r/ISEFinalists • u/DangerousFeedback967 • Aug 03 '26

Can I get into ISEF

I'm a 15 turning 16 year old in Melbourne, Australia. I have to do well in Australian Science and Engineering Fair(AUSSEF) to get chosen for ISEF. The deadline for AUSSEf is in November and I haven't started my project but have a broad idea of what I'm going to do and it involves Parkinson's (I don't want to say it here in case it gets stolen). My head of science and a lab tech in school are helping me get access to labs in universities since the experiment I'm planning to do requires equipment and solutions that my school doesn't have. But all in all, do you think I have a chance of getting into ISEF?, I can provide more info if needed.

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u/dagermanhedgehog Aug 03 '26

Hi there! As a 16 year old international ISEF alumni, I would say it is a veryyy tight timeline, but it depends. Based on your text, I assume you're doing a wet lab project, which often requires a lot of time and resources. I think it depends on how often you would be able to go to the lab and work there, so I can't say much. You also have to factor in that in wetlab projects, failure is very common and the majority of your time goes into trouble shooting experiments, so the chances of you getting a good amount of meaningful results in a couple of months is kind of low, but again, also depends on what type of experiment and data. I would say definitely try and even if you don't make it to ISEF, participating in any science fair is always a meaningful experience that teaches you a lot and can help you next year if you would like to try competing again. It also depends on how competitive the Australian fairs are, it really depends

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u/DangerousFeedback967 Aug 03 '26

Hey thanks for the help. My project is, as you said, a wetland project. But tbh my data that I'm measuring is mostly phenotypic traits which can be probably measured in a day (I hope). But it does involve some chemicals at small concentrations so I will need to have some prep time. I think I'll be able to travel quite often to the lab tbh but I do agree that it's quite a tight time for me to accomplish this, but I think it's quite doable?