Is research actually worth doing?
Whether to do research has become an almost standard question in recent years. Our view: it's genuinely valuable for some students and pure waste for others — and what separates the two isn't what most people assume.
The short answer: it isn't required
American universities have never required high school research. The overwhelming majority of admitted students have published nothing. Treating research as a threshold is a product of industry marketing, not of how admissions works.
Research works, when it works, because it demonstrates two things: genuine curiosity about a field, and the ability to handle a question without a known answer. A research experience that shows neither does nothing.
Three kinds of "research," worth entirely different amounts
- Projects the student genuinely did: their own question, their own hands, their own failures. Worth the most, because it survives follow-up questions — the details are there when an interviewer asks.
- Paid, name-only programs: pay a fee, attend a few weeks of online sessions, receive a "paper" or certificate. Admissions officers have seen far too many of these; spotting them costs nothing. The effect is close to zero, sometimes negative.
- Mentor-led projects with the student assisting: somewhere in between. If the student genuinely carried specific work and can explain what they did, it still counts.
A simple check: ask your child to explain in three minutes what problem the project addressed and what they personally did. If they can't, the experience won't work in an application either.
Who it suits
Students with a clear academic interest, willing to invest over time, able to handle repeated failure. Most of research is failing and starting over. A child without that expectation will be miserable, and won't produce anything.
Conversely, if your child's strengths are in writing, creative work, leadership or business, forcing a research project costs money and produces no story. Put the time where they're actually strong.
Alternatives to research
For STEM-minded students, a science or engineering competition project is usually more substantial than name-only research — because the student has to do it themselves, and then face questions from judges.
For students in other directions, a serious writing project, community work, a creative portfolio or a sustained business attempt all serve the same function: evidence that this child is serious about something.
If your child is STEM-minded and wants to build something genuinely their own, have a look at our science and engineering competition track.
This is a general discussion. It isn't advice for any specific student, and it contains no prediction or promise about admissions outcomes. No identifiable information about any real student appears here.