The personal application, though not weighted as much as the paper, still provides a substantial part of the overall submission. The field of scientific research (i.e. mathematics vs. engineering or medicine & health vs. biochemistry) is important for categorizing your work but will not be the deciding factor in whether you succeed or not; the judges are looking for high quality research in ALL fields. One important area on the first page is the teacher to be recognized. This teacher will receive recognition if you become a semifinalist/finalist, which is important since you didn't get to where you are today without help from the people around you! On the following page, there is also a space to put in most influential person, who can be the teacher you just nominated or somebody completely different. This person will get invited to Washington, DC for the finalist ceremony if you become a finalist and he/she even gets a minor planet named for him/her through the MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Ceres Connection!

Following, there are sections to be filled that are similar to a resume. While it's important to emphasize math and science background, don't forget to include other meaningful activities that you enjoy. There is a blank spot for listing "special recognitions, awards, …science fair honors, etc." which is rather small, so you can write "refer to attachment" and include an attachment that is somewhat more detailed (perhaps ~ 1 page in length). On the following page (3) there are also open ended questions such as listing hobbies, summer activities, and lessons learned from conducting the STS research. For each of these sections, it is OK and potentially advantageous to once again refer to attachments so that you can explicate all that you have done.

Though many students who apply to the Intel STS are highly accomplished, having piles of awards is neither necessary nor sufficient for success. The following section, the 5 essay questions, are an important reminder that good scientists are people who demonstrate certain qualities and not people who merely have shiny hardware. Following is a link to the completed essay #3 on inventiveness: [insert link here].

Express your convictions articulately and then move on. You shouldn't have to agonize over them and don't worry about writing less than 300 words.

Next are questions regarding how you got the idea for the research and where it was conducted along with related items. Be generous here and be truthful. Obviously you don't need to say somebody helped you when in fact they didn't, but realize that your mentor will also have to fill out a section on where the research came from and what help you received. Discrepancies between what you say versus what your mentor say are generally not good unless you say that you got help from a certain source A and your mentor doesn't comment on this (hence, be generous!). When asking your mentor for the recommendation, it is advisable to create a bullet point list that contains information that you think important and that the mentor may forget (esp. if it has been a while since you last communicated).

Moving to the research summary on page 6 of the entry form, you must remember that the description is for layperson understanding and that you only have 100 words to write out the tremendous amount of work that you have done. Be concise and get to the point quickly.

Finally, there are sundry other forms filled out by your guidance counselor (again, don't worry if you don't have a perfect SAT score) and forms for projects using vertebrae animals and human subjects. It would be a good idea to make sure that your project conforms to Intel STS rules regarding what sorts of experimental methods they will accept so that when it comes time to apply, you won't be shocked to find that your project doesn't qualify.