By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair
The Regeneron Science Talent Search 2027 application closes on November 5, 2026 at 8 PM ET. Recommendations are due at the same moment, with no exceptions. If your senior is applying, the next few days matter more than the last few months.
This guide covers what the application actually asks for, what tends to go wrong in the final stretch, and what judges are looking for when they read it.
Who can apply
Regeneron STS is for students in their last year of secondary school in the US and its territories, regardless of citizenship. That means this is a one-shot competition. There is no applying again next year.
Around 2,600 students enter each year. The top 300 are named Scholars on January 7, 2027, and each Scholar receives $2,000, with another $2,000 going to their high school for STEM education. The top 40 Finalists are announced on January 21, 2027 and compete during Finals Week, March 11 to 17, 2027, for awards that include a $250,000 first prize.
The rule that disqualifies more projects than weak data
Only independent, individual research is eligible. A team project is not, and a team project cannot be split into individual entries.
If your student did the work as part of a group, the honest question is whether one part of it was genuinely theirs: their question, their method, their analysis. If it was, the paper has to make that boundary clear. If it was not, STS is the wrong competition, and a team-friendly fair is the right one.
Working in a lab is allowed, if the work is yours
Research done alongside adult researchers at a research institution is permitted. Judges assess whether the work is substantially the student’s own, and the student needs the mentor’s permission to submit.
This is where many lab-based applications lose credibility. A paper that reads like a summary of the lab’s project, with the student’s role left vague, invites the question judges care about most: what did this student actually decide?
The paper should name the decisions the student made and why. Which variable they chose to test. Why that control. What they changed when the first approach failed.
The paper: a maximum of 20 pages
The research report is a maximum 20-page original scientific paper. Length is a ceiling, not a target.
In the last week, spend time on three things:
- The abstract and introduction. A reader should know the question, why it matters, and the main result within the first page.
- Methods a stranger could repeat. Vague methods read as hidden weakness.
- Honest limitations. Students who name what their data cannot show come across as scientists. Students who overclaim come across as coached.
Disclose any paid program
Entrants and mentors must disclose participation in paid programs. This is not a penalty. It is a transparency rule, and the families who get into trouble are the ones whose program was vague about the mentor’s role.
If your student worked with a paid mentor, the disclosure should match what actually happened: who guided, and who did the work.
Recommendations: chase them today
Recommendations from teachers and mentors are required, and they are due by the same 8 PM ET deadline on November 5. A missing letter is the most avoidable way to lose an application.
Send each recommender a short note today with the deadline, a one-paragraph summary of the project, and what you would like them to speak to.
After you submit
Use the time before January 7 well. Whether or not your student becomes a Scholar, the same project can go to a regional fair this spring. In Santa Clara County, the Synopsys Championship’s final application deadline for new participants is January 8, 2027, and the Alameda County fair judges on March 13, 2027. Those fairs lead to the California Science & Engineering Fair and, for top winners, Regeneron ISEF.
Our mentors include Dr. Harman Brah, a physician who judges at the California Science & Engineering Fair, and Wesley Hatcher, PhD, an NSF Graduate Research Fellow in organic chemistry at UC San Diego. Our students have been Regeneron STS and ISEF semifinalists and category award winners. If your student is planning a project for next year, or taking this one to the spring fairs, talk to us.
FAQ
When is the Regeneron STS 2027 deadline?
Applications and recommendations are due November 5, 2026 at 8 PM ET. Scholars are announced January 7, 2027, and Finalists January 21, 2027.
Can a team project be entered in Regeneron STS?
No. Only independent, individual research is eligible, and a team project cannot be split into individual entries.
Is research done in a university lab allowed?
Yes. Research alongside adult researchers at a research institution is permitted, but judges assess whether the work is substantially the student’s own, and the mentor must give permission to submit.
Do I have to disclose a paid research program?
Yes. Both entrants and mentors must disclose participation in paid programs.
How long can the STS research paper be?
The research report is a maximum 20-page original scientific paper.
More guides on this topic
- Synopsys Science Fair 2027: The November Deadlines That Come First
- My Child Does Research in a University Lab, Do They Need Outside Help for Regeneron STS?
- Can Research Done in a Professor's Lab Be Submitted to Regeneron STS?
- How to Turn Summer Lab Research Into a Regeneron STS Research Report
- Do You Have to Disclose Outside Help or a Mentor on the Regeneron STS Application?
Planning a Science Fair or STS Project?
This guide is the general version. Work one on one with a physician who judges at the California state fair and a PhD chemist, on a project your student owns from the first question to the final poster.