Echelon Scholars was founded to help high school students conduct and publish PhD-level, peer-reviewed research. Created by Pranav Kulkarni, who published multiple IEEE papers in high school, earned a Best Paper Award, and even had a theorem named after him by the American Mathematical Society, the program draws on his research experience at Stanford University to provide students worldwide with the mentorship, structure, and rigor to produce postgraduate-caliber work and stand out in competitive college and professional paths.
Echelon Scholars works with students for six months to a year, offering unlimited 1-on-1 mentorship from project ideation to final publication. Each student is paired with a research mentor from a world-class lab or university, who guides them through every stage of the research process — from identifying a novel idea to conducting experiments and writing a professional paper. So far, 100% of Echelon Scholars have successfully published their work in postgraduate-level, peer-reviewed venues.
Echelon Scholars has grown rapidly, attracting applications from students in dozens of countries and awarding over $100,000 in financial aid to make our program accessible to top talent worldwide. We’re proud to be expanding access to world-class research opportunities for high school students and remain committed to our mission of empowering the next generation of innovators and scholars.
We continuously refine our program to better support our students — adapting to emerging research trends across diverse fields, expanding resources and mentorship opportunities, and tracking outcomes such as elite college admissions, which is a key goal for many participants. Our commitment to improvement ensures that Echelon Scholars remains at the forefront of high school research education.
If you’re interested in joining, you can apply directly through our website at https://echelonscholars.com/ . We review applications on a rolling basis and welcome passionate students eager to conduct world-class, peer-reviewed research.
