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5 Red Flags that Ivy League Admissions Officers Look For
 

Oct 15, 2024
 

Every application cycle, admissions officers read tens of thousands of applications, looking for “red flags” to weed out unqualified applicants in the arduous review process. While understanding what admissions officers are looking for is crucial for compiling standout applications, it can be equally beneficial to understand what admissions officers don’t want to see. If you’re a senior brainstorming personal statements, crafting supplemental essays, and drafting activities lists, or a younger student engaging in extracurriculars, selecting courses, and planning your summers, identifying and eliminating these missteps can save time and effort—and level up your application strategy.

Whether you’re vying for Ivy League admission or seeking to join the bustling community at a state school, here are five “red flags” that admissions officers will notice on your application—and how to avoid them:

1. Lack of Course Rigor

Admissions officers want to see that students have challenged themselves by taking the most rigorous courses available to them at their school, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP), or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. Opting to take easier courses could suggest that a student isn’t prepared for the academic challenges of collegiate study—particularly at Ivy League and other top-tier institutions. It is critical that underclassmen not only maintain good grades, but also deliberately select courses that will push them intellectually. This is especially important with regards to courses in a student’s area of interest—if you intend to study engineering but have not taken any advanced physics or chemistry courses throughout your high school career, admissions officers will likely assume that you lack adequate training in the discipline or that you are not aware of the demands of the subject. Starting sophomore year, identify and enroll in classes that will demonstrate your academic expertise and deepen your knowledge of your subjects of interest.

If you are in the height of the application process and fear that you lack the necessary course rigor, consider how you might highlight your pursuit of further learning outside of the classroom. Have you conducted independent research? Participated in a prestigious summer program? Taken an online course? Use your supplemental essays to highlight the academic value of these involvements and how they have uniquely prepared you for the demands of university study.

2. Lack of Extracurricular Engagement

The majority of your time in college will be spent outside of the classroom, and admissions committees want to understand the kind of community member you will be on their campus. Top schools want to admit students with a history of contributing positively to their communities—those who will continue to use their skills and knowledge to enact positive change in the world after they graduate. Therefore, a lack of activities or involvements outside of the classroom will be a red flag to admissions officers, conveying a lack of interest in helping your community or a dearth of experience leading and working with others. Keep in mind that you can show your commitment to bettering your community in both large and small ways—and that admissions officers will evaluate your application in relation to the resources available to you. In other words, you don’t need to petition before Congress, found a nonprofit, or invent a groundbreaking technology in order to make a difference; what matters is that your engagement in your community stems from your genuine passions and unique perspective on problems that impact those around you.

Starting freshman year, seek ways to connect with community members (whether your peers, teachers, or industry leaders in your field) and get involved with volunteer organizations or clubs that align with your interests. Junior and senior years, serve in leadership roles or found your own initiatives to address needs that you have identified through your engagements early in high school. Finally, as you craft your applications, be sure to highlight these community-oriented activities and articulate their impact on your perspective and values. However big or small, you should provide compelling descriptions of your contributions and their impact on your worldview.

3. Unrelated Extracurricular Activities

Your extracurricular involvements should tell a story about your interests, skills, and growth. While students should use their freshman year to explore and experiment with activities and organizations outside of the classroom, their goal should be to hone their involvements around their core passions over the course of their high school careers. A resume filled with diverse, unrelated extracurriculars that are not connected by any narrative thread will confuse admissions officers and ultimately hurt your application.

Instead of joining a bunch of clubs for the sake of padding your resume, be intentional about selecting activities on the basis of your passions and interests. As you engage with these activities over time, seek to make a tangible impact that will be evident to admissions officers, whether by taking on leadership roles, mentoring younger students, or starting your own club or initiative. Additionally, when it comes to crafting your application, be sure to connect the dots for admissions officers—even if your extracurricular involvements reflect the diverse or interdisciplinary nature of your interests, be sure to show admissions officers how you have (and will continue to) draw creative connections between your interests that will enrich your intended field of study.

