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Tips on Submitting a Good SIST Application
If you qualify and you want to apply, then here are some
pointers on what we look for in our prospective interns, in
order of importance.
- A complete application. See this page for
details. We get a lot of
applications, so we will not even look at any
that are incomplete!
- Good grades in
tough courses. We like applicants who have
done well in their introductory Physics class,
especially if it requires calculus. We also
like Physics courses after the first year class.
If you are not a Physics major, then we look for
tough courses with good grades in the
engineering disciplines.
- Fantastic
recommendations. Get a recommendation from a
prof who really knows you--someone with
whom you have spent time outside of class. Our
favorite is the science prof who doubles as a
leader in a common extra-curricular activity,
like athletics or a club. Often, a fantastic
recommendation from a prof who really knows you
can offset not-so-stellar grades.
- Be
personal in your essay. The best thing you
can do in your essay is to tell us about
yourself in a meaningful and personal way. This
essay is your chance to let us know what a great
person you are. We do not want you to embellish
some technical achievement, just tell us about
how you dealt with it, what you learned, how you
learned it and how it made you a better person
(or a worse person!). We can assess from your
resume and from your transcript pretty
accurately how well you do in school.
- Use a good Spell/Grammar Checker. If
you cannot write proper English, we probably
won't look much farther. Get a friend or an
instructor to proofread your essay.
- Course Descriptions. Submitting a
description of your courses is optional, but it
certainly helps us know about the classes you
have taken. This helps a lot!
- Computer Experience. Our favorite
applicants are the Physics or Engineering major
who clearly know his or her way around a
computer program. Conversely, we like Computer
Science majors who have done well in tough
Physics and/or Engineering courses. We do not
do "computer science" at Fermilab, exactly. We
write scientific and engineering application
programs or use sophisticated applications to
perform complex computations. One big turn-off
for us is an applicant who says s/he is a
Computer Science major but who has really never
written any programs. If you have written a real
program (or two) that does something scientific,
then be sure to let us know about it.
- If you are a Freshman. It is hard for
the Freshmen and Sophomores to satisfy the
"tough courses" criterion sometimes. Our
academic requirements tend to be a bit higher
for Freshmen (a 4.0 looks very nice!). Aside
from that, your acceptance into the program will
depend a lot on your letters of recommendation.
Try to get to know your Physics prof and have
him/her write one recommendation. It sometimes
works well to have a high school teacher who
really knows you to write a
recommendation, but this only works for Freshmen
and only works if this recommendation is
extraordinary.
- Be Honest, Complete
and Professional. In addition to the
academic standards you must meet, we want to
have good people in the program. If you do a
lot of things that aren't related to science &
technology, make sure we know about them.
Fermilab is a professional organization and we
are looking for interns who understand what it
means to act professionally. A great-looking,
professional resume is nice.
See also:
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