SigmaCamp 2018: How To Apply
Application to SigmaCamp 2018 is currently closed; information below is for reference only. Applicants will be informed of the admission decisions on May 1.
To apply to Sigma 2018, you have to complete the 4 steps of the application process listed below. The application deadline is April 18, 2018.
Step 1. Fill out the online registration form.
Either the applicant or a parent or guardian may fill out this form. Filling this form generates an ID number for you - you will need it to submit your solutions of the Qualification Quiz and other materials. This step is required for everyone, including PoM winners and people who had applied in previous years - you need to create new registration form for every year. The ID number you receive is different from the ID number for Problem of the Month contest - make sure you use the correct ID number in all of your materials.
Important: Do this as soon as you know you are interested in attending SigmaCamp2018, not when you are about to submit your Qualification Quiz solutions. Registering puts you on an email list and allows us to communicate with you if there are important announcements concerning the application or logistics.
Step 2. Tell us why you want to go to SigmaCamp and help us make SigmaCamp better.
This year, we ask you to include 2 topics in your essay (all applicants, new and returning, are required to submit it):
- About yourself: What do you like? What are your interests? Why do you want to come to SigmaCamp and what are you hoping to find there? This part is very important for us and especially for our counselors who get to know campers weeks in advance.
- About science: Please take a look at lectures and semilabs we had at Sigma last year. Do you think that we missed something interesting? In your essay please propose a new semilab or workshop that you think would be a good addition to Sigma's academic program. Why do you thinк this semilab or workshop should be interesting and beneficial for SigmaCampers? To you?
Step 3. Obtain and submit recommendation letters.
If you are a returning student, you are not required to submit letters of recommendation – we already know who you are!
For new students: Obtain two letters of recommendation – one from a Mathematics or Science teacher and one from an adult who knows you personally (not a family member). This may be a family friend, a music teacher, an athletics coach, a chess coach, etc.
Print out the recommender's instructions below, fill your name and ID number, and give (or email) them to the people you are asking for the recommendation. They can return the letters to you in a sealed envelope, send their recommendation by email to info@sigmacamp.org, or submit their recommendation online here
Instructions for recommenders:
TeacherRecommendation2018_SigmaCamp.pdf
PersonalRecommendation2018_SigmaCamp.pdf
Submit recommendation letters here
Make sure to ask your recommender for a letter well in advance of the deadline!
Step 4. Complete and submit the Qualification Quiz.
Sigma Qualification Quiz 2018 consists of problems in Math, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Computer Science - two problems in each discipline. All students applying to SC 2018 must solve it and submit their solutions (except for winners of the Problem of the Month contest, as described here.) Please click on the link below to read the detailed description and instructions and to download the Qualification Quiz.
Submit your solution of QQ 2018
Application status lookup
To check the status of your application (for example, to make sure that we have received the recommendation letters), use the link below.
We wish you good luck on your application.
The deadline for the application is April 18, 2018. We will notify applicants regarding decisions no later than May 1.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at
info@sigmacamp.org
or call 631-672-1592