The Society for Science grand-award rubric, identical for science and engineering projects, is: research question or problem 10 points, design and methodology 15, execution (data collection and analysis, or construction and testing) 20, creativity and potential impact 20, presentation 35 (poster 10, interview 25). The Society states that considerable emphasis is placed on creativity and presentation, especially the interview. From outside, only the abstract is observable. Abstracts with a baseline comparison won grand awards 13.5 points more often, those with metrics, p-values or quantified results 8 to 12 points more, those with a novelty claim 23 points more. The 25-point interview is the part this data cannot see and the part judges weight most.
Rubric sections and data signals
| Abstract feature | Share | Grand (with) | Grand (without) | Lift (pts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research question (10): stated gap | 31.5% | 30.3% | 25.6% | +4.7 |
| Design and methodology (15): baseline comparison | 9.9% | 39.2% | 25.7% | +13.5 |
| Execution (20): named metric | 24.1% | 33.9% | 24.9% | +9.0 |
| Execution (20): p-value | 6.2% | 34.5% | 26.6% | +8.0 |
| Execution (20): sample size | 5.6% | 29.8% | 26.9% | +3.0 |
| Execution (20): replication | 2.2% | 31.1% | 27.0% | +4.2 |
| (no mapping) limitations or future work | 12.0% | 25.1% | 27.3% | -2.2 |
| Creativity and impact (20): cost claim | 16.0% | 39.2% | 24.7% | +14.4 |
| Creativity and impact (20): application claim | 19.8% | 30.9% | 26.1% | +4.8 |
| Creativity and impact (20): novelty claim | 21.2% | 45.2% | 22.2% | +23.0 |
| Presentation (indirect): first person plural | 6.6% | 28.9% | 26.9% | +2.0 |
| Presentation (indirect): first person singular | 7.0% | 34.6% | 26.5% | +8.1 |
Download table data (CSV): abstract_features.csv
Sizing the problem in people or dollars also belongs to the research-question section: million, billion, annually and worldwide appear far more often in First and Second Award abstracts than in no-award abstracts. For teams, the criteria state that all members should demonstrate significant contributions to and an understanding of the project.
The 25 points the data cannot see
Every number in this series indirectly observes at most 75 of the 100 points. The 25-point interview is where the student explains the decisions and limits of the work; the only indirect signal is that abstracts written in the first person singular won slightly more often (34.6% vs 26.5%). The part of preparation that cannot be checked against data is the part the judges weight most. The criteria are published on the Society for Science judging page.
Frequently asked questions
Data and method
Two public sources. From the Society for Science abstract database (abstracts.societyforscience.org) we compiled every ISEF finalist project from 2014 to 2026: 17,565 projects with title, category, fair country, awards and full abstract. From the isef.net project library we took the award-tier flags for the 8,134 ISEF projects of 2021 to 2026 and joined them to the abstracts by year and booth id. Compiled on 2026-10-11.
A grand award means a First to Fourth Award or Best of Category, roughly the top 27% of each category. A special award is given by a sponsoring organization with its own judges. ISEF 2020 was held without judging and is excluded from every rate. The abstract database carries no 2025 awards and misses most Materials Science grand awards after 2017, so award flags for 2021 to 2026 combine both sources. An AI mention means the title or abstract contains a machine-learning term; it does not mean the project is about AI. All numbers are correlations, and Korean per-category figures rest on 2 to 24 projects, so read them as direction rather than precision.
Sources
- https://abstracts.societyforscience.org/
- https://isef.net/search-results/projects
- https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/grand-award/criteria/
The figures on this page are category-level base rates compiled from public ISEF results. They do not predict or promise any student's award, selection or admission. CIT does not guarantee awards, selection or admission.
ISEF data series
Want to pressure-test a project idea against this data?
Tell us the student's grade, field of interest and target fair. We will map a realistic preparation order against these numbers.