4. Inappropriate Social Media Presence

Admissions officers are looking for students who will positively contribute to their campus culture and reflect their institution’s values. Given that 67% of admissions officers “believe that checking out applicants’ social media posts on apps like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, X, and Threads to learn more about them is “fair game” to help them make decisions about who gets in” (according to a 2023 study), what you post has the potential to influence your odds of admission. ​​Inappropriate content—whether it’s offensive language, inflammatory comments, or evidence of risky behavior—will raise concerns about your character and maturity, and can impact your admission status even after you get in.

Be sure that you are not posting anything you would not want Ivy League admissions officers to see. Additionally, avoid linking your social media accounts on your application unless they directly pertain to work you have done during your high school career (a small business you founded, a volunteer opportunity, an educational TikTok, etc.).

5. Unpolished and unprofessional Essays

Finally, students should keep in mind that the personal and supplemental essays are their most direct opportunities to speak to admissions officers on their application. This means that the essays are critical components of your applications, and both their content and their execution can convey a lot about you as a person and applicant. Given the pressure that comes with these essays, many students fall into traps that can lead to unprofessional writing. First, in their desire to stand out, some students choose to write about ideas or experiences that they consider “edgy,” but these topics are often unnecessarily divisive and can place them out-of-step with the values or mission of the institutions to which they are applying.

Another trap that students can fall into is oversharing about personal experiences. While it’s important to share challenges you’ve overcome, there’s a fine line between vulnerability and trauma-dumping—going into excessive detail about traumatic or tragic circumstances in the hopes of gaining admissions officers’ sympathy. Everything you share in your essays should convey something about who you are now—how you have grown, developed, and introspected through your life experiences—rather than simply listing the difficult experiences you have gone through.

While applying to college can be stressful, some of the anxiety of the process can be relieved by understanding what top colleges are looking for—and what they seek to avoid. Students should take these red flags into account as they build admissions profiles that they will be proud to submit when the time comes.

40 Incredible Research Opportunities for High School Students

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Courtesy of Empowerly.com


1. Research Mentorship Program

Along with their mentor, students will learn about research techniques, gain insight into professional research-based opportunities, and mature their academic goals. The GRIT talks lecture series will connect students to some of the best minds within the UC Santa Barbara research community as they present their ground-breaking research and innovative technology.


2. Aspiring Scholars Directed Research Program (ASDRP)

Students participate in research projects across various subjects in STEM, including chemistry, biology, computational modeling, computer science, and much more. Students publish and present their work as well in venues within and outside of ASDRP. Research in ASDRP is supervised by highly skilled scientists  and engineerson the research faculty, who are clustered under one of three departments—Biological/Human/Life Sciences, Chemistry/Biochemistry/Physics, or Computer Science & Engineering.

  • Apply to: Olive Children Foundation Engineering Research Laboratory

  • Age Eligibility: All high school students (9th-12th)

  • Location: Fremont, California


3. QuarkNet Summer Research Program

QuarkNet offers summer research opportunities in science and technology for students who have demonstrated a strong interest in and aptitude for science and mathematics. Students work with scientists for seven weeks on projects related to the Fermilab research program.

  • Apply to: Fermilab Research Alliance

  • Age Eligibility: Sophomores (10th), Juniors (11th), and Seniors (12th)

  • Location: Fermilab campus in Illinois


4. Student Research Institute

Projects will focus on using Python, Java or other programming languages for interesting applications such as in cryptography or in global data trend evaluations. Computational science projects will utilize molecular modeling and drug design methods for biological or medicinal applications (cancer and other diseases).

  • Apply to: Quest SRI

  • Age Eligibility: Sophomores (10th), Juniors (11th), and Seniors (12th)

  • Location: Virtual meetings


5. Student Research Internships

The Student Research Internship Program is a 10-week summer program designed for high school, undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The primary goal is to equip students interested in health sciences, statistics, and computational/computer science to become future leaders in the realm of translational medical research.


