Siemens Award for Advanced Placement
Criteria for Selection
To be eligible for the award a student must receive a 5 on three or more of the following Advanced Placement exams - Biology, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Computer Science A, Environmental Science, Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Physics C: Mechanics, and Statistics. Students must take the exams before their senior year of highschool.
State Winners
Up to 100 awards are given nationwide to the top male and female in each state. Each state winner receives a $2000 scholarship.
National Winners
Two awards are given to national winners - one male and one female. The national winners receive a $5000 dollar scholarship.
Ties
In the event that more than one student is eligible for an award, the award is given to the student with the highest numbers of fives on the required exams. If this does not break the tie, the composites of the students who are still tied are summed. The student with the highest sum is given the award. Scores less than 5 are not considered. This is somewhat controversial because students never see their composites, but the composites are known to determine the winners.