One student. One research journey. One paper published.
Your child chooses an original research question, runs the study, and writes it up to journal standard. They are guided from first idea to submission by a research mentor who has done this with more than 150 students aged 14 to 17. Every one of them was published.
The student writes every word. The mentor makes sure it is worth publishing.
These figures are the personal record of our Senior Lead Advisor. Publication refers to journals that accept pre-university authors.
Why research: grades show what your child scored. Research shows how they think.
Selective universities read applications holistically. Two students with identical grades look the same on paper, until one can point to a question they chose themselves, a method they can defend, and a limitation they found before anyone else did.
The benefit arrives long before the application does. Students who have run a real study handle the IB Extended Essay, the EPQ and A Level coursework with far less panic, because they have already completed a harder version of the same task: framing a question, reviewing literature, citing properly, and defending a conclusion under scrutiny.
Several universities have built a formal channel for this work. Most applicants never use it.
Yale
Applicants may submit a STEM Research Supplement describing the project and their specific contribution. Yale states that full research papers are generally the most helpful thing to attach, and the same form allows a research mentor to send a letter directly to the admissions office. admissions.yale.edu
MIT
Students with significant research completed outside school coursework may submit a Research Supplement through SlideRoom, including an abstract, a reflective questionnaire, and a citation if the work has been published. mitadmissions.org
Oxbridge
Interviews test depth rather than supplements. A student who has spent months defending their own research question arrives with something real to be interrogated about, and with the habit of being questioned without flinching.
Six stages, from a vague interest to a published paper.
Three to six months for most students, built around exams and school holidays.
Find the question
Students arrive with a topic and leave with a question, narrowed until it can be answered with the time, data and access a high school student actually has.
Read the field
How to search databases, read a paper without drowning in it. Many students find their idea already exists. Our research mentor helps them find the angle that does not.
Design the method
Survey, case study, dataset analysis, interviews or modeling. We stress test the design before three months are spent on it.
Collect and analyze
The student runs the study and handles their own data. Where statistics or coding are involved, we teach the tool. It takes longer, and it becomes a skill they can defend in an interview.
Write and revise
Draft, mark up, rewrite, repeat until it is publication-ready.
Submit and respond
We shortlist journals that suit the paper, prepare the submission, and coach the student through reviewer feedback. Revisions after review are normal, and we stay for them.
Meet Soniya Gupta-Rawal
Senior Lead Advisor at Iliani. Over six years she has guided more than 150 students through original research in business, economics, finance, psychology, policy and philosophy. Every one of them published.
She has already walked the road your child is standing at the start of, which is why students end up asking her about far more than their paper.
- Which subject should I actually study?Research is an effective way to find out whether you love a field before you commit three to four years to it.
- Where should I apply, and why?She has watched 150 students go through the cycle. She knows what a stretch looks like and what a safe choice looks like.
- What is a research career really like?The unglamorous parts included. She can give students a first-hand account of what the work is actually like day to day.
- Am I good enough for this?The question nobody puts in an email. She is very good at that one.
One program, shaped around your child.
There is one standard of work, and everything else is tailored: the field, the school calendar, the starting point, and how far the student wants to take it.
A Year 9 student writing a first literature review and a Year 12 student running original survey data need different things from the same mentor.
- Weekly one-to-one sessions with our dedicated research mentor
- Written feedback on every draft
- Email support between sessions
- All six stages, from question to submission
- Journal shortlisting
- Submission preparation and reviewer response support
- Mentor reference letter on request
- Guidance on subject choice and university choice, included
Three to six months, one to one, one paper
Shorter for a focused literature-based project. Longer where original data collection requires it.
Fees depend on scope and are confirmed after the free consultation, once we understand what your child is trying to do.
Book the free consultationPapers her students have published.
Titles written by students aged 14 to 17, under their own names.
- Shades of Success: The Impact of Marketing Strategies on Brand Perception for Minority-Owned Cosmetics Startups in the U.S.
