D became an Intel STS semifinalist today, will it help her HYPS application?

CountingDown
Fri, 30 Jan 2009 13:05:24 +0000

Not every Intel finalist wants to attend Harvard, either! Some Intel finalists look for schools where they can continue their research and/or begin graduate work much earlier than is typical. Others look for the place that just feels right without regard to the school’s USNWR ranking. The Intel STS winner a few years ago went to a state flagship.

Becoming an Intel finalist doesn’t make one a Scientific Master of the Universe. It’s not a PhD conferred at age 17. It may well open some doors, but it is still up to the student to walk through those doors and take advantages of the opportunities ahead. And those kids who build nuclear reactors in their dorm rooms or innovative robotics in the garage – and didn’t win Intel – those are the ones who will be setting the pace.