<p>I know they're different competitions, but what's the difference?</p>
<p>for example: assuming the science project is the same, i heard if u score low on SAT it's better to attend the Siemens b/c Intel STS looks at your score as well?</p>
<p>What do these competitions look at?</p>
<p>what are the criterias?</p>
<p>Are international students (not permanent residents) who go to high school in the US eligible to participate?
I'm a junior now, so dont bother to reply "you're too late!" sort of posts :P</p>
<p>Siemens is all about the research. STS is about the potential to become a great scientist. Just because you have a low SAT score doesn't mean you don't have a shot (but on the other hand, they would have expected you to win state science fairs, ISEF finalist, etc etc). Siemens is very prestigious because the research done by national finalist is top notch. STS is prestigious because it's STS and also many of their winners have gone on to do impressive things (including a nobel laureate). </p>
<p>You do have to be a permanent resident / citizen of the US to participate in both I believe.</p>
<p>As a Siemens National Finalist I can say that the Siemens Competition looks for excellent research. The research should discover something new and be written well to get to regional finalist. After this point it's about the badass-ness of your research. Some projects are just more "WOW" then others, and those go to nationals generally. Some projects are just "wow this person really did this research really well." In either case advancing to the Nationals requires a supreme mastery of your project, as well as a lot of general knowledge about your field (sometimes you can get through to nationals but you won't place high if you don't really know your project).</p>
<p>I can't say much about STS, though I can say that others on CC have done exceptionally well. Perhaps they will drop in to comment.</p>
<p>i like siemens best, because it's all research (i was a regional finalist this year). I'm really not looking forward to STS next year because of all the extra stuff you have to do. It should be just research.</p>
<p>But Coolphreak, that is already what the Siemens competition is for.</p>
<p>Assuming both competitions judge research projects similarly, then one person might end up winning the $100,000 grand prize in both. Besides, the research project still weighs the most in Intel; it just doesn't weigh as all of it. Intel is the "Science TALENT Search," and science talent isn't demonstrated solely by how well someone can write research reports. </p>
<p>The ability to write research reports is going to depend on your resources as well. With utmost respect for the Regional/National Finalists of Siemens (who I am sure completely deserve those distinctions), between Siemens and Intel, there are probably more Semifinalists in Siemens undeserving of that award than those of Intel. With nothing along the lines of grades, test scores, essays, ECs, awards, etc. to demonstrate that the student excels at science and is feasibly capable of writing good material, many Siemens semifinalists just rely on their mentors' work. </p>
<p>A friend of mine, who made Siemens semis, says herself that the only reason she probably made it that far is because her mentor continually editted her report to reflect the professionalism of her workplace. I'm interested in seeing how she'll do in Intel; obviously her top-notch report (which came out of NIH, so, again I might again mention "resources") is not going to be helpful unless she demonstrates equally impressive science pursuits. </p>
<p>But obviously, if you can do well in both science and the specifics of performing valuable research & writing about it, you have nothing to worry about in Intel. It's evident you already have the "research" half of the competition down. :)</p>
<p>can't international students participate?
I remember on the Intel STS website it says any student currently going to a US high school or a US citizen/permanent going to an international high school abroad....and I think I fit in the first category.</p>
<p>Correct me if I'm wrong...(b/c that's what I saw on the website)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input btw!!</p>
<p>I plan to do a summer research program so I can use that as my Intel/Siemens project :)</p>
<p>I just checked collegeboard, and Siemens require you to be US citizen/permanent resident. But I still believe Intel allows non-citizens who's studying in the US participate...</p>
<p>Any student who is enrolled in and attending their last year of secondary school (public, private, or parochial) in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake and Midway Islands, and the Marianas; or
Any American student (a United States citizen) enrolled in their last year of secondary school attending:
a Department of Defense Dependents School or an accredited overseas American or International School; or
a foreign school as an exchange student; or
a foreign school because his/her parent(s) are temporarily working and living abroad. "</p>
<p>I agree that both are different for a good reason. Just for the record though, I completely wrote my own paper, with no help from my mentor or anything. I haven't really looked too much in sts yet, but how heavily do stuff like SAT scores and such weigh? I don't want to lose to someone who has 800's all across the board, but an "inferior" project. I definitely do not have perfect scores in all of my tests, however, I can say that the majority of my research is very independent. I hope that shows through in the STS application. btw, do they take ACT scores?</p>
<p>The test scores form has space for the ACT, yes.</p>
<p>kennyk, the best place to get all the info you need about STS is on the website. Print out a copy of the rules/regulations packet, as well as the application packet, even if they are only for the 2007 competition. I doubt there'll be any big changes for 2008.</p>
<p>And Coolphreak, don't worry! An applicant with a 2400, 4.0, and 800s in every science/math SAT II isn't even going to be a semifinalist if his report is about which color M&M melts the fastest in your mouth. Like I said before, the report still factors the most; I'd make an estimate around 50%, but that is a complete guess. Michael Viscardi, who won Siemens, was still an Intel Finalist; obviously, he had the great report, but he also had other great qualities to him. Several of the Finalists are 2400s or valedictorians, but that does not weigh heavily in the contest (although, of course, horrible grades or test scores will hurt you). However, they all still have ground-breaking research, and they probably demonstrated scientific potential through other things, such as science-related ECs or awards. (Don't forget you have to write essays describing your scientific curiosity, attitude, etc. Perfect oppurtunity to explain what makes you special.)</p>
<p>And again, congratulations on your Finalist status! Trust Siemens and Intel to be able to distinguish who actually knows their stuff and who doesn't by the Finalist level. If you're awarded such a distinction, you obviously deserve it. Expect the Intel Finalists (and Siemens National Finalists, at the bare minimum) to be truly incredible people; this is already evident through participant profiles. I know 3 Intel Finalists personally, including 2 of the winners. They are among the most amazing people I have ever met (and that was before they even became Intel Finalists).</p>
<p>IMO the single most powerful way to ramp up your application to either of these competitions is to truly and genuinely get excited about your research. The people who succeed in these competitions are very very passionate about their research, and I don't mean passionate as in the degraded term that is thrown about CC, but truly passionate, and dedicated to their research as if they were married to it.</p>
<p>Strange words, but considering my fondest memory at nationals was my partner pouring water onto my head at 4 AM to wake me up, expect the unexpected!</p>
<p>I'd like to speak as someone who was incredibly surprised that they made Intel Semifinalist the other day and share some thoughts on how I went about my project and my application.</p>
<p>I started reading up on my subject (related to information retrieval and computational linguistics) in the spring of my junior year and I worked out my entire project over the summer. I had no clear direction as I didn't work with a mentor who was an expert in the field but I started by just writing a standard algorithm to do what it was supposed to do. Then I had ideas, extended the algorithm, tested some more, had some new ideas..etc. Eventually after a lot of failed ideas and some lucky stumbling around I had compe up with a moderately successful but interesting solution to a certain problem. </p>
<p>It should be said that since Intel STS looks for "potential as a scientist/researcher" your essays are pretty important. You have to show them that you were truly excited about doing your research, show them that your project is a showcase for that excitement and creativity. After you finish your project, you should be excited about what you've accomplished --let them know =) Recommendations should do the same, if you worked under someone's supervision. Of course, SAT scores, other science fair awards, and grades are important as well. Personally, I tried to be honest and sincere about my research experience and how I approached it, tackled challenges, reached sudden insights, etc.</p>
<p>so good luck to anyone starting their projects and thinking of applying next year =)</p>