Last Updated on October 1, 2026
Quick answer: To get noticed as a STEM college applicant, take the most rigorous math and science courses available, earn top grades, pursue original research, compete in olympiads or science fairs, build projects such as apps or robots, and show how your STEM interests connect to real-world problems. Depth and initiative matter most.
7 Ways to Get Noticed as a STEM College Applicant
So you’ve known you love chemistry since your first volcano experiment in 5th grade and continue to get your best grades in chemistry class. Or maybe your love for engineering stems (no pun intended!) from all of the times that you’ve taken apart your family’s VCR as a kid, much to your mother’s dismay, just so that you could figure out how to put it back together (that last one may have just been me, now that VCRs are extinct).
Whatever inspired you to study in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, you are certain that you want to apply to college as a STEM applicant. Selective engineering and science programs receive applications from many well-qualified students. Admissions officers read a large number of STEM applications, so your interests and achievements need to be specific and easy to see. You need to make sure that your application does not get lost amongst the endless number of other STEM applications. Here are some steps you can follow to get noticed as a STEM college applicant:
Take Challenging Science Courses
The STEM applicant pool is a competitive one. In order to be a competitive candidate, you have to step up your game. Admissions officers want to know that you’ve challenged yourself academically by taking the most demanding course load that your school offers, especially in the sciences. So if your school offers AP classes, Early College Experience courses, or the IB diploma, make sure that you’re enrolled. [1] Even if your school does not offer those advanced classes, you must pursue the most rigorous course load available. If you want to be seriously considered as a STEM applicant, make sure you take courses in math (make it up to calculus!) and sciences throughout all four years of high school! Sciences should include physics, chemistry, and biology, but if your school offers even more specific STEM opportunities catered to your interests, take them.
Colleges want to see how much you’re willing to challenge yourself, your excitement for learning, and your level of science knowledge. Sometimes, in order to get noticed as a STEM college applicant, you may want to take an online course or a course at a local community college.
Listen to me talk more about becoming a competitive STEM college applicant in this video:
Build Hands-On STEM Experience
Your experiences will allow admissions officers to gauge your level of commitment to STEM fields. This means being involved in STEM-related extracurriculars, for example, Science Olympiad, math clubs, biology clubs, etc. Remember, however, that lots of high schoolers join these activities (see our list of computer science extracurriculars for more ideas) so they are not unique in themselves when applying to the best STEM programs. You’ll need to do more – start your own mini lab, build a robot to support your community, find out exactly how safe your local river is for swimming. Thinking outside of the box is important for getting noticed in STEM.
Don’t just join clubs; find meaningful ways to establish yourself as a leader. If your interest is too niche for the clubs in your high school, why not just start your own? Take your interest even further with hands-on research experience, STEM-related internships, and competitions. [2] Some of the most prestigious STEM competitions are listed below.
12 of the Most Prestigious STEM Competitions:
- Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair
- USA Computing Olympiad (USACO)
- Regeneron Science Talent Search (formerly Intel STS)
- Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
- Stockholm Junior Water Prize
- USA Biology Olympiad (USABO)
- BEST Robotics Competition
- American Invitational Mathematics Examination (AIME)
- Mathematical Association of America AMC 8
- American Regions Mathematics League
- Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament
- U.S. Physics Team Program (USA Physics Olympiad)
Opportunities like these, along with other science competitions for high school students, will allow admissions officers to note the seriousness of your interest and your depth of exposure to the field. See if you can conduct research with a professor or volunteer at the local lab! Your extracurricular interests as a STEM college applicant become more tangible when you actually have experience in the field.
Earn Excellent Grades and Test Scores
This one is perhaps the most obvious for all applicants, regardless of your area of interest. But sometimes, students fail to take the academic piece seriously enough. The bottom line is, good grades are remarkably important. In fact, your grades should be excellent if you’re hoping to go to a highly ranked school as a STEM college applicant. Admitted students at highly selective STEM schools typically earn top grades in their most demanding courses. You need to be on top of your game at all times throughout high school.
