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Run a $100,000 practice account for a full school year with written rules, and score it against simply holding an S&P 500 index fund.
Why you'd care
Real market, real prices, fake money. You find out if your picks actually beat the easy option.
Why colleges care
A full year of honest results, losses included. It shows discipline, not just a lucky pick.
Log every trade with your reason and your mood. Build an AI tool that reads the journal each week and points out your habits, like selling winners too early.
Why you'd care
Pro traders keep journals because it is the fastest way to stop repeating mistakes. Yours talks back.
Why colleges care
You built a working AI tool and used it on your own decisions for a year. That is real self-study with data.
Write a trading strategy in Python, test it on 20 years of price data, then test it again on years it has never seen.
Why you'd care
Find out if your idea works before you risk a dollar on it.
Why colleges care
You learn why most strategies that look great on paper fail. That is college-level statistics, done at 15.
An AI tool that reads a company's earnings call and writes a one-page summary: what changed, what got better, and what the CEO avoided answering.
Why you'd care
Hours of boring calls turned into one page you can read before school.
Why colleges care
A real AI project tested on 20 companies, with a write-up of where it got things wrong.
Ask three AI models the same question about a company every month. Record what each one predicts, then score them six months later.
Why you'd care
You find out which AI is actually useful for investing, and which one just sounds confident.
Why colleges care
Testing AI with a fair method is one of the most wanted skills right now. You have a public scoreboard to prove it.
Track stocks that get hyped on TikTok, Reddit and Discord, and check what their price did 30 days later. Turn it into a warning tool for other teens.
Why you'd care
You see the pump before your friends fall for it.
Why colleges care
You used data to protect people your age from a real scam. That is research with a purpose.
Enter the free Wharton Global High School Investment Competition with 4 to 6 friends from school. Your team manages a practice portfolio for a client case and writes the strategy.
Why you'd care
A team, a scoreboard and thousands of schools to beat. Top teams go to the finals in Philadelphia.
Why colleges care
Wharton is one of the best business schools in the world. Placing in its competition stands out on any application.
Join or start a team for the New York Fed's High School Fed Challenge, where students write a paper on the economy and interest rates.
Why you'd care
You learn why the whole market moves when the Fed says one sentence.
Why colleges care
Top papers are published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Few high school students have that.
Follow the public companies behind your games, like Roblox, Nintendo, Sony and Take-Two. Before each big launch or earnings report, write down your prediction, then check it.
Why you'd care
You already know which games are hot before Wall Street does. Now you test whether that is an edge.
Why colleges care
You connected something you love to real analysis and kept score honestly.
An AI tool that rates each day's market headlines as good or bad news, then checks whether those ratings predicted the next day's moves.
Why you'd care
You build something traders really use, and find out if the news actually moves prices.
Why colleges care
A real experiment where 'it did not work' is still a strong result, as long as you show your proof.
A simple tool that tells you how many shares to buy so one bad trade can never lose more than 1% of your account.
Why you'd care
The rule that keeps traders in the game long enough to get good.
Why colleges care
You turned a hard risk idea into a free tool other people can use.
Pick one company each month and write a two-page report the way Wall Street analysts do: what it sells, how it makes money, what could go wrong, and what it is worth.
Why you'd care
By the end of the year you know 12 companies better than most adults who own them.
Why colleges care
A portfolio of 12 real research reports is the kind of writing sample finance programs love.
With a parent, invest a small amount you earned in a custodial account using your written rules. Each year, write a letter explaining what you did and what you learned.
Why you'd care
Real money, real stakes, and a record of how your thinking grows.
Why colleges care
Honest, long-term thinking in your own words. It shows maturity that a test score cannot.
Run a March-Madness-style stock tournament at school. Each player picks a stock, and the better performer each month moves on.
Why you'd care
Competition, trash talk and bragging rights, all built on real market data.
Why colleges care
You built and ran an event that got other students learning about markets.
Track the money side of basketball: team values, shoe deals and the public companies tied to the NBA, like Nike and Madison Square Garden Sports.
Why you'd care
Basketball and markets in one project. You will see why Steph Curry's shoe deal was big news.
Why colleges care
Sports business is a real career path, and you showed you can follow the money with data.
