Why Teenagers Get Involved in Real Research

Real Research is the process of asking a question no one has fully answered yet, and then systematically working to find out. It's not about memorizing facts or solving problems with known solutions. It's not exercises designed just to teach a concept. It's about exploring the unknown — questions that fascinate you AND matter beyond the classroom.

In practice, student research might look like testing methods to remove PFAS chemicals from drinking water, studying how charm quarks behave in particle collisions, or investigating how microbes can help remediate oil spills. Some projects have immediate practical applications, while others may seem useless in the short term but prove transformative later (see The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge). The topic can be anything: biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science. What matters is the process: forming a question, investigating it rigorously, and communicating what you found. You can find ideas for new projects on our Instagram.

Unlike classroom assignments where teachers already know the answer, Real Research puts students in the driver's seat. They decide what to explore, figure out how to approach it, hit dead ends, adjust, and ultimately create something new. The answers are unknown — and may not exist. There's no guarantee of success. That's how professional scientists, engineers, and scholars work, and it's a skill students can start developing now.

Students can showcase their research at science fairs, tournaments, and competitions - from local fairs to prestigious international events like Regeneron ISEF and Science Talent Search. They can also publish in media like our magazine or peer-reviewed journal. Our annual conference in Princeton is another opportunity to present and connect with other young researchers. See our list of programs and competitions for more examples.

We start with curiosity, but we know college admissions is on many minds. Here's an interesting perspective: you can feed your curiosity and get better chances at college admissions. How about that?

Research experience has long been a strong differentiator in selective admissions. With AI now able to write essays, colleges are shifting toward evaluating what applicants have actually done. Original projects, leadership, and demonstrated initiative matter more than ever.

And it's not just essays. AI achieved gold-medal level at the 2025 International Math Olympiad (OpenAI, Google DeepMind). The skills these competitions test (solving known problem types under time pressure) are increasingly AI-replicable. Real Research remains beyond AI capability: asking new questions, collecting real data, and defending findings. You can count on colleges adjusting their admission practices to reflect that.

Many high schoolers across New Jersey are involved in research programs. Some through school, others through competitive summer programs (limited capacity), others through independent opportunities. Year-round middle school opportunities are virtually nonexistent. Here are a few examples for high schoolers (not an exhaustive list).

The Broader Research Programs Landscape

Year-Round Programs: Universities offer limited options during the academic year. For example, MIT PRIMES provides free hybrid mentorship (September-May) and is extremely selective. Most year-round programs are highly competitive.

Summer Programs: Summer research options are far more numerous. Most are free but highly competitive, like MIT RSI, Stanford SIMR, Texas Tech Clark Scholars, Jackson Lab, and Princeton University's Lab Learning Program. Some paid research programs exist, such as Boston University RISE (around $6,000-9,000) and UPenn Research Academies ($6,700-10,000), but these are limited in number. Overall capacity remains limited relative to growing demand.

Opportunities to present research, compete, showcase: Beyond mentorship programs, there are many opportunities to present and get recognition for your work. 500,000+ students participate in ISEF-affiliated fairs worldwide each year. See our listing of research tournaments, competitions, fairs & conferences to explore what's out there.