High School Research Opportunities

RiceEater108
Wed, 06 May 2015 17:05:25 +0000

From Quora:

The Question: “Is it true that most high school students who win Siemens/Intel only win due to connections that their parents have?”

Answer:
"‘Connections’ do matter, but probably not in the way the OP imagines.

There’s a reason that so many of the finalists at these competitions all come from the same schools – and it’s only partly because schools like Stuyvessant, etc attract really bright kids. The other reason is that these schools have programs to enter students in these competitions. The schools have connections with labs and scientists nearby, and send students to these labs, year after year. Students can sign up, and the school will place them in a lab with a mentor. They have faculty advisors that tell them how the process works - when they need to start working in a lab, what kind of project they need to do, how to write a paper, etc. Programs like RSI (which anon mentions in his/her answer) also do this and are a great example of the power of these connections – yes you have to apply to get in to RSI, and you have to be smart to get in, but then they really set you up, place you in a lab, help you get a project, help you write a paper, etc…

Most schools don’t do this – so those students have to muddle through this on their own, and it usually requires a real go-getter to find themselves a position in a lab on their own.

This doesn’t detract from the accomplishments of students at the schools that do have those programs, of course – but like anything else in life, it’s true that many times when people are successful they’ve had lots of help along the way, sometimes by virtue of circumstance.

The judging itself seemed incredibly impartial – having a great paper only gets you to the final round (of 40 in the cast of the Intel STS). The judges don’t care who your parents are, and in most cases I don’t see how they’d even know. Once you’re in the final round, you have to present your research, and survive interrogation by the judges, so if you got a little too much help previously and don’t understand your research inside and out, it will show.

They also tend to ask a lot of random thought exercise questions - I remember being asked to estimate the likelihood that humanity would become extinct in the next 100K years, for example.

So, connections don’t help in the judging, but a comfort with public speaking and ability to think on your feet go a long way.

(Disclaimer - I can only speak from the perspective of the Intel Science Talent Search, which was called Westinghouse Science Talent Search when I participated (the siemens competition didn’t exist back then)). " - Parker Conrad.