Today’s top colleges are looking for true scholars, students who can authentically demonstrate they are curious, knowledgeable, problem solvers with a knack for critical thinking. While I wish that all high schools and colleges had a mandatory “introduction to research” class, most do not. That means students are often left to fend for themselves as they figure out how to best illustrate to college admissions officers that they have a research foundation.
Admissions readers pay attention to students who can demonstrate they have conducted research, assisted faculty locally (or virtually), written peer-reviewed publications or articles, and have experience with research-centered skills like data analysis, coding, writing literature reviews, and more.
THE VALUE OF RESEARCH
College applicants can showcase their research experience to admissions officers in several key ways, making it especially valuable for those who have the opportunity to engage in research.
These include:
- The Common App Main Essay
- The List of Activities on the Common App
- The Honors/Awards section (for publications or conference presentations) on the Common App
- A supplemental letter of recommendation from a faculty mentor (if the college allows additional recommendations)
- Supplemental essays
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Develop an organized and effective application strategy that leverages your academic and extracurricular experience to stand out.
HOW TO GAIN RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
1. Apply to a research-centered, university-run summer precollege program like UMass Amherst’s Summer PreCollege Research Intensive where you’ll be matched with a professor in one of several labs and earn college credit.
For example:
Research Intensive in the Food & Environmental Chemical Impact on Development of Obesity Lab (Park Lab): During this program, high school students will assist UMass faculty and graduate students in research labs while learning about research methodologies and contributing to ongoing research studies. Each student will create and present a research poster to faculty, fellow students, friends and family at a poster session at the end of the program. Students will come away with an introduction to the field of Food Science, firsthand experience with university-level research, and an understanding of opportunities that exist for undergraduate students at a major R1 university.
2. Research the faculty members in your intended major at the college closest to you. Then, create a thematic résumé, review their CV, and draft an email that highlights your appreciation for their work while expressing your interest in assisting them.
For example:
If Wake Forest is nearby and your niche interest is Middle Eastern history, you might focus on Dr. Charles Wilkins:
Charles Wilkins joined the Wake Forest faculty in 2006 as Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern history. He is the author of Forging Urban Solidarities: Ottoman Aleppo, 1640-1700 (Brill, 2010). Wilkins’ scholarly work is concerned with the social history of the Ottoman Empire in the Early Modern Period (1500-1800). His current research focuses on the long-term social and cultural integration of the Arab lands into the Ottoman Empire. He is presently working on a book project entitled, “Lives Astride: A Social and Cultural History of Ottoman Aleppo, 1516-1918.”
Professor Wilkins has been actively publishing peer-reviewed journal articles and is now working on a book. He might appreciate research assistance from someone passionate about Middle Eastern history!
Seek guidance from research professionals who can help you find research opportunities that fit your schedule and align with your academic interests. At Top Tier Admissions, our Research Immersion Program offers expert one-on-one mentorship, guiding students in developing rigorous, high-impact research projects in STEM or Business. Our program helps students build essential research skills, enhance their college applications, and gain a competitive edge in admissions. For students who want to conduct high-level research in a humanities field, our Writing Mentorship Program helps students achieve meaningful, tangible outcomes like a polished creative writing portfolio or research paper to submit for publication.
3. Attend a local academic conference to hear from faculty at your targeted colleges or local universities.
For example:
- Live in Florida and love STEM? Check out the Society of Toxicology Annual Meeting: March 16-20, 2025 in Orlando; it’s free for students (college and high school) to register.
- Live in Denver and have an interest in psychology? The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology annual meeting is in Denver April 2-5, 2025.
- Love public health and live in DC? The American Public Health Association’s annual Policy Action Institute is June 16-18, 2025.
4. Expand a paper from school or from a college course over the summer into a research paper. Seek out peer-reviewed journals that will accept submissions from high school students and prepare your paper for submission through our Writing Mentorship Program.
For example:
- American University’s peer-reviewed Food Fueled research journal “centered around food-related topics [and aims] to publish works on food-related issues ranging from policy to food science, to personal narratives about the influence of food, nature, and agriculture.”
5. Explore national competitions (or have Tier Admissions help guide you!) that jive with your interests.
For example:
- Stanford’s Association for Computing Machinery ProCo Competition, a computer programming contest that aims to provide a fun and engaging opportunity for high school students in the Bay Area to explore their passion in computer science.
- HMMT, the Harvard-MIT math tournament. It is held each November and February, once at Harvard and then at MIT. The tournament is open to U.S. and international high schools. As their site notes: “In 1998, HMMT was founded jointly by Harvard and MIT students to provide middle and high school students with math problems beyond the scope of what is traditionally offered at their schools. Now, with two annual tournaments, hundreds of staff members and volunteers, and over 20 years of experience, we have expanded into one of the largest undergraduate-run math tournaments, hosting thousands of participants from around the globe.”
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6. Start with the basics and register for this online, self-paced non-credit course from the University of London called “Understanding Research Methods.” It’s an introductory course that highlights: What is research? What is a literature review? What makes a good research question? What planning and management skills are needed for research projects? And, how do you prep a research proposal?
College admissions readers (and faculty!) notice students who take on research, prepare extensive projects and papers, and compete with students around the world, whether in competitions or peer-review publication pursuits, or, even better, both. And, of course, the planning, brainstorming, analytical, writing, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills that research demands are invaluable.
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