Build a Roblox game with your friends where players rescue animals. Money the game earns goes to a real animal sanctuary.
Why you'd care
You get to make the kind of team game you already love, with your own squad, for animals you care about.
Why colleges care
You led a team, shipped a real product, and turned it into money for a cause. Two years of updates is a story very few applicants can tell.
A yearly 24-hour co-op gaming stream with your friends that raises money for an animal rescue.
Why you'd care
A whole day of playing with friends, and it actually helps animals.
Why colleges care
An event you started and ran every year, with a dollar total that grows. Colleges look for exactly that kind of follow-through.
Weekly sessions where you and your friends teach people at a senior center to play team games.
Why you'd care
You're the expert in the room, and it's more fun than it sounds.
Why colleges care
Service you created yourself, not a sign-up sheet. It shows patience, leadership and caring about people outside your circle.
Test controller setups that let kids with disabilities join online team games, then publish what works.
Why you'd care
More kids get to play the games you love because of you.
Why colleges care
Real problem solving for real people. Accessibility is a field engineering and design programs take seriously.
Survey teen gamers about trash talk and harassment in voice chat, then write a squad code of conduct teams can sign.
Why you'd care
You've heard how bad it gets. Now you can do something about it.
Why colleges care
Original research with real survey data, plus a fix people use. It shows judgment and ethics.
Start and lead a school club for team games and tournaments.
Why you'd care
More people to run missions with, and you set how it runs.
Why colleges care
Founding a club and keeping it alive for years is one of the clearest signs of leadership.
Turn a co-op mission into a tabletop game, test it with friends and family, then sell a small print run.
Why you'd care
For once you design the rules instead of following them.
Why colleges care
Design, testing and a small business in one. You end with a product they can hold.
Run the schedule, stats and practices for a school or local esports team.
Why you'd care
Be part of competitive gaming even on days you aren't the top player.
Why colleges care
A management role with real responsibility. Many colleges now have varsity esports teams and scholarships.
Study how prices work inside your games: trading, rare items, why some skins cost so much.
Why you'd care
Finally understand why that item is worth what it is.
Why colleges care
Real economics using data you already know cold. Strong for business and economics applicants.
Look at 20 popular free games and map what's free, what costs money, and when players start paying.
Why you'd care
Learn the tricks games use to get you to spend.
Why colleges care
Consumer research on a billion-dollar industry, written from a player's point of view.
Interview small game developers about how app store fees and pricing affect what they can make.
Why you'd care
Meet the people who make games for a living.
Why colleges care
Original interviews and a written report show curiosity and the nerve to reach out to adults in a field.
Teach younger kids to build simple games in a free summer camp you run.
Why you'd care
Show kids the fun part of making games.
Why colleges care
Teaching others is one of the strongest signals of mastery and leadership.
Find out how ranked matchmaking works in your games and survey players on whether it feels fair.
Why you'd care
Figure out why some matches feel rigged.
Why colleges care
Clear thinking about systems and fairness, backed by data.
Photo and video profiles of every animal at a local sanctuary, posted to help win sponsors and adopters.
Why you'd care
Hang out with the animals and give each one a story.
Why colleges care
Measurable impact: followers, sponsors and adoptions you can count.
Volunteer at an animal sanctuary, then build and lead a program that brings other teens in.
Why you'd care
Regular time with rabbits, donkeys and cats, plus your friends.
Why colleges care
Moving from volunteer to leader of other volunteers is the arc colleges love.
Track how many rabbits get dropped at NJ shelters after Easter, and run a 'think before you buy' campaign.
Why you'd care
Rabbits get dumped every spring. You can cut that number.
Why colleges care
Data plus a public campaign with results you can show, year after year.
Build a short online quiz that helps families pick the right shelter pet, with local shelters as partners.
Why you'd care
You love picking the best option. Now families do too, and fewer pets get returned.
Why colleges care
A working tool used by real shelters. Combines tech skills with service.
A club that sponsors one sanctuary animal each month, with updates you send to members.
Why you'd care
You get your own animal to look out for.
Why colleges care
Fundraising that you organize and keep running. Steady numbers over time.
Organize a one-day cat or rabbit adoption event at a local café or store.
Why you'd care
Spend a day helping animals find homes.
