good luck! My son is now out of college, and he thinks having been an Intel Semifinalist was helpful in getting job interviews–several folks he interviewed with mentioned it.</p>
<p>Pay attention to the short answer questions. Give them as much care as the long essays.</p>
<p>S let us read his essays, but we did not suggest any changes or need to proofread. Did just fine on his own!</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! @countingdown, do you think the paper/research is treated equally with the grades/essays/recs/other components? Is the paper more important?</p>
<p>Intel looks at one’s potential as a scientist and in finalist interviews, one is asked questions across a broad spectrum of fields. Presenting one’s research was secondary. As for grades and scores, everyone is at the top of the heap. If you have a personal angle or backstory to your research, work that into your app. </p>
<p>Siemens tends to be more project-driven and at least several years ago, the presentation was a major part of the evaluation. There is some overlap between Siemens regional finalists and Intel, but they are looking at very different things.</p>
<p>@ Countingdown/ anyone else who can answer, what types of questions do they ask? Could you give a specific example or two? I’ll be entering ISTS in two years, so what are some things I can do to prepare? Should I stay on top of all recent scientific research?</p>
<p>I was not in the interview (I’m a parent), but S reported that the panel had clearly looked at his transcript and the courses he had taken, and asked him to solve a problem on the fly using some of the skills he would have gained from a very high level physics course. This was NOT in the area of his project.</p>
<p>I don’t know what else he was asked, or if all finalists had the same basic battery of questions. OTOH, I would not spend time trying to prep for this sort of thing.</p>
<p>S did not spend years trying to win competitions. He did spend years reading books and articles and teaching himself a lot of material. He went to chat with a prof weekly, read more research papers, had to explain them to the prof and write proofs, and then came up with an interesting take on a math/CS problem, mulled it over for a few weeks and then wrote up his senior research paper. At that point he thought he might submit it. </p>
<p>Folks who work on lab-based projects take a different approach to research. S would make a lousy research scientist. Can’t stand keeping records and being organized…</p>
<p>Intel wants folks who have potential as scientists – not just folks who have done an interesting project under supervision. For both Siemens and Intel, do not expect the judges to necessarily have substantive knowledge in your area. (This was particularly notable in math/CS projects.) S’s goal was to present his work in such a way that even the bio and chem judges would understand theoretical computer science. ;)</p>
<p>Congrats to all who were named STS semifinalists today!</p>
<p>Many don’t enter these competitions, and they still do OK. I doubt my son’s HS ever had someone apply for Intel or Siemens. They certainly didn’t encourage math-science competitions. It is hard for me to judge other people’s work, though I recall the elementary art projects. It seemed pretty obvious if a parent with talent had done the whole thing.</p>
<p>sorry OP, I wandered from your question.</p>