<p>Hey parents, wanted to ask you a question. Getting mixed messages from the students forum.</p>
<p>My S got on the Siemens Regional Finalist list from a very competitive NY public school. As he is getting ready for the next step (bad timing - early apps and the finalist interview at almost the same time), I am looking at his whole background all over again.
How much do the top colleges value these finalists? Is it a big jump or a small jump on his applictaion process?</p>
<p>Given that he has good school record</p>
<p>4.0+ WGPA with Loaded curriculam
SAT 1 ~2200, 3 SATIIs ~750-800
Top 500 Olypiad
County/Regional level Science Awards</p>
<p>Good rec letters
Heavy EC including 3 year Varsity and community service</p>
<p>Congratulations....the little you listed indicated your son already had a strong background! Try to enjoy this accomplishment for what it is...rather than what it adds to the application. </p>
<p>Siemens Regional is a nice honor....National is an even bigger honor. However, almost every year there are even National winners who are seniors and are not admitted to their top choice schools.</p>
<p>Hopefully, he enjoyed his research and, if it's truly an area of interest for him, his "passion" will come through in his essays and any interviews he has. And maybe even his recs. He is qualified to apply to any school, based on his GPA, test scores and the brief EC listing....even without this extra honor. </p>
<p>The reality is that, at HYPMS, there are admitted students who haven't won any regional or national awards! Beyond the top schools...which will have more regional Siemen's winner applicants than they can admit...it might have meaning for schools that offer merit money. These schools will likely be sending a fair amount of mail to your home shortly!</p>
<p>2boy, thanks for your reply.
I agree with your view. At the same time I wonder what kind of students the HYPMS are looking for. Nothing is good enough for them.</p>
<p>If my son gets good merit scholarhsip, I would be very happy. But he is so ambitious, who knows? He wants to get in his top choice college.</p>
<p>I can't say how much the award itself will make a difference, but it definitely is helpful. The finalists in our school (we have one or two every few years) do very well with college placements. But it's a piece of the total picture - those kids might have done just as well without the award itself - I assume their applications talked about their research experiences and they probably also included recommendation letters from their mentors.</p>
<p>It's not that nothing is good enough for HYPMS, but that there are just too many outstanding kids, but they accept some pretty normal kids too.</p>