How to Get Your Research Published as a High School Student
Publishing your research is a realistic goal while you are still in high school, provided you understand what “published” really means, target the right venue for your work, and meet the bar that venue sets. Here is how to go about it.
Know what “published” actually means
There is a whole spectrum of what “published” can mean. At one end sit peer-reviewed journals, which set the highest bar and carry the most credibility. Then there are student research journals, which are designed specifically for younger authors, preprint servers, where a paper is posted but not peer-reviewed, and conference presentations. These are not equal to one another, and experienced admissions readers can often tell the difference between them.
Aim as high as your work can honestly support, and no higher. Credibility comes from the rigor of the paper itself and from the standing of the venue that accepts it, not from the word “published” on its own.
Match your paper to the right venue
Before you submit anywhere, read the journal's recent issues and its stated scope so that you understand what it actually publishes. A well-run study placed in a reputable third-party journal is worth far more than a rushed one placed in a venue that will publish anything as long as a fee is paid. Venues that do publish high-school authors include the Journal of Emerging Investigators and the National High School Journal of Science, both for STEM work, and The Concord Review, which focuses on history. Treat these as examples to research and vet for yourself rather than as endorsements.
Be cautious of “pay-to-publish” outlets that guarantee acceptance. Such venues carry very little weight with informed readers, and in some cases they can even raise doubts.
Meet the rigor and formatting bar
Follow the structure that the venue asks for, and follow it exactly. For empirical and STEM papers this usually means an abstract, an introduction, a methods section, results, a discussion and references. Humanities, history and mathematics venues follow different conventions of their own, so match whichever set of conventions your chosen venue uses. Cite your sources properly, report your method honestly (including its limitations), and make sure your data can be reproduced by someone else.
Get expert feedback before you submit
Before you submit, have a mentor or an experienced researcher review the paper. A single round of expert feedback catches the methodological and framing problems that so often lead to desk rejections, and for that reason it is one of the highest-leverage steps you can take in the whole process.
Handle revisions, and rejection too
Most papers come back either with a request for revisions or with a rejection, and that is entirely normal. Address the reviewers' comments carefully, point by point, or take what you have learned from the feedback and submit to a venue that fits your work better. Persistence is simply part of the process.
Frequently asked
- Can high-school students publish in real academic journals?
- Yes, they can. High-school students can and do publish in reputable third-party journals, provided the work itself is rigorous and it is well matched to the venue they submit it to.
- Is publication required for strong college applications?
- No, it is not. A rigorous and finished research project is valuable in its own right. Publication certainly strengthens such a project, but it is not something that admissions offices require.