How Research Programs Enhance Your College Application

Arguably, the most important skill a person can have in the 21st century is discernment.

We are more inundated than ever before with more information than our brains can physically process and much of that information is false or misleading. The value of a person, especially a young person, who can sift through endless headlines, videos and out-of-context statistics and differentiate true knowledge from the noise cannot be overstated. Independence and creativity of thought are skills.

Students applying to top-ranked colleges and universities can best demonstrate this type of intellectual prowess by showing they had the curiosity, self-discipline and determination to engage in research projects or programs in high school.

College admissions professionals have their work cut out for them in a world where each generation of students is more ambitious and better educated than the last. That doesn’t mean all hope is lost for our young people. But the competition is stiff and it’s our job to help your student rise to the top of the selection pool.

In a sea of scholars–all of whom test well, get stellar grades and write phenomenal essays–the best way to stand out as a college applicant is to research, test and, ultimately, prove and present an original thought.

Qualitative Merit versus Quantitative Merit

The numbers don’t lie. In the past few years, there has been a substantial shift away from grades and test scores as the primary determinants for the success of college applicants. That’s not to say a sparkling academic record is no longer valuable, but higher learning institutions across the board have begun taking a more holistic approach to admissions.

In the 2020-2021 admissions season, “nearly 90% of Common App colleges and universities offered students the opportunity to apply without standardized test scores”. As a result, the number of students who reported their test scores to one or more schools dropped sharply from 77%, in the pre-pandemic era, to 43% in 2020-2021. According to Fair Test, there are currently around 2,000 accredited, 4-year colleges and universities that have confirmed they won’t require standardized test scores from their pools of applicants.

There are multiple reasons why these institutions have decided to take this path. For years, educators at all levels of academia have touted the well-researched fact that “standardized tests are inaccurate, inequitable and often ineffective at gauging what students actually know”. Colleges and universities seem to have taken heed to those ongoing conversations. The truth is, while quantitative merits like a 4.0 GPA and a 36 ACT score are important, they only show what a student has done. Not who a student is.

“High school grades and test scores provide little opportunity for students to showcase academic creativity and rigor,” notes Polygence. “A research project, in contrast, is by definition a unique and highly personal achievement that allows students to showcase their intellectual abilities.”

In keeping with this trend, nearly one-third of the University of Pennsylvania’s class of 2026 participated in academic research while still in high school. UPenn’s pride in reporting that fact was obvious, with the admissions office noting the amount of those students who’d earned “national and international accolades for research that is already pushing the boundaries of academic discovery”.

Even more notably, recent admissions data from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) revealed a whopping 45 percent of students admitted to their class of 2027 submitted materials with detailed documentation of high school research endeavors. And the latest data from the highly revered Harvard Admissions Office highlights an eightfold advantage for students who demonstrate “significant scholarship or academic creativity”.

Engaging in research in high school, or even middle school, offers students intellectual, personal and professional expansion by immersing them in environments of curiosity, exploration and independence.

Understanding Academic Research and Its Benefits

There are 5 primary categories of research:
● Creative: This category involves thoroughly examining a field of interest that already has an existing body of research and revitalizing the past work with a fresh, new perspective.
● Literature Review: Researchers are required to study and comprehensively overview past work in a field of interest, highlighting past achievements and outstanding research questions. Review papers tend to be the most-cited publications in any given field and often have great influence on academic agendas.

● Exploratory: Exploratory research “defines new areas or problems by generating and interpreting data collected from direct observations”. By quantifying various phenomena such as animal behavior or environmental trends, or decoding ancient scripts, and everything in between, this category of research challenges the boundaries of what we already know.

● Constructive/Applied: Through engineering, invention, or craftwork—like developing an algorithm or perfecting a formula for lavender soap–this category of research defines and solves real-world issues.

● Empirical: Empirical research requires studying and documenting “reproducible experimentation to measure phenomena and to formulate concrete theories and draw conclusions”. Many people imagine empirical work, with lab coats and test tubes, when the topic of research is mentioned.

There are many avenues for students to take when deciding which research program is right for them. We recently outlined 30 summer research programs that high school students can apply to for 2024. We also offer Spring research programs to a range of different grade levels.

Most programs, particularly those that take place in the summer, serve as students’ first time living away from home for an extended period of time. For many who participate in these programs, which usually last anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks, the experience welcomes unprecedented opportunities to make friends across grade levels, experience life on a college campus and enhance their public speaking skills.

This supervised introduction to independence has aided future college applicants not only academically, but also socially. In addition to helping students navigate the increasingly complex college admissions process, research environments encourage critical thinking and friendship by presenting young people with “open-minded activity that cultivates creativity, persistence and team spirit”.

The data reveals what we already know: demonstrating a thirst for knowledge will take a student much further than perfect grades. But we also know how finding the right research program for your student can be overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to help. We at Scholar Launch are proud to partner with hundreds of mentors and scholarly institutions around the globe to develop research topics, projects and programs specifically designed to ensure the success of the students we work with.

For more information on how we can best serve your scholar, contact us.