NSA Stokes' 2010

Meg0602 · 12-01-2009, 06:32 PM

K......Figured we may as well start one for this upcoming year. Any finalists from last year care to let us know the time line after the semifinalist stage? March for those notices, and then what? Anyone else applying.....Let's have a good time talking, and try to help each other through this fun stuff! Who's a High school Senior Applying? Who's a college Sophomore? What Major?

College Sophomore, International Relations with a focus on Genocide studies and terrorism. Plan on learning Arabic, Chinese, or Russian, fine tuning Spanish, and becoming more competent in Italian.

MJS139115 · 12-10-2009, 01:50 PM

I applied this year as a high school senior for Computer Engineering. Does anyone know when we should expect to first hear something from NSA?

Ashenx · 12-11-2009, 01:23 AM

Looking earlier, it looks like notification of semi-finalists will be sometime in mid February.

maskedtwilight · 12-17-2009, 01:10 AM

Does anyone know the average scores of people have who get accepted as a semi-finalist?

fyasko · 12-28-2009, 11:23 PM

I'm a high school senior trying to get in to the CS program.
What's the typical work-day for a NSA stokes finalist?

Meg0602 · 01-01-2010, 01:10 PM

Great Question Fyasco! Gosh, it sounds like so far I'm the only one on here not going for CS. Anyone else get that email about their resume being reviewed?

maskedtwilight · 01-03-2010, 01:07 AM

No~ When did you get yours sent to you?

technogeek · 01-04-2010, 02:10 AM

I applied for the CS part of Stokes as well.
When you apply and upload your resume you should get an email within 24 hours saying your resume is being looked over.
The only bad part about this scholarship is the waiting, its quite nerve-racking from what the past years have said.

zman5 · 01-04-2010, 03:22 PM

Im a senior and applied for computer engineering

maskedtwilight · 01-05-2010, 07:26 PM

I applied for Computer Science too.

zman5 · 01-14-2010, 03:11 PM

So I haven't heard average SAT scores or anything so I thought that we can post ours to get a range of the scores are at least. Mine are SAT: 1490/2140

maskedtwilight · 01-19-2010, 02:38 AM

I got a 1900 on the SAT

PotatoBrain · 01-21-2010, 05:25 PM

I got 1770 on my SAT (570 Reading, 590 Math, 610 Writing). My scores are all over the place. I got 24 on my ACT (Math 27, Science 25, 24 English, 21 Reading). I am hoping that we will be getting some feedback from the NSA by at least the last half of February. I know we were suppose to send a copy of our SAT/ACT scores, but my SAT scores were just printed off the internet so I hope they accept it because it is technically not official. However, that is really all I could do...

I am a high school student applying for computer science. I live in the mid-western part of the US. Anyone know if you live in a small state like Utah or Idaho, will you have a better chance? I am an evil white male, so the whole minority thing won't really work for me. I also don't know how much computer programming experience you need? I have taken 3 AP classes and am currently in I.B. so I really can't take any decent computer program classes until college. I have a read a bit about Java and Python at the library and I know a lot about computer security, anyone think that will increase chance of being a finalists.
I am also an Eagle Scout and have done more than 100hrs of service, judging science fairs, helping out people in marathon, tutoring, and volunteering at the food bank. I have been in DECA, French Club, Fencing, Honors Society...not anything that sounds very good.
Well, I guess only about 15 people actually get the scholarship/job/internship, so I am just wondering if I even have a chance. Really hope I can at least be a semifinalist. What about the rest of you guys?

technogeek · 01-31-2010, 07:39 PM

Pondering questions from PotatoBrian, I've come to these conclusions:

Based on previous timelines we'll get information end of February/beginning of March.

Looking for people to fill CS positions it would seem logical to want at least a minor background in programming, i.e. released programs or high level computer courses (Honors or AP, if offered). Having a decent background in Java or Python would be good, but I would think C is also important as it is one of the most powerful languages out there.

As for SAT/ACT scores, I know mine are sent alongside my transcript by my school, yours might be too.

This is a government program and so I really can't see them giving some regions of the U.S. more preference than others.

Hope that helps some.

PotatoBrain · 02-02-2010, 11:16 AM

Well, I have been officially rejected. Check your email everyone...you should be hearing from the NSA! Better luck to everyone else...there go my childhood dreams, oh well.