The hot new thing in college admissions are large independent projects, things you can do to demonstrate your interest in a specific topic while also showing off your academic prowess. The challenge of doing this is the entire point; doing something hard is impressive and helps you stand out, and standing out is increasingly hard in the ever more competitive field of college admissions. There are various ways to go about this, but there are three which are most popular (and accessible to students). These are the AP Capstone, the IB Extended Essay, and original research. But how do each of these work, and how do they compare? The time investment of each means you will likely have to choose only one (though there are some ways to combine them). In this article we’ll review the pros and cons of each, and how you can decide which is the best for you. Let’s get started!
What is the AP Capstone?
The AP Capstone is a combination of two different courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. Each is a year long, and seeks to introduce students to high level study, research, and collegiate style coursework, something most AP Classes don’t quite emulate.
AP Seminar comes first, and allows students to explore various high level interdisciplinary subjects. It is loosely based on collegiate seminars, which are smaller lecture and discussion courses. The instructor and students have broad leeway on what material will be covered, and there is an overall goal of understanding how to examine multiple different views on real world subjects and draw original conclusions based on the evidence.
AP Research builds on this by having students do guided research on a topic of their choice. The goal is for students to learn research methodology methods for finding and reviewing original sources and other data. The course culminates in a 4-5,000 word essay in combination with a portfolio or other work as a culmination of your efforts. This should sum up what you’ve learned and accomplished, and the results of your research.
AP Research can be taken without having taken AP Seminar first; you will simply need to do some more work to learn the baseline research methodology that the first course covers. Indeed, doing the capstone as a whole is uncommon; most students either do one course or the other, not both.
The pros of this is that it lets students examine a topic of interest to them, and teaches them skills in research in a guided academic setting. As a course offered in school, they have a set amount of time in the academic day to work on the project (though they will still need to put work in outside of school). The final paper can be submitted for publication at some journals; specifically the Concord Review accepts these papers if they meet its criteria.
The downside of this is that not every school offers AP Research, and that the quality of the course is heavily dependent on the instructor you have. The final paper you create is also usually done at the end of your senior year, which is too late to actually matter for college admissions in most cases. Finally, the way the course is structured is best suited to humanities and social science research, rather than STEM fields.
What is the IB Extended Essay?
Unlike AP Courses, which are offered in a somewhat a la carte style, IB coursework forms a unified curriculum. Part of this curriculum which is required of all students is the extended essay. This is part of the diploma program, and is generally done in the second year of the two year IB program.
This essay is a 4,000 word original piece of research on a topic of interest to the student which relates to one of the six DP subjects. This essay can also be interdisciplinary, following the World Studies approach. The goal of this essay is to teach students how to ask a research question, explore a topic of interest, and develop an argument through writing.
The essay is done outside of a class, but students meet with a supervisor while working on the essay, who is generally a teacher at the school. The extended essays are all evaluated by outside examiners appointed by the IB. They are graded on a scale of 0 to 34.
Unlike AP Capstones or independent research, an IB extended essay isn’t optional. If you are taking part in the IB curriculum through your school, you will need to do one of these essays. This does take some of the pressure off, but also makes it harder to stand out by doing one; after all, all your classmates will be completing these essays as well, which does cut down on the uniqueness of doing independent research.
These essays can be repurposed and published elsewhere however, and can cover topics in any academic discipline. Doing data collection and analysis may be difficult, depending on what exact research topic you have and the level of support your school provides. As with APs, these depend heavily on the teacher you have to advise you, and their own experience with research.
Overall, this is a good exposure to the kinds of research papers you will be tasked with completing in college, and to research methods and techniques. It is somewhat rare to find, simply because IB coursework is far less common than AP in high schools across the US. If you are in an Ib school, you should take full advantage, but what if you aren’t?
Independent Research Projects
It is finally possible to undertake research on your own initiative, either on your own, or under the guidance of a mentor experienced in research. This can occur alongside one of the programs mentioned above, or in its absence. Overall though, this requires much more initiative and work on the part of the student.
Independent research projects are just that – independent. They are not supported by your school, and you work on them entirely outside of school (though some students do make use of free periods or study halls to do work on research). You will need to take the initiative to launch a project without the input of a higher educational authority, and need to come up with the internal motivation and discipline to see the project through to its conclusion.
This is the biggest barrier to entry to doing research, and also a large part of the reason why it is so impressive to colleges. The ability to self organize and self motivate to this degree requires a degree of maturity that not all high school students possess. This maturity is something colleges want on campus, and the level of academic production and skill that often follows along with it.
Research Mentorships
Ivy Scholars offers research mentorships, where you work with an established researcher on a project. These researchers all have advanced degrees and significant publication history of their own, and are well versed at guiding students through their first research projects, as this is something all college professors must do when working with undergraduates.
These researchers are there as mentors, to teach you how research works. They will instruct you in the methodology of performing research, from finding and reviewing academic sources, to gathering or sourcing data, to how to properly analyze that data in the context of your research question.
They will also coach you on academic writing for publication. This is a different writing style than most students ever do in high school. Both in terms of formatting and the language used, research papers must adhere to strict standards to be publishable.
Finally, they will help you find a venue to show off your research, either through publication in a journal or presentation at a conference. We cover how publication works, and why it’s so important for research, more in our guide to publication.
These research mentors are there to work with you, not do the work for you. They will teach and assist, but at the end of the day, you as the student must still do all of the work. This is because the point of research is to learn something, and to gain the kinds of skills you will need to use regularly in college. While it does look quite impressive on admissions, it is only worth including if it is an accomplishment you rightfully worked for.
A Note on Research Lab Internships
There is one final way to get involved in doing research, and that’s interning at a research laboratory, generally over the summer. This can be done in conjunction with any of the other avenues for research.
This approach is notable as it is the only way students in high school can really get involved in laboratory work, and learnt he associated techniques and safety measures. You can do scientific research outside of a lab, running experiments in your home or borrowing equipment from school (with permission of course), but that doesn’t quite substitute for lab experience.
These internships are very valuable, but also very rarely lead to papers or publications. They are worth pursuing, but are often best done in conjunction with other independent research as well.
Final Thoughts
There are many avenues for students to write extended research papers, both through their schools and on their own initiative. Each has their own strengths and limitations, and we hope this article has fully illustrated these for you, so that you can decide which best suits your situation.
If you want to hear more about the Ivy Scholars research program, or how we can help you with publishing your AP Capstone or extended response essays, schedule a free consultation with us today. We have research experts in every field, and know exactly how to help you achieve your academic goals.