Why colleges care
Event planning, partnerships with businesses and a result you can count: animals adopted.
Set up trail cameras in your yard or park and log every animal you spot to a public science site.
Why you'd care
See what's really walking around at night.
Why colleges care
Real citizen science with data scientists can use. Good for biology and environmental science applicants.
Follow New Jersey animal welfare bills and explain each one in a short video. Testify at a hearing once.
Why you'd care
Stand up for animals where the rules are made.
Why colleges care
Civic action with your own voice. Speaking at a hearing stands out.
Collect pet food and get it to families who can't afford it, so pets stay in their homes.
Why you'd care
Keeps pets from ending up in shelters.
Why colleges care
Service with logistics: collecting, storing, delivering. Shows you can run an operation.
Start a pet-sitting and dog-walking business. Track your prices, clients and profit.
Why you'd care
Get paid to hang out with animals.
Why colleges care
Running a real business at 15 is rare. Your numbers prove it.
Take better photos of shelter animals and track whether they get adopted faster.
Why you'd care
Your photos could get a pet home weeks sooner.
Why colleges care
A real experiment with a measured result: days to adoption.
Map where animals get hit on local roads and ask the town for warning signs.
Why you'd care
Fewer deer and turtles hit near your home.
Why colleges care
Data plus civic action, with a result the town can act on.
A 3-on-3 basketball tournament that raises money for an animal sanctuary.
Why you'd care
Basketball and animals in the same weekend.
Why colleges care
An event you founded and grew every year, with teams, sponsors and dollars to show.
Track every shot you take for a year, like a pro analyst, and chart your progress toward a Curry-style shooting goal.
Why you'd care
See your own game get better in real numbers.
Why colleges care
Data skills plus discipline over a long time. It also makes a strong essay.
Use NBA data to show how the 3-point shot changed basketball, from the pros down to youth leagues.
Why you'd care
Prove with numbers what Steph did to the game.
Why colleges care
A real data project on a topic you know cold. Good for stats, economics or sports management.
Restart your basketball card collection and track card prices over time. Sell some to fund a cause.
Why you'd care
Know what your cards are really worth.
Why colleges care
A small investing and data project you can explain clearly. Shows patience and judgment.
Get certified and referee youth basketball games, and study why towns can't find enough referees.
Why you'd care
Get paid to be at games and learn the rules better than anyone.
Why colleges care
A paid job with responsibility, plus research on a real local problem.
Run a weekly shooting clinic for younger kids in your town.
Why you'd care
You're the coach for once.
Why colleges care
Teaching and leading younger kids, week after week. Easy for a recommender to describe.
Volunteer with a wheelchair or adaptive basketball league.
Why you'd care
Play and help at the same time.
Why colleges care
Service in a sport you love, with people many teens never meet.
Track ticket prices across NBA arenas and resale sites, and show who gets priced out of games.
Why you'd care
Find out why seats cost so much and when to buy.
Why colleges care
Real economics on a question people care about. Good for business applicants.
Start a neighborhood summer basketball league with rules, standings and a schedule.
Why you'd care
Your own league, run your way.
Why colleges care
Founding and running something for years, with real players depending on you.
Raise money and volunteers to fix up a run-down public basketball court.
Why you'd care
A better court to play on, built by you.
Why colleges care
A visible community project from idea to finish. Easy to photograph and prove.
Build a simple app or page that shows who's playing at which local court.
Why you'd care
Never show up to an empty court again.
Why colleges care
A working tool that people in your town use.
Run a sports card trading show where table fees go to a cause.
Why you'd care
A whole day of cards with other collectors.
Why colleges care
Event planning and fundraising with real numbers.
A podcast with your friends on the big questions in anime: was Light right in Death Note? What makes a loyal crew in One Piece?
Why you'd care
Argue about the shows you love, on the record.
Why colleges care
Shows you can think hard and speak clearly. Steady episodes show commitment.
Learn Japanese using the shows you watch, then pass the JLPT N5 exam.
Why you'd care
Understand the shows without subtitles.
Why colleges care
A recognized language certificate earned on your own. Colleges value that.
Design a trading card game where every card is a real sanctuary animal. Sell decks to raise money for the sanctuary.
Why you'd care
Make your own Yu-Gi-Oh-style game.
