Why Compete?

Pursuing an independent science, math, or engineering project during high school makes for a unique learning experience, and by entering the project in one or more of the advanced science competitions, a student can also gain recognition, scholarships, and polish for a college resume.

Aside from learning about an area of science, math, or technology, advanced projects develop skills in a number of areas that are valuable for college and beyond:

• Planning and time-management skills
• Research skills, such as the scientific method and statistics
• Writing skills
• Presentation and communication skills

Entering a project in one or more of the advanced competitions, which are akin to the Super Bowl or to the Academy Awards, offers students the opportunity to obtain even more. Perhaps foremost, succeeding in these competitions creates a point of distinction and differentiation on college applications. For example, the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search (STS) Finalists ended up attending these colleges:

Harvard	10
Princeton	6
MIT	4
Caltech	4
Stanford	2
Cornell	2
SUNY	2
Duke, Yale, Columbia, UC Berkeley, Arizona, Johns Hopkins, Wesleyan	1 each

We're not saying that students should only aspire to attend these colleges; you can get an equivalent or better education in many other places, but we know that most of these schools are very selective. We also don't mean to say that these finalists were accepted solely based on their Intel STS status; but rather, to emphasize that college admissions officers know that students who succeed in the top science competitions have a set of skills that sets them apart from their peers, which is certainly helpful during the college admissions process.

The top science competitions also offer participants:

• Acknowledgement and recognition for their work
• An opportunity to win college scholarships and awards:
  • $4M in awards and scholarships are awarded at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF).
  • $1M in awards and scholarships are awarded at the Intel Science Talent Search (STS).
• A chance to meet and spend time with other students who share the same interests
• A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be treated like a rock star!
• A lot of fun
• A week off of school, with an all-expenses-paid trip to the competition

In our Advanced Project Guide and Blogs about Advanced Competitions, Science Buddies has a wealth of information to help students find a project idea and be successful at the top competitions, but we can summarize the keys to success in a few bullet points. The most successful students:

• Have an original project with impressive results.
• Have a mentor or someone who can answer questions. You might be wondering if you have to have a mentor or coach. Not necessarily, but most of the winners do. See How to Find a Mentor.
• Have the support of their parents.
• Work a minimum of 100–200 hours on their project. Many of the top winners spend closer to 400–800 hours on their projects, often investing the equivalent of one or two summers working full-time on their research. But, don't let those numbers scare you away. Often, students start on a small project, enjoy it, and only then commit to a larger time commitment as their knowledge and experience grows. And, if a student doesn't have that kind of time available, he or she can still do a competitive project and learn a lot in the process.

Successful students also display a good deal of resourcefulness and persistence. Resourcefulness is all about making do with what you've got. If you are not close to a research university, do a project that does not require a laboratory or do your research while attending a summer research program. If money is tight, do a project that does not require materials or supplies, such as a mathematics project, one using public databases (astronomy and genomics have many such databases), or one in computer software. Every researcher runs into problems. Something will go wrong; you must be prepared to surmount it.

There are many different tactics for conducting independent research. Some students work in a lab with a mentor during the summer or after school. Others participate in a summer research program for high school students, hosted at a college or university (many of these programs have scholarships). Some projects can be performed at home, with or without guidance from a mentor, and some high schools even offer independent research classes. Students writing in our Blogs about Advanced Competitions have used a variety of these strategies.

There are several potential concerns that many students have:

• "It sounds like too much work" or "I don't have time." The secret is to do a project in an area that is of interest to you. Your hobby might literally become your work. And, when you are working on a project of your own, in an area that fascinates you, you'll be amazed how efficiently you can manage your time.
• "I don't have an idea for a project!" Fortunately, we've got help at: Roundtable on Finding an Idea for an Advanced Project.

Students can benefit tremendously from doing an independent research project. And, participation in the top competitions offers the possibility of adding icing on the cake.