Junior Doing Research in a University Lab: When to Start the STS Application

By Dr. Harman Brah, MD · Judge, California Science & Engineering Fair

A junior doing research in a university lab should start preparing for Regeneron STS during junior year, because the deadline falls early in the fall of senior year: November 5 in the 2026 cycle. The plan that works is to finish the data the summer before senior year and have the paper written by early fall, so the last weeks go to recommendations and the application itself.

The work your child does as a junior already counts. Research done during any year of high school is eligible.

Who applies, and when

Regeneron STS is for students in their last year of secondary school. So a junior applies next year, as a senior.

In the 2027 competition, applications opened June 1, 2026 and closed November 5, 2026 at 8 PM ET. Recommendations were due by the same deadline, no exceptions.

Check the Society for Science site for your own year’s dates. The pattern to plan around is a summer opening and an early November close.

Why junior year is the right time to start

A senior who starts in September has only the weeks before the November deadline to do everything, while also carrying senior classes and college applications.

A junior has time to make the project clearly their own. That matters, because judges assess whether the work is substantially the student’s own.

In our view, the hard part for a student in a lab is separating their own question and contribution from the lab’s larger project, and saying it plainly. That takes months of thinking, not a weekend.

Junior year: carve out the question

By the end of junior year, your child should be able to say in one sentence what they asked and why it mattered inside the lab’s bigger project. If the answer is still “the lab studies X,” the question is not carved out yet.

This is also the time to tell the PI or lab mentor about STS. The mentor’s permission is needed to submit, and a Project Recommendation is part of the application.

Research alongside adult researchers at a research institution is permitted. Only independent, individual research is eligible, though. A team project cannot be split into individual entries.

The summer before senior year: get the data

The summer is when a student in a lab usually has the most bench time. Use it to finish collecting and analyzing the data the paper will rest on.

One clear question with real data beats an ambitious project with no result. A modest, finished result is better than a big one still in progress in October.

The student does the experiments and the analysis, inside the lab’s rules. An outside mentor should never start new experiments without the PI or change the lab’s data.

Early fall: the paper is written

The research report is a maximum 20-page original scientific paper. A lab report or the lab’s manuscript is not an STS paper.

Your child writes their own paper, in their own words, for a reader outside the field. A mentor can guide; the student owns the question, the data and the writing.

Aim to have a full draft by early fall of senior year. That leaves time for revision before the November deadline.

The final weeks: everything else

The paper is only one part of the application. There are also:

• Three recommendations: an Educator Recommendation, a Project Recommendation and the High School Report (transcript).
• Sections about the student, the research project, prior research projects, activities and how they spend their time.
• Short essays. The prompts are on the application site.
• Disclosures of all support received with the research project and the application. Entrants and mentors must also disclose participation in paid programs.

Test scores are optional.

The PI and postdocs are running their own science, and the lab rarely gives a student time on the application. Asking recommenders early, while the paper is already done, is kinder to them and safer for your child.

What judges look for

Judges reward a student who can explain why each choice was made, not the most advanced technique.

They probe whether the student can explain what they did, why, and what they would do next, without a script. A year of owning the project is what makes that possible.

Learn how we guide students through this at https://admissioninsight.org/science-fair-research-mentorship/, and see what to finish before the deadline in https://admissioninsight.org/regeneron-sts-2027-final-weeks/.

FAQ

My child is a junior working in a lab. Can they apply to Regeneron STS this year?

No. STS is for students in their last year of secondary school, so a junior applies as a senior. Junior year is the time to prepare.

Does research from junior year count for STS?

Yes. Research done during any year of high school is eligible, as long as the work is substantially your child’s own.

Can my child just submit the lab’s paper?

No. The STS research report is the student’s own original scientific paper, up to 20 pages, written in their own words.

When should my child tell their professor about STS?

During junior year, well before the summer. The mentor’s permission is needed to submit, and the Project Recommendation is due by the application deadline, no exceptions.

Does my child have to disclose help from the lab or an outside mentor?

Yes. The application requires disclosure of all support received with the research project and the application, and entrants and mentors must disclose participation in paid programs.