Why colleges care
Game design, a product and a cause in one. You can hand the interviewer a deck.
Turn real animal rescue stories into short manga-style comics for a sanctuary's social media.
Why you'd care
Draw and write the stories you'd want to read.
Why colleges care
Creative work with a purpose and a real audience you can measure.
Write and draw a manga about your own life, one chapter a month.
Why you'd care
Tell your story your way.
Why colleges care
A long creative project in your own voice. It can become your college essay.
Research why anime artists are paid so little even when shows are huge hits.
Why you'd care
Learn the real story behind the shows you love.
Why colleges care
Labor economics on a topic you care about. That shows depth.
Set up video calls between your class and students in Japan.
Why you'd care
Make friends in the country your favorite shows come from.
Why colleges care
Global connection you organized. Colleges value students who build bridges.
Teach anime drawing to younger kids at the library or a community center.
Why you'd care
Share what you love with kids who love it too.
Why colleges care
Teaching and leading a program over time.
Present a talk at an anime convention on a topic you've researched.
Why you'd care
Be on stage at a con instead of in the crowd.
Why colleges care
Public speaking on your own research is rare and memorable.
Plan one family trip each year from start to finish: budget, route, food, things to do.
Why you'd care
You already pitched the Maldives. Now you run the whole plan.
Why colleges care
Planning and budgeting you can show on paper. Good for an essay about ownership.
Research Maldives sea turtles and coral reefs, then raise money for a reef or turtle program.
Why you'd care
Swim with the animals, then help protect them.
Why colleges care
Science plus action, tied to a real place you've been.
Rate animal attractions around the world: real sanctuaries versus places that harm animals.
Why you'd care
Help travelers avoid hurting the animals they want to see.
Why colleges care
Clear research standards with a public guide people can use.
Plan a family trip to Japan that includes anime sites and Okunoshima, the island full of rabbits.
Why you'd care
Japan, anime and hundreds of rabbits.
Why colleges care
A planned trip by itself isn't enough, so pair it with a write-up or the Japanese exam.
Plan and film a trip to animal sanctuaries in several states, and compare how they work.
Why you'd care
Road trip, animals and cameras.
Why colleges care
A short documentary is a strong portfolio piece and shows initiative.
Study how tourism helps and hurts small islands like the Maldives.
Why you'd care
See the place you visited from the locals' side.
Why colleges care
Global thinking with real research. Good for economics or environmental studies.
Host a student from Japan or another country for a few weeks.
Why you'd care
A friend from somewhere new lives with you.
Why colleges care
Shows openness to other cultures in a way you can describe in detail.
Plan a family trip that includes a week volunteering at an animal sanctuary abroad.
Why you'd care
Travel and animals on the same trip.
Why colleges care
Service abroad you planned yourself. Pair it with a write-up or film.
Time how servers spend their minutes at local restaurants before and after tablet ordering. Does tech give them more time with customers?
Why you'd care
See how restaurants really run behind the counter.
Why colleges care
Original fieldwork with real data, on a big question: does automation help workers?
Test how a menu's layout changes what people order, with a local restaurant or your school café.
Why you'd care
You already love picking from menus. Now find out how menus pick for you.
Why colleges care
A real experiment with a business partner. Strong for psychology and business.
Study how the suggested tip buttons on payment screens change what people tip.
Why you'd care
You've seen those screens everywhere. Find out if they work.
Why colleges care
Behavioral economics with data you collect yourself.
Set up a system to get unserved school cafeteria food to a local food pantry before it spoils.
Why you'd care
Stops good food from going in the trash.
Why colleges care
Service with a system behind it, and pounds of food saved that you can count.
Find out how much a restaurant actually keeps from a delivery order after the app takes its cut.
Why you'd care
Learn where your order money really goes.
Why colleges care
Business research with real numbers from real restaurants.
Help a small grocery store cut wasted fruit with smart markdown prices.
Why you'd care
You pick fruit better than anyone. Help the store do it.
Why colleges care
A business partner, a test and a measured result.
Compare what farmers earn selling at markets versus selling to big stores.
Why you'd care
Meet the farmers who grow the fruit you love.
Why colleges care
Economics fieldwork with interviews and price data.
Design balanced meal kits from what a food bank has on hand.