6. Simons Summer Research Program

The Simons Summer Research Program gives academically talented, motivated high school students the opportunity to engage in hands-on research in science, math or engineering at Stony Brook University. Simons Fellows work with distinguished faculty mentors, learn laboratory techniques and tools, become part of active research teams, and experience life at a research university.


7. Summer Research Experience Program 

Computer Science and Informatics Summer Research Experience Program (CSIRE) is a 6-week research experience program on computer science and informatics for high school students. The program assumes the participant already has good skills in programming or data analytics. Since launching in 2017, the program has become increasingly competitive.

  • Apply to: Stony Brook University

  • Age Eligibility: All high school students (9th-12th)

  • Location: New York campus OR virtual meetings


8. WYSE Summer Engineering Camp

These summer camps are designed to allow students to experience authentic & challenging projects & activities, world-class instructors, and a collegiate experience from one of the best engineering schools in the world. Camps provide exposure to different areas of engineering through demonstrations, lab tours, classroom presentations, hands-on activities, and interactions with various students, staff, and professors in those fields.


9. WYSE Young Scholars Summer STEMM Program 

Participate in an authentic STEMM research experience at a world-class research university for 6 weeks during the summer. Students will gain hands-on experience in areas at the forefront of various STEMM fields, such as cancer immunology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, physics, quantum mechanics, bioengineering, electrical engineering, and more!


10. Biomedical Research Academy

The Biomedical Research Academy introduces the experimental basis of cellular, molecular, and genetic aspects of biology, focusing on relevance to diseases. Fusing daily lectures, faculty research talks, laboratory experiments, and small group investigations into current research topics, students gain insight into the core of biomedical research.


11. Chemistry Research Academy 

Penn Chemistry is a leading center for molecular research and instruction, whose researchers are at the frontier of modern chemistry, tackling a wide variety of important societal challenges. The Chemistry Research Academy provides students with the foundational knowledge to understand this cutting-edge research, while providing opportunities to hear and learn directly from several of the research professors and students.


12. Experimental Physics Research Academy 

The Experimental Physics Research Academy focuses on current physics, specifically mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum dynamics, and astrophysics. Through lectures, activities, projects, and discussions with their instructors, students move past memorized equations to gain an understanding of cause and effect, and ultimately an appreciation of physics on a higher level.


13. Neuroscience Research Academy 

The Neuroscience Research Academy explores the biological foundations of the brain, progressing from the cellular foundations of the neuron to an understanding of the sensory systems, and culminating with higher-order cognitive functions such as memory, emotion, and morality. Taught by members of Penn’s Biological Basis of Behavior program, the Neuroscience Academy introduces students to this cutting-edge field in both research and medicine, which has provided important insights into understanding the mind in both health and disease.


14. Social Justice Research Academy 

The Social Justice Research Academy brings students from around the world together for three weeks to dive deep into the past, present, and future of social justice. Designed to encourage discussion and critical thinking about the political, historical, and cultural context of inequality and resistance, the program welcomes students with a variety of academic interests across the social sciences, humanities, and arts. Topics vary from year to year but include a selection of significant historical struggles as well as those that define our recent past and present.


15. Medical Sciences Summer Institute

The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine has created a summer workshop for those who are at least 16 years old, interested in careers in medicine, or other healthcare related fields, and wish to gain some experience in medical research in a state-of-the art laboratory. Students will learn to formulate hypotheses, design experiments, analyze data and communicate their conclusions at a research symposium at the end of the course.


16. High School Summer Research Experience

In addition to lab work, you’ll have classroom instruction on cancer basics, seminars with invited speakers, and professional development opportunities. At the end of the summer, you’ll give a poster presentation at a research conference just like our graduate students and post-doctoral scholars do.


17. Summer Science Research Experience

SSRP Scholars will participate on a research team designed and guided by Rockefeller trainees. SSRP teams mirror the structure of a Rockefeller laboratory, where one trainee serves as team lead with support from dedicated scientist-mentors. Each team will have their own space in the RockEDU laboratory.