Admissions officers review your GPA and test scores to judge whether you are ready for a rigorous STEM curriculum. Consistently high grades in math and science make your interest in the subject credible.
Take Relevant Standardized Tests
Although many universities realize that standardized test scores aren’t a perfect measure of intelligence, many selective schools require or recommend them, and MIT, for example, requires the SAT or ACT for all first-year applicants. [3] Aim for your best possible Math score. For reference, the middle 50% SAT Math range for students MIT admitted to its Class of 2029 was 780 to 800. [4] Here are Math score ranges at some top STEM-heavy colleges:
| School | SAT Math middle 50% (students entering fall 2025) |
|---|---|
| MIT | 780-800 |
| Georgia Tech | 700-790 |
| Carnegie Mellon | 770-800 |
As you can see, the standards are extremely high! SAT Subject Tests are no longer offered, so AP exams are now the main way to show subject mastery, and STEM applicants should prioritize AP exams in STEM subjects. A top score on AP French is a real achievement, but AP scores in calculus, physics, chemistry, or biology speak most directly to your readiness for a STEM major.
You can still report scores in other subjects, but make sure your STEM scores are part of the picture. As a STEM college applicant, consider AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP Chemistry, or AP Biology to demonstrate your abilities in the field of your interest.
Know What Excites You as a STEM College Applicant
It is not enough to choose the STEM fields because you want to be pre-med and go to medical school after undergrad. Admissions officers from top tier schools will not admit you simply because you want to become a doctor. They are not factories that produce prospective medical students! They want you to be truly interested in STEM for the sake of learning.
STEM is a wide and ever expanding umbrella. So know which specific area you want to study in the STEM fields and be able to articulate that in your application. You can start with something general such as biology and then elaborate in your essays and Common App how you might want to work in more specific fields such as marine biology or molecular biology. You could apply as an engineering candidate, but know for your application and interviews whether you want to be an aeronautical engineer or nuclear engineer, and what you might want to do in those specific concentrations. This clear interest should be reflected in your activities, personal statement, and even your supplemental essays. Saying you enjoy science isn’t enough. Go as deep as possible into what excites you and you will have the potential to be an excellent STEM college applicant.
Seek Learning Outside of the Classroom
The best STEM applicants tend to be students who take the initiative to learn outside of the classroom or carry their interest in STEM to areas outside of school. These students are not only scientists or mathematicians in school, but are scientists and mathematicians in their everyday life. If you enjoy the chemistry of cooking, start your own YouTube channel. If you enjoy inspecting the garden behind your house, start keeping field notes and publish them on an Instagram page. Admissions officers can tell from tangible achievements such as video views or Instagram followers how wide your reach is. As a STEM college applicant, creating a path geared specifically to your activities and interests is important in helping you get noticed.
Having a Humanities or Social Science Interest Can Help!
Showing ways that you are different from every other STEM applicant could definitely give you an edge. This is especially helpful for STEM college applicants who are applying to liberal arts schools and have a humanities interest. Liberal arts colleges love when STEM students have other academic interests because that indicates that the student may take a broad range of courses. Liberal arts colleges emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of academics and learning in subjects that are outside of your area of focus. You never know, you might just be able to find an area in the humanities that perfectly blends with your interest in STEM and can actually help with your own research! And the bottom line is, students with dual interests may get noticed by admissions officers more than the thousands of typical pre-med applicants in their pile. Don’t be afraid to show different sides of you!
Although there are many other things that can help you get noticed as a STEM college applicant, these 7 things can help you avoid getting lost in the pool of thousands of other applications. Some may be obvious, but it is sometimes the most obvious things that aren’t taken seriously. The use of STEM is all around us. It’s up to you to take advantage of your interest in it, and showcase your skills to build yourself up as a unique and qualified applicant that your top-choice college will be excited about.
If you are narrowing your list, start with our rankings of the best colleges for computer science and the best biomedical engineering schools.
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