Free Webinar
ISEF-Ready or Not? How Judges Decide If a Project Has a Ceiling
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Register Now
18th february 2026
8 PM ET
Zoom
Discover how ISEF-ready STEM research is evaluated and what separates competitive projects from the rest.
Join this exclusive session to learn how ISEF judges assess research depth, originality, and potential, and how you can upgrade your project to compete at the highest level.
You Will Learn:
01
How ISEF judges decide whether a project has a limit, and what signals real scientific potential.
02
How to identify hidden weaknesses in your research idea and shape them into competition-ready projects.
03
How research depth and originality are evaluated across different ISEF categories.
04
How strategic upgrades can meaningfully increase a project’s competitiveness without starting over.
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Shanay Desai
PhD Researcher at UPenn and ScienceFair mentor
Shanay is a Ph.D. researcher at the University of Pennsylvania whose cancer research and biomedical innovations have been recognized at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), alongside multiple peer-reviewed publications and national research awards. He has conducted advanced cancer research at institutions including Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Eli Lilly, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and is a ScienceFair mentor.
Chris Haley
Senior Strategist & Academic Advisor, Indigo Research
Chris Haley is a Harvard University graduate with over five years of experience as a professional college counsellor. He has guided students through hundreds of successful applications to top U.S. universities, including the Ivy League, MIT, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and USC. Chris also has a strong track record of helping students gain admission to elite summer and research programs such as USC SHINE, LaunchX, UCIxGATI BEAM, and COSMOS. In addition, he has mentored students preparing for prestigious STEM competitions like the AMC10 and the USA Computing Olympiad (USACO).
How Indigo Research Works
Indigo Research mentors high school students to produce exceptional, publishable research. With a curriculum designed by Harvard and Oxford graduates, students work with top university faculty or PhD fellows, building intellectual depth and boosting their academic profile.
Our students achieve real outcomes – journal publications, competition wins, and admissions to the world’s leading universities. Indigo students have a 15% Ivy League acceptance rate – over three times the global average – and a 24% acceptance rate to Oxford and Cambridge.