  • Apply to: The Rockefeller University

  • Age Eligibility: Sophomores (10th), Juniors (11th), and Seniors (12th)

  • Location: New York City, New York


18. Medical Institute Summer Research Program (SIMR)

This is an eight-week program in which high school students with a broad range of experiences, interests and backgrounds are invited to perform basic research with Stanford faculty, postdoctoral fellows, students and researchers on a medically-oriented project. The goals of the program include increasing interest in biological sciences and medicine in high school students and helping students to understand how scientific research is performed.

  • Apply to: Stanford University

  • Age Eligibility: Juniors (11th) or Seniors (12th)

  • Location: Palo Alto, California


19. GRIPS Program

GRIPS is a twenty hour, eight week long research intensive experience for high school students. Program participants will be placed in a research laboratory for the summer and conduct genomics research under the supervision of a lab mentor.

  • Apply to: Stanford University

  • Age Eligibility: Sophomores (10th), Juniors (11th), and Seniors (12th)

  • Location: Palo Alto, California (with hybrid meetings)


20. Summer Student Research Program

This summer program provides one-on-one mentorship with health care providers and researchers, along with access to unique workshops, seminars, training, simulations, and networking opportunities. The program culminates in a formal research symposium in which each student presents their project findings to the scientific community, many of which continue on as future grants, publications, and advances in healthcare.


21. Educational Pathways for Cancer Research

The EPCR summer program provides mentored, high-quality, cancer-focused research experiences for graduating high school seniors and undergraduate students. Participants will develop skills to think analytically and critically; design, perform and troubleshoot experiments; interpret research data; formulate new ideas; and propose meaningful strategies for testing those ideas through experiments with guidance from mentors.


22. Future Scientist Program

The Future Scientist Program at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center is a summer science program for high school juniors at Indianapolis and all Marion County public schools, providing the opportunity to spend eight weeks on a research project under the mentorship of a university researcher.


23. Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care’s Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program offers a six- to eight-week paid, competitive research experience at Northwestern University for rising high school seniors and undergraduate college/university students interested in the biological sciences. Our program combines intensive research training with support for students’ academic and professional development.


24. Student Research Apprentice Program

This is a five-week summer program that provides students with a research experience in one of the basic science or clinical laboratories.


25. Summer Experience for Students

This is a paid opportunity for high school and college students to work alongside world-renowned scientists and researchers and gain insights into careers in science or related areas. Through our four-week Summer Experience program, we offer a limited number of students an exclusive opportunity to be a part of the day-to-day research activities in dynamic research and biobanking environments, and we offer the possibility to experience biobank operations.


26. Research in the Biological Sciences (RIBS)

This four-week intensive training program is designed to expose students to a broad range of molecular, microbiological, and cell biological techniques currently used in research laboratories. Students are immersed in the research experience, giving them a taste of ‘life at the bench.’


27. High School Summer Internship Program

Our program provides students with the opportunity to participate in basic, translational, or clinical scientific research with the goal of stimulating interest in biomedical research as a potential career. During the 6-week, 240-hour program (holidays included) each student will have the opportunity to work on their own research project under the guidance of an investigator and their staff at MWRI or Magee-Womens Hospital.


28. Summer High School Research Program

Students are selected from a pool of applicants for a five-week full-time summer research experience. Applicants must demonstrate academic excellence and be recommended by their high school science teacher and/or science chair.  Students are assigned to Einstein research labs and will join the lab team under the guidance of the laboratory director (or principal investigator) who will serve as a mentor.


29. Biomedical Research Workshops

Our online workshops include Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Medicinal Chemistry and Medical Bioinformatics. Intro to Cellular and Molecular Medicine is our entry-level workshop that is only two hours/day. Students in the Medicinal Chemistry and Medical Bioinformatics workshops learn how to use online tools to analyze biochemical data. For students interested in doing research or working on a project for a science fair, this is a great way to get started.


