Intel Science Talent Search
The most reputable and prestigious scientific research competitions for high school seniors in the United States is known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. Candidates must intend to be future scientists and researchers. Each year 300 students receive a $1,000 award and named semifinalists. 40 of the semifinalists are named finalists and are invited on an all-expense-paid trip to the Science Talent Institute in Washington, DC in March, where the winners are selected. The student who win first place receives a $100,000 four-year scholarship, the second place finalist have a $75,000 scholarship, and the third place finalist receives a $50,000 scholarship. Fourth, fifth and sixth place finalists receive $25,000 scholarships. Seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth place finalists receive $20,000 scholarships. The remaining 30 finalists receive $5,000 scholarships. All finalists also get a high performance computer. Usually the entry deadline is early or mid November.
Intel International Science and Engineering Fair
The most famous and largest science fair in the world is called the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Each year more than 1,200 students in grades 9-12 from more than 40 countries take part in ISEF. They are selected at regional science fairs. Students contend at the ISEF for more than $3 million in scholarships and prizes. The students who win the first three places are awarded the Intel Young Scientist Scholarship of $50,000, a trip to the Nobel Prize ceremonies in Sweden, and a high performance computer. Prizes include scholarships, summer internships, scientific field trips and laboratory equipment. The fair offers a total of more than 900 individual and team awards.
Intel Research Award Contest for Undergraduate Students
The Intel Student Research Contest (ISRC) is for those undergraduates who have research projects at their school. The winners are awarded up to $2,000. At the end of the project period, the students demonstrate their results to a panel of experts and meet with famous Intel researchers. The undergraduates who win first three places are given $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000. The students from the United States are eligible for the program. Similar contests are held in India and the People's Republic of China.
NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) offers the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP). It is a popular and competitive scholarship program. The program is for students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are interested in biomedical, behavioral and social science careers at the NIH. The scholarship is up to $20,000 a year for up to four years. It can be spent on tuition, educational expenses and reasonable living expenses. Nearly 15 scholarships are offered each year. Candidates must participate in the NIH 10-week Summer Laboratory Experience after each year of scholarship support. Recipients also work full-time during one year at the NIH for each year of support. Candidates must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale or be within the top 5 percent of their class.
National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC)
The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) offers the National Merit Scholarships and National Achievement Scholarships programs, as well as the Special Scholarships. These are the most competitive scholarship in the United States. More than 10,000 students get college scholarships total sum of which is $47 million. High school students enter the competitions by taking the PSAT test, also referred to as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT). The best 16,000 or so students with the highest selection index scores are named Semifinalists. Nearly 15,000 of these are named Finalists. 8,000 of the Finalists are chosen to get a National Merit Scholarship. An additional 1,600 participants who were not Finalists are chosen for Special Scholarships financed by corporations. The National Achievement Scholarship Program are for prominent African American students. 1,600 of the candidates are named Semifinalists. 1,300 of the Semifinalists are named Finalists, and 775 Finalists are chosen to get the Achievement Scholarship. Scholarship amounts in both programs vary from $2,500 to renewable four-year full tuition scholarships.
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