California State Science Fair
2008 Application

The 2008 Application Process is now available.

Before submitting this Application, you should be sure that you satisfy the eligibility requirements for the Fair, qualifying through the appropriate County/Regional Science Fair.

Also before starting this application process, please make sure that you have all of the answers to the questions on the sample paper application at hand. In particular, we recommend that you not wait until you've completed the first half dozen pages before starting to compose your Project Summary. Instead, compose it in your favorite word processor ahead of time so that when you reach the page asking you for it, you can copy and paste each of the pieces (Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions) into the appropriate fields. Please note that the length of your Project Summary is limited to what will fit into the allowed space on a single printed page formatted as in the Application Packet. You will have an opportunity to see that page as your judges will see it, and can revise it, before you complete the application.

• Fill out the Application on the following pages. As you fill out the Application your submission will be automatically checked for completion of all critical fields. If you have properly completed the form, your Application will be sent to the CSSF database. On the very last page, you will be given a Confirmation Code. Save this confirmation code. You may need it in case of problems with your Application.
• Shortly after completing the Application you will receive an e-mail confirming your address and containing your Confirmation Code again. If you do not receive this confirming e-mail within a few hours, there is a problem with your e-mail address and you will not receive any correspondence from us until you give us a corrected address.
• If you are a “Qualified Project” representing your county or regional science fair (that is, you are not an “Alternate Project”) you next need to mail (that's right, mail via USMail)
  • the Signature Card after you and a parent or guardian have signed it, and
  • the $30 Application Fee,
  • and depending upon your project, you may need to include the Safety/Certification Form.
  
  Mail these items to:

  Lori Lewis, Coordinator California State Science Fair California Science Center 700 State Drive Los Angeles, CA 90037

  “Qualified Projects” should send the card and Application Fee immediately because your Signature Card and Application Fee must be postmarked no later than your Application Fee Deadline which is two business days after your Submission Deadline.

  “Alternate Projects” should follow the directions on the flyer given to them at their Awards Ceremony identifying them as alternates. In particular, alternates do not send in any money or signature cards unless they are announced on this web site on May 4 as having been accepted.

For the purpose of meeting your Application Deadlines, your application will be considered “submitted” when you complete the last page of the application and receive your Confirmation Code, and “complete” when your Application Fee and Signature Card are received by the Fair. (The certification form is also necessary for some, but not all, projects.) Since incomplete applications will not be considered, you should mail these other items immediately after submitting the on-line application.

Your Application will be considered along with all of the other completed Applications. Assuming that your project was authorized by your affiliated County or Regional Science Fair and that it meets our acceptance criteria then you should receive notice of acceptance via e-mail on or about May 4, and via US Mail 7-10 days later. Names of students with accepted projects will be posted on this Web site by Sunday, May 4.

IMPORTANT ISSUES FOR YOUR APPLICATION

1. Accept the SSL Certificate: Your application data is securely encrypted during transport over the web. In order to be able to proceed once you click on the button below, you must accept the certificate which the application process needs. Your browser may warn you about the certificate not coming from one of your already-recognized certificate authorities. This is correct. The certificate is self-signed by the Fair. If you ask to examine the certificate, here are examples of what the dialog boxes presented to you will look like if you are using Firefox/Mozilla or Internet Explorer as your web browser. Other browsers will have similar warnings. Internet Explorer v.7 (though not v.6 and before) issues somewhat deceptive alarms about the self-signed certificate, but you'll see that this expected web page will be just what you see if you're using v.7.

2. EMail Spam Blocking: If you maintain an email white list which prevents previously unknown people (such as us) from sending you email, please add CalifSF@usc.edu and CalifSF@physics1.usc.edu to your list now. All important communications from the Fair to you regarding your participation will be via email. Importantly, the last page of the application will confirm your application's submission by sending you email immediately after you press the final submit button.

If you are unable to access the application system owing to the web site on the following pages not being able to access the database server again, please phone (213)740-1101 or email CalifSF@usc.edu immediately.