neongreen

Hi everyone,

So I am a junior this year, and after having gone through several chancers' info, I have come to realize that in fact I really don't have that many awards/competitions to mention. This is for two primary reasons; first of all, our school doesn't really give out that many awards (esp. to non-seniors) and second, nobody at our school really does any outside competitions (Harvard Book Award, Bausch Lomb, what?) so I have simply never even heard of most of these. I would like to participate in some competitions, not just for apps, but also since I think some of them might be fun to compete in.

Thus, I'd like to ask if anybody knows of any science-oriented competitions that they've had positive experiences with, and if you could simply list off some that I might look into.

Thanks so much!

carpe noctum

Look into Challenge A or Challeneg E of Destination Imagination at Destination ImagiNation - Home Page
You can form a competitive team within your school or on your own. The program varies from highly theatrical to highly technical challenges. It is the ultimate program in teaching you how to think divergently, quickly, challenge yourself as well as teamwork skills.

Djokovic

there tons to do. Just research online....
Science Bowl, Science Olympiad, Physics/Bio/CHem Olympiad.
AMC/AMIE/USAMO, USAMTS, ARML.

The list goes on

k4r3n2

The Math / Physics / Biology / Chemistry Olympiads tend to be pretty easy to get involved with - basically, you take a test for the first round, and then a harder test for the next round (and the Chemistry one had a lab practical part, not sure about the others), so you just have to find a testing center, and your school might also have to nominate you. Siemens and Intel tend to be a lot more involved. FIRST is also really, really awesome, but it's a lot of work to get a team together and then build a robot. You can also explore stuff independently - it's not all about the awards, I'd say that generally it's about showing curiosity and a passion for learning.

Djokovic

ah I but FIRST is an event that really needs cooperation from the school and from an individual person. You are building a robot for pete's sake.

I am on a FIRST team

neongreen

Thanks for the input guys!
I am already on a FIRST team-probably joining was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
How do I find a test center for those Olympiads? Nobody at my school has ever taken them before...I would consider taking Biology.
And yes, it is not all about the awards...but I just think that perhaps through some of these competitions, my interests/talents will be more apparent.