6) Modifying Your Documentation
7) Compatibility with ISEF SRC Processing
You must have a student account on the TNJSF https://tnjsf.zfairs.com, before you can register your project. Student logins are not preserved year to year, so you have to go to the TNJSF website and set up a student account. Follow instructions there to login and register for the fair.
Before proceeding to Step 2 in the entry process, you should check the following:
After you register your project, you will find instructions for downloading forms (if you need them) and for uploading the completed forms. Please use the forms from the TNJSF site, not the ones direct from ISEF. Those forms are also available here. The forms should be completed, saved, and uploaded as individual files. If attachments are required (NEW FOR 2023) you should combine the attachments with the relevant form, but NOT by scanning. If you cannot combine the forms with required attachments (e.g. an IACUC approval, a prior year abstract etc) then please contact tnjsf@terraed.org for assistance. All TNJSF and ISEF forms are available for download from the TNJSF site. Each form should be completed and saved as an individual file (with any required attachments) – they should NOT be combined into a single file.
For team projects, the ISEF forms are to be submitted only once the team leader should do it.
All projects that have a mentor (in-person or remote) at a Registered Research Institution or an industrial lab involved in their project, must submit a Form 1C. This includes mentors who interact only remotely with the student(s) A mentor at a Registered Research Institution will usually be required to submit Form 2, under ISEF rules. All other mentors, including sponsors if applicable, should submit the TNJSF Mentor Form. The Form 2, or the TNJSF Mentor Form must be completed and signed by the mentor and submitted by the student. The Form 1C and Form 2 (and/or Mentor Form) is required by the Entry Deadline, but may be updated until the later SRC clearance deadline. Note that in some circumstances your project may require both Form 2 and the Mentor Form.
Additional ISEF Forms are needed for projects that require Certification, are being done at a Registered Research Institution, and/or are a Continuation from a prior year. To determine if additional forms are needed for your project, consult the ISEF Rules Wizard. For detailed information on certification requirements, visit our Certification of Projects page.
All TNJSF and ISEF forms are fillable PDF forms that MUST be completed and saved using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 15.0 or higher. You can download and install the software for free from the Adobe website. Note for Mac users: the default PDF Viewer in Safari does not save forms properly and must not be used.
All signatures required on the forms should be placed as digital ID signatures (NOT as signatures that simply copy a signature onto the form). The ID of the signature must be tied to the email you have entered for the relevant person. This is checked by our software and it will be flagged as an error if the emails do not match. The email addresses for the adults associated with your project will be obtained from the fields on the indiidual forms.
Please note that there is NO LONGER a web-signing option for the forms.
Also note that we still do not accept scanned forms. If you must submit a scanned form (i.e. one with manual signatures) you must contact us at tnjsf@terraed.org for clearance to do so.
You will receive emails about changes in your entry status or questions that arise. You can also monitor various aspects of your project status on the TNJSF website.
Once the SRC has reviewed your documents they will provide feedback – either as an approval or as notes about what problems remain. If there are issues, then you should revise the forms accordingly and upload them again (they will replace the forms previously uploaded).
In some cases, like the 1B, Entry Form, or Mentor Form, you may need to submit multiple copies. The zFairs interface allows you to do this, but you must CHOOSE THE RIGHT OPTION when you upload the second form. The default is to replace the previous form, but you can choose to submit an additional copy if that is required for your project.
It is very important that you are able to receive emails from the science fair system. Those emails will come from tnjsf@terred.org or fairdirector@njrsf.org. Using the zFairs interface we will NO LONGERbe able to post individual status messages on the website. If you think you are missing emails, please LET US KNOW. Those emails will contain important notifications and, sometimes, requests for actions on your part.
Your ISEF forms are required to describe the project you enter in the fair. Accordingly, some students find it necessary to make modifications after initial SRC approval. Please note that uploading ANY of your forms, or modifying the project details on FAVR, after you have received approval will negate that approval and your forms will have to be reviewed once again with their new content. There please do not modify your forms after approval unless it is truly necessary. (Note: revising your Research Plan ONLY will trigger a new review by our SRC, but it will not impact your ISEF eligibility, so long as no ISEF forms need to be modified.)
There is provision in the ISEF rules for submission of a Project Summary. This form is submitted AFTER the work is complete, and is in the same format as the Research Plan, but it is used to document items that were in your original plan that have been OMITTED in the wortk actually done. The only time you need to submit this form is if you have omitted some facet of the project AND you plan to do that portion of the work in a future project. This requirement rarely applies to more than a few projects in any given year. It effectively replaces the Research Plan, but it must not add any NEW items to what was originally approved by the SRC.
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