Horizon Academics
Are you one of the thousands of ambitious high school students who wants to take their research skills, exposure and maybe even publication opportunities to the next level? Check out Horizon Academics. Horizon offers programs in a variety of disciplines that divide in a trimester-long course between small-class instruction and scaffolded academic research. Horizon’s courses fall under somewhat generic headers (e.g. “Environmental Engineering” or “International Relations”), but much of the research is genuinely fascinating and impressive.
“The Horizon Academic Research Program was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping high school students to do "college research with a cause", working on research projects that were socially meaningful and identified workable solutions to pressing public policy problems, while also being assessed according to standards used for first-year university students. Horizon was founded a team of three American educators and experienced NGO leaders, united by the belief that meaningful academic research can be done online and that, by using technology to bridge barriers of geography and access, the ability to do academic research with university researchers and faculty members should be governed by a competitive, merit-based admissions process, rather than based on personal or family connections. In 2016, we introduced classes in Development Economics, Environmental Engineering, and International Relations. We traveled to schools around the US and China, making the pitch for high school research, and we sponsored debate tournaments, business competitions, robotics tournaments, and Model U.N. conferences because we believe in the importance of extracurricular activities. Since 2016, our program has grown substantially, and we're now proud to work with 200 students each year from more than 30 countries in pairing them with 56 instructors.”
Horizon Academics ($5,000+)
Teaching Style: group classes of four to six
Duration: Trimester
Mentor: US university faculty or PhD mentors (depends on the program)
Pro: They have some US professors that justify the cost in some way; Horizon is founded by a Chinese-backed educational consultant.
Con: Expensive (no scholarship); faculty quality is inconsistent (they work mostly with PhD students as mentors); they are a very profit-driven company that is, as mentioned above, founded by an educational consultant.
How do I get started? Click here.
How do I expand this narrative arc? Carry forward with the important work you’ve started!! One Horizon course that results in a draft paper, or the idea for a draft paper, might not even merit a line in your Common App. But a Horizon course that leads to an independent study for credit, and a polished, peer-reviewed and even published paper is seriously impressive. If you need more structure and motivation, consider pursing a summer program in your field. Just remember that if the program has a low barrier to entry you really need a fabulous final product to get any mileage from your financial and intellectual investment.
HOT TIP: Tread cautiously, but optimistically. We tell all of our students that serious effort and dedication are almost always rewarded (whether through a final product, a great narrative arc or even a reference letter). There’s no easy way to do serious academic research. Before you move forward, make sure you have the time and the energy to really make it count!