[Student Area|Teacher Area|Judge Area]
Students who have started on their
investigation by completing their library
research and formulating an experimental
design may apply for funds to help purchase
supplies and equipment not normally available
at the local school.
The Minigrant
Program awards a maximum of $100 per
semester or $200 per year to help students
finance the research of students in grades
7-12. The application
may be duplicated for your use. The Research
Grant Committee awards grants on the basis of
the application. The student must demonstrate
that he/she fully understands the nature of
the project and that experimental research
(not a demonstration) will be conducted.
High school
students whose funding requirements exceed
$100 should apply for funds through the Maxi
Grant Program. Students applying
for a Maxi Grant must have participated in a
past regional or city science fair. The
application for this grant appears here.
The application should be completed with great
attention to detail. Do not request equipment
that is usually part of the school inventory.
All equipment purchased through the grant
becomes property of the school when the
project is completed. Greatest consideration
is given to students who have thoroughly
researched their project and have used
scientific journals rather than general
reference books and textbooks in their
Reference List.
Maxi grant
applications will be screened by the Research
Grant Committee and evaluated by an initial
point system. If your application passes the
initial screening, the student will be invited
to a personal interview conducted by selected
CPS Student Science Fair Committee
Chairpersons. Maxi Research Grants are
awarded to students one time only.
All grant
applications are evaluated according to the
following criteria by the committee:
scientific merit, scientific approach, and
potential for development. A student may apply
for either the Minigrant or the Maxi Grant,
but not both.
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Scholarship Program
Over one and a half million dollars in
scholarships has been awarded to Chicago
public schools students who have participated
in the student science fair as exhibitors of
projects and/or as symposium participants.
Scholarships are
awarded by corporations, philanthropic
organizations, universities, and the Chicago
Public Schools Student Science Fair, Inc. The
number of scholarships available varies each
year.
Any senior who
has participated in at least one Chicago
Public Schools Student Science Fair at the
Chicago Region level or above and who is
graduating from a Chicago Public High School
is eligible to apply for a scholarship.
Interested
seniors may obtain scholarship application
forms from their high school science fair
coordinator, their counselor, or science
department chairperson. The application is
also found here.
Applicants should be aware of the deadline for
filing their applications. See the Science Fair
calendar for the due date. Late and
incomplete entries will not be considered and
will be returned to the student. Faxed
applications are not accepted.
Completed
application forms will be judged on the
following criteria:
amount of science fair participation, levels
of achievement, and special awards
- academic
profile: types of courses and grades, class
rank, and standardized test results
- career
objectives
- extracurricular
activities,
school and community service
- personal
characteristics, letters of recommendation
- autobiographical
sketch
(personal essay)
Approximately 25
candidates will be selected from the
applicants and invited to meet with the
scholarship committee in the final step of
screening. Recipients of scholarships are
selected by the committee to discuss their
candidacy with the committee in an informal
setting. The candidates are notified by letter
as to the decision of the Scholarship
Committee whose decisions are final. A formal
presentation of scholarships takes place at an
awards dinner to honor the recipients and
their parents.
The following
university scholarships had been made
available to Science Fair, Inc. at the time of
this handbook’s publication. The list is
subject to change.
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Illinois Tech
One $6000 renewable scholarship
Requirements: ACT score 28
Honors program and rank in the top 15%
DePaull
University
One tuition waiver of $8,000 (renewable for 4
years)
Requirement: Student must have been accepted
by the
University by April 1.
Lake Forest
University
One or two year, ½ tuition scholarship
Requirements: Admission to Lake Forest by
February 1
ACT score 25 and/or SAT score 1180
a 3.5 GPA and rank in the top 20%
Lewis
University
One $1,000 per year renewable tuition waiver
Requirements: Admission to Lewis University;
3.0 GPA in high school; maintaining
a 3.0 GPA while attending Lewis University
Loyola
University of Chicago
One $2,000 per year renewable tuition waiver
Requirements: Admission to Loyola by April 1.
ACT score 24+ or 30+ for the Honors Program
Rank in class: Upper 10%
Major in Biology, Chemistry, Physics,
Pre-Medicine, or Mathematics
Northeastern
Illinois University
One 4-year tuition-free scholarship
Requirements: ACT Score 26; or ACT score 23
and top 10% of class
Rank in class: Upper 10%
Major in Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, or
Physics
University of
Chicago
One tuition waiver of $2,000
Requirement: Student must have been accepted
by the
University by April 1.
University of
Illinois at Chicago
One 4-year, tuition-free scholarship
Requirements: ACT score 26+; SAT score 1090
Rank in class: Upper 15%
A number of
monetary scholarships will also be available.
The funding of
these scholarships depends on the generosity
of corporations and philanthropic
organizations that contribute to Science Fair,
Inc. Cash grants usually range from $2,000 to
$3,000. The application for a Science Fair
Scholarship can be found here.
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