What are my chances of qualifying for ISEF?

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1

I am going to be a junior this fall and it will be my first time doing a science fair. I have done a research project before, but it was in a group and it wasn’t really laboratory research. However, I am also familiar with researching in a lab. I am looking to qualify for ISEF. I am worried that because it will be my first time doing a science fair, I may not qualify. I understand a lot of it is dependent on the judges and the affiliated fair, but I know a lot of kids who don’t qualify for ISEF even after going to science fair multiple times. I wanted to hear from students who have gone to ISEF: how many tries did it take you to qualify? How many tries did it take you to win an award at ISEF?

Follow up questions:
What do judges mostly look for in ISEF qualifying projects? What do judges look for in ISEF award-winning projects?

Also, is starting research the August before the actual fair too late (So if the affiliated fair is around March 2019 and ISEF is around May 2019, then I would start August 2018) ? If yes, what would be a good time to start research if the given dates for the fairs are the same?

(I’ve posted this discussion on College Admissions too but I haven’t been getting any responses)

2

You project has to be original research, creative, interesting, well presented, and hopefully have practical implications. You can absolutely qualify for ISEF in your first year, but I wouldn’t be thinking about ISEF until you actually have a fabulous idea for your project.

3

Thank you so much for your response @yucca10, I don’t know if my idea is the best, but it’s definitely original. Do you think it’s too late to start my research now if I wanna compete in 2019?

4

It’s generally not too late, but this very much depends on the project.