<p>I do research for the sake of research, not for some random competition.</p>
<p>That's excellent</p>
<p>for those people who are siemens semifinalists:
how long was your paper? siemens allows for 20 pgs, but did you all of them? thnx</p>
<p>im a semifinalist too! so what happens next? am i out of the competition? do we get any scholarship? prize? (ipod shuffle?)</p>
<p>Only person from VT homeschooled. :)</p>
<p>A person from my school got semi-finalist as well. Doesn't surprise me though I know shes doing this huge project trying to cure cancer.</p>
<p>woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot
im a semi(finalist)
i used 20 pages to the line.</p>
<p>LOL, my paper was only like 10 pages with an intro and bib.</p>
<p>hwo did you guys get these projects?</p>
<p>My paper was 20 pages exactly, and I had to cut it from the initial 30.</p>
<p>Semifinalists don't move on in the competition -- just the regional finalists. Papers with fewer than 20 pages can make the cut.</p>
<p>Papers with fewer than 20 pages DO make the cut.</p>
<p>Mine was 17.</p>
<p>Mine was 13 pages.</p>
<p>Seriously, I don't understand why people think they have to hit 20 pages. Sure, more likely than not, more data and data analysis would boost your paper, but extending your paper to 20 pages "just 'cause" will almost certainly hurt you.</p>
<p>I'm a semifinalist and mine was only 11 pages, including pictures, graphs, tables, etc.</p>
<p>Don't extend yours just to increase the page count, that definitely won't help you. :)</p>
<p>um, how did you guys get these research opportunities? Did you have connections with someone?</p>
<p>I think a lot of people (atleast the ones that i know who entered) end up doing their research through a summer program. I did mine while I was at YSP (Young Scholars Program) at FSU. It was absolutely amazing and I got so much out of it while having fun! You should look into something like that.</p>
<p>My son emailed a professor at a local college who works in the area DS is interested in. They met last winter, had a chat, DS started studying with him, and after a while, DS began research. No connections, no small unmarked bills under the table ;), just an earnest email and a willingness to learn.</p>
<p>My younger son did the same thing with a community college prof as a 6th grader and did very well with Discovery Young Scientist Challenge.</p>
<p>There are really main three options for research opportunities.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Your school system is big on individual research (well-known magnet programs emphasizing math, science, and technology, such as the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics give great opportunities for this) and has great programs set up for students to work at local universities. Naturally, this option is only for those fortunate enough to go to such a school.</p></li>
<li><p>Summer programs. The Young Scholars Program as suggested earlier is a good example. I did my research at RSI this summer, and we had 20 semifinalists and regional finalists in this year's Siemens competition (out of the 50 or so domestic students). NIH internships produce amazing projects as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Self-initiative, such as CountingDown suggested. Go contact a professor yourself, and impressive him or her with your motivation, dedication, and eagerness to work and learn from the experience.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Oh wow. I just look at the Semifinalists' list and there are three from my school. Two of them are in my AP Gov class (one of the two sits in front of me). I must remember to congratulate them sometime.</p>
<p>Are these reports double-spaced? :P</p>