30. College Now STEM Research Academy

This is a two-part program designed to provide students with an opportunity to develop the essential skills to be strong scientific thinkers by engaging in authentic enquiry based research activities. The first component of the program is a high school credit scientific investigative course (DNA Detectives) offered during the spring semester, and the second component is a six week college credit course (BIO189, 1 credit) that meets during the summer, in which students work in research labs under the supervision and mentorship of Lehman College faculty and their graduate students. Students are selected to participate in the summer mentorship based upon successful completion of the spring semester DNA Detectives course, and meeting additional eligibility criteria.

  • Apply to: Lehman College

  • Age Eligibility: Sophomores (10th) and Juniors (11th)

  • Location: New York City, New York


31. Bioengineering Research Programs

The UC San Diego Department of Bioengineering and UC San Diego Extended Studies are pleased to offer courses to high school students who are excelling in scholarship and would like to explore Bioengineering. The course offerings are based on fun, experiential, remote, at-home, hands-on lab activities.


32. Life Sciences Research Program

In partnership with Boz Institute, we will offer a unique science research learning experience. Our programs will involve field work, fundamental molecular biology topics, modern laboratory techniques, and relevant bioinformatics and statistical applications. Learn to synthesize life science fundamentals, review literature, formulate hypotheses and design experiments, collect and process samples, execute experiments, analyze data, and showcase your work through poster presentations attended by local scientists and industry leaders.


33. Marine Science Research Program

The following programs are designed to empower high school students to share learning, network with peers, and become environmental advocates. The goal of this program is to develop problem solving, organization, creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and leadership skills that will support future career goals and aspirations.


34. School of Medicine Research Program

The following programs are designed with faculty from UC San Diego School of Medicine and are designed for high school students who wish to go into fields of medicine.


35. Business Research Program

The following course is designed to prepare students for careers and advanced education in business innovation, entrepreneurship, and management with a solid grounding in fundamentals. While learning about topics of business innovation, design, venture financing, and growth strategy, students will gain the knowledge necessary to build an innovative business proposal and gain economic acumen.


36. Summer Research Program

For eight weeks in the summer, student interns usually work with the mentors in laboratories or clinics. Interns learn techniques used in the health sciences laboratories, gain research study skills, and experience professional development and career preparation through weekly program seminars. Additionally, they receive training in presentation skills, including how to prepare a presentation for a scientific meeting.  At program end, all interns present their research findings at a poster session or oral symposium.


37. High School Internships with Aspirnaut

High school students are embedded in a biomedical research laboratory for six weeks as a member of a team of researchers (chemists, biologists, physicians, mathematicians, engineers) working on diabetes, cancer and regenerative biology projects. Students conduct their own research and gather results that contribute to the data and goals of the larger research team. At the conclusion of the experience, students present their research to peers and mentors through both oral and poster presentations.

  • Apply to: Vanderbilt University

  • Age Eligibility: All high school students (9th-12th)

  • Location: Nashville, Tennessee


38. Student Volunteer Program

NRL seeks volunteers that are currently enrolled in high school or college and possess an interest in science and engineering. Volunteer service is limited to services performed by a student as part of an agency program established for the purpose of providing educational experience for the student. The work is done strictly on an uncompensated basis.

  • Apply to: US Naval Research Laboratory

  • Age Eligibility: Sophomores (10th), Juniors (11th), and Seniors (12th)

  • Location: Based in Washington, D.C.


39. Student Scholars Program

The selected interns gain valuable hands-on experiences working with full-time AFRL scientists and engineers on cutting-edge research and technology and are able to contribute to unique, research-based projects.


40. Full Research Programs

Our student-driven research programs teach the process of science through the creation of a field research project. By studying locations near your school campus, students strengthen their connection to the ecosystems in your community. In addition to delivering increased academic confidence, better social skills, and building science and language skills, all of our programs are designed in a fun and engaging way.

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