Research Project Impact on College Admission Outcomes

Our programs and mentors help students to develop essential academic skills, make informed decisions about what to study, and to prepare for meaningful careers.

In addition to these holistic benefits, research and passion projects also have a material impact on college applications. This year we surveyed more than 500 alumni who applied to college in 2022 to understand the impact of their research projects on their college admissions outcomes.

Student standing on large books with graduation hat

Admissions Rates at Select Elite Institutions

Stat for Polygence mention in CV or Activities list

of students mentioned their research project in their Activities List or CV

Stat for Polygence mention in Supplemental Essay

mentioned their research project in their Supplemental Essays

mentioned their research project in their Personal Essay

Where were Polygence alumni accepted?

Admissions Rates at R1 schools and US News Top 25 Universities

92%

Polygence alumni acceptance rate to R1 schools in 2023

91%

Blended pre 2022 and 2022 rate

51%

Acceptance rate to US News Top 25 Universities

Including:
UC Berkeley (78), UCLA (36), Cornell (22), Emory (20), UPenn (18), Rice (17), Carnegie Mellon (17), Duke (14), Northwestern (14), Johns Hopkins (14), Brown (12), Georgetown (10), University of Chicago (10), Yale (8), Columbia (8), Washington University in St. Louis (8), NYU (8), Harvard (6), Stanford (6), Princeton (6), Dartmouth (5), CalTech (5), Vanderbilt (4), Notre Dame (3), MIT (1)

Ivy League and Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges

24%

Polygence alumni acceptance rate to Ivies

5.4%

Average general applicant acceptance rate to Ivies

24%

Polygence alumni accepted to Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges

Accepted schools:

Pomona, Swarthmore, Claremont McKenna, Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Carleton

Polygence alumni acceptance rates at other prestigious schools

33%

UC Berkeley acceptance rate

29%

CalTech acceptance rate

19%

Cornell acceptance rate

24%

University of Chicago acceptance rate

What do Polygence alumni say about their projects?

My Polygence project gave me confidence in knowing that I have the ability to tackle higher quality research at the collegiate level. This experience with research also gave me a different perspective compared to those with other extracurricular activities and experiences.

Polygence Alum attending Berkeley

Yes it did, it helped motivate me to do research into what I really enjoyed about STEM and led me to the major I am planning to go in. Polygence helped me figure out what I wanted to do in college which made my essays more genuine.

Polygence Alum attending Cornell

Polygence helped me shape my application that was more focused towards my major, demonstrating to the admissions counselors that I am passionate about what I intend to study. It gave me an opportunity to explore a niche topic that I am interested in, showing more depth in my academic interests. In my Rice admissions package, they send a personalized message to every admitted student, and my message was talking about how they are excited to see how my experience in the research that l chose will shape the Rice community!

Polygence Alum attending Rice

It gave me confidence in the major I chose and gave me insight as to what I will be learning as an Aerospace Engineering Major. Thank you Polygence!

Polygence Alum attending Virginia Tech for Aerospace Engineering

The Impact of Polygence

Since our founding in 2019, over 2000 students from
44 countries have completed a Polygence project.

World map of countries from where Polygence has students

Interested in starting
your own project?
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