- Balancing Bytes and Judgment: Navigating AI in Large U.S. Financial Accounting Firms
- Trust or Turn Away: How Hyper-Personalized AI in Financial Apps Shapes User Behavior in the Dominican Republic
- The Financial Divide in Football: Financial Inequality, Competitive Balance and Team Performance in European Leagues
- Hype or Harm? Selling Wellness at the Cost of Selling Worry: Nutricosmetic Industries Need an Honesty Makeover
- From Sacred Ritual to Skincare Routine: How Indian Beauty Brands Repackage Ayurveda for the Modern Consumer
- A Study of AI's Impact on Education: Economic Sustainability and Demand for Traditional Tutoring Services in the US
- Breaking the News: The Role of AI in Shaping Young Audiences' Perception of Bias and News Consumption in Japan
- Building Connection: How Small Retail Businesses in Nepal Use Social Media to Engage, Personalize, and Grow
- Sowing the Seeds of Change: The Impact of Climate-Driven Market Shifts on Agribusiness Investment Trends
- Time on the Run: Impact of Rolex's Sports Sponsorships on Consumer Perception in the Indian Luxury Market
- Old is Gold: Impact of Pricing and Marketing on the Gold Business in Northern and Eastern Africa
- Beneath the Glam: How Social Media Marketing Influences Consumerism Amongst Teenagers in the UAE
- Marketing the Meatless: Social Media's Role in Shaping Vegan Buying Habits in the UAE
- "Is It Actually Green?": Green Marketing, Social Media Narratives and Consumer Opinion
- Sport Behind the Scenes: The Effect of Behind the Scenes Content on the Interest of Fans
What students say when the paper is done.
Shared with permission by students from China to Kazakhstan to Brazil.
Thank you so much for helping me with the research paper learning process. I am so happy it is published. I couldn't have done it without you.
During our time working together, I have greatly benefited from your rigorous academic mindset, which has profoundly shaped my research habits. Your guidance also ignited my lasting passion for design and business.
My mentor has been extremely supportive throughout the program. She has been very flexible with my schedule, always making an effort to fit meetings whenever possible, which has allowed me to balance my school workload more effectively. Every comment she has given has been highly relevant and directly improved the quality of my work. She has gone beyond general guidance by carefully reviewing every aspect of my paper and taking the time to explain each part in detail, which has helped me truly understand the research process rather than just complete the task.
I really appreciate how supportive and encouraging my mentor Soniya has been throughout the program. She always comes well-prepared and is clearly passionate about her work. Her feedback helped me stay on track and feel more confident in my progress.
She has been an excellent source of help as she responds well within my emails and is really quick with it as well. She is always encouraging my work but also giving structured feedback.
My mentor is always clear about what I have to do and states the expectations clearly. I like that she has given me examples of previous students' work.
Q&A: the questions parents ask.
How do you select your mentors?
We select for track record with teenagers, not academic credentials alone. A mentor needs a doctorate in their field, but the question we weigh most is how many high school students they have taken from a vague idea to a published paper, and what they do when a student misses two deadlines during exam season. Each mentor works with a small number of students at a time, so nobody gets passed to an assistant, and you meet your mentor on the free consultation before committing to anything.
Will my child's paper definitely be published?
Every student she has mentored has reached publication. We will not promise a specific journal, and we will never claim a placement in a top-tier academic journal, because peer review does not work that way. We commit to a complete, submission-ready paper and a mentor who stays through the review process.
Does the mentor write any of it?
No. Your mentor questions, edits and challenges. The student writes every word. Admissions officers read thousands of applications and are practiced at spotting work a teenager did not do, which makes a ghostwritten paper worse than no paper at all.
Will this help with A Levels or the IB?
Directly. The Extended Essay, the EPQ and A Level coursework all ask for the same skills: a question worth asking, a literature review, a method, proper citation, and a conclusion the student can stand behind. Students who have published a paper find those assessments familiar rather than daunting.
How much time does it take each week?
One session, plus roughly three to five hours of independent work. Data collection weeks are heavier, reading weeks are lighter, and exam weeks pause.
My child has no idea what to research. Is it too early?
That is the normal starting point, and stage one exists for it. Turning an interest into a question is the first thing we teach and often the most useful thing they learn.
How young is too young?
She has worked with students from age 14. Younger students usually take a literature-based route first. On the free call we will tell you honestly if your child should wait a year, and what to do in the meantime.
Bring us a question your child cannot stop thinking about.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. You will leave knowing whether the idea is researchable and what it would take, whether or not you sign up with us.
Book a free consultation