Why you'd care
Choosing meals, but for families who need them.
Why colleges care
Service that takes planning and nutrition knowledge.
Collect one recipe from each friend's family, with the story behind it, and print a cookbook.
Why you'd care
Great food and stories from your friends' homes.
Why colleges care
A finished book that shows community and cultural curiosity.
Plan and price the family's weekly dinners for a year, tracking cost and nutrition.
Why you'd care
You choose what's for dinner.
Why colleges care
On its own this is light, so pair it with Food Bank Meal Kits or a cookbook to show impact.
Sell fresh fruit cups at games and events, and track costs and profit.
Why you'd care
Pick the best fruit and sell it.
Why colleges care
A small business with real numbers. Profits can fund a cause.
Time how hard it is to cancel different subscriptions, including game passes, and rank the worst.
Why you'd care
You've probably been stuck in one.
Why colleges care
Consumer research that could inform real rules. Clear findings, easy to explain.
Track how fast prices drop for sneakers, cards and games on resale sites.
Why you'd care
Know when to sell and when to buy.
Why colleges care
Data analysis on a market you know firsthand.
Study how gaming streamers with under 50,000 followers actually make money.
Why you'd care
Learn if streaming could ever pay.
Why colleges care
Research on the creator economy, a field colleges know is growing.
Compare lifetime earnings and debt for trade apprenticeships versus four-year degrees in New Jersey.
Why you'd care
Understand the real money choices you and your friends face.
Why colleges care
Shows maturity about your own future and real economics.
Figure out what delivery drivers really earn after gas and car wear.
Why you'd care
See the real math behind the apps you use.
Why colleges care
Labor economics with interviews and numbers.
Map what tutors charge across your area, then start a low-cost peer tutoring group.
Why you'd care
Help classmates and learn what your skills are worth.
Why colleges care
Research plus service. The peer group is the part colleges notice.
Teach middle schoolers how to budget, save and spot scams.
Why you'd care
Help younger kids avoid money mistakes.
Why colleges care
Teaching a practical skill, with a program you can repeat.
Compare which fundraisers raise the most for school clubs, and publish a guide.
Why you'd care
Help every club at your school raise more.
Why colleges care
Research with direct use. Club leaders can vouch for the impact.
Build a local job board for teen jobs in your town.
Why you'd care
Find work for yourself and your friends.
Why colleges care
A public tool that solves a real local problem.
Start a club that runs a pretend stock portfolio and tracks it for two years.
Why you'd care
Learn how investing works with friends.
Why colleges care
Founding and running a club over time, with results to report.
Collect old laptops, fix them up, and give them to students who need them.
Why you'd care
Use your tech skills on something real.
Why colleges care
Tech skills plus service, with a count of laptops given. Very strong.
Build a calculator that shows local shops how long rooftop solar takes to pay for itself.
Why you'd care
Help your town go green with math.
Why colleges care
Real math with a tool businesses can use.
Run a contest between neighbors to cut electricity use, showing each home how it compares.
Why you'd care
Turn saving energy into a competition.
Why colleges care
Behavioral science you tested in the real world.
Map where your town needs electric car chargers most, and present it to the town council.
Why you'd care
Shape what your town looks like.
Why colleges care
Civic action with data, presented to real decision makers.
Compare the true yearly cost of biking versus driving for a family in your town.
Why you'd care
Find out how much a bike really saves.
Why colleges care
Clear research with a practical answer.
Run a sports jersey and clothes swap that keeps clothes out of the trash.
Why you'd care
Trade your old gear for something new to you.
Why colleges care
A repeat event with pounds kept from landfill that you can count.
Get water bottle refill stations at school and count the plastic bottles they save.
Why you'd care
Less trash at school, with a counter that proves it.
Why colleges care
A clear change at school with a number you can point to.
Run a monthly park cleanup with your friends and log what you collect.
Why you'd care
A reason to get the squad together outside.
Why colleges care
Steady service you lead, with records over time.
Map where litter piles up in your town and work with the town on bins.
Why you'd care
Fix the spots everyone complains about.
Why colleges care
Data used to change something real in your town.
Organize a tree planting with your town and track the trees over time.
Why you'd care
Plant something that outlasts you.
Why colleges care
Civic partnership and a project you can show years later.