RISE Research vs Horizon: Which Fits You Better?

TL;DR

You’ll find a side-by-side breakdown of RISE Research and the Horizon Academic Research Program below, covering cost, financial aid, selectivity, mentors, program length, publication support, and deadlines. Worried your GPA isn’t high enough, you’ve never done research, or the cost is out of reach? Horizon requires no prior research experience and offers need-based aid, so start your Horizon application here and see where you land.

If you’ve been searching for a research program, you’ve probably noticed that a lot of them sound the same. PhD mentors, a real paper, a shot at publication. RISE Research and Horizon both fit that description on paper, but they differ a lot once you look at price, how they pick students, and what your weeks actually look like.

RISE Research vs Horizon at a Glance

Here’s how the two programs compare on the things students ask about most. Details come from RISE’s program page and Horizon’s programs page.

What Is RISE Research?

RISE Research is an online, 1:1 mentorship program where you work with a PhD-level mentor to write a research paper and submit it to a journal or conference. It’s run by RISE Global Education, based in San Francisco, and is open to students in grades 9 to 12.

The program follows a five-stage, roughly 10-week plan:

• Weeks 1 to 2: pick your research question and direction
• Weeks 3 to 4: design your study and methods
• Weeks 5 to 6: do the research, analysis and first draft
• Weeks 7 to 8: develop and revise the manuscript
• Weeks 9 to 10: submit for publication and present

One note: RISE’s cost comparison post describes the program as 12 weeks, so expect somewhere between 10 and 12 weeks depending on your project. Scheduling is flexible, which helps if you’re juggling sports, a job or a heavy course load.

What Is the Horizon Academic Research Program?

Horizon is an online research program, founded in 2016 by Columbia researchers, where you write a college-level, 20-page paper under a professor or PhD mentor. You can do it two ways, and this is the biggest structural difference from RISE:

• Professor Seminars (summer only): small groups of 3 to 6 students, led by university professors. You get 20 sessions with your professor and TA plus 4 writing coach sessions. Think of it as a mini college seminar.
• 1:1 PhD Labs (year-round): you work one-on-one with a PhD or postdoc scholar. You get 15 mentor sessions, 4 publication-focused sessions and 4 writing coach sessions. This track is built for students aiming to publish.

You choose your own topic from 300+ pre-approved sub-topics across subjects like neuroscience, behavioral economics, machine learning, international relations and philosophy of mind. Expect 8 to 10 hours a week and at least 100 hours in total. At the end, you get your paper, a certificate and a graded report based on a university rubric. If you want a feel for the workload, our guide on how to write a research paper in 90 days walks through a similar timeline.

How Much Does RISE Research Cost Compared to Horizon?

RISE Research costs $2,000 to $2,500, while Horizon costs $6,950 for either track.

A few things are worth knowing before you compare sticker prices, though:

• RISE isn’t free, and it doesn’t list formal financial aid. RISE’s own post on aid says it has no public scholarship or aid program, so you’d need to ask them directly. Its price also isn’t on its main program pages, so confirm the current number on a call.
• Horizon publishes its price and its aid rules. Families with household income under $75,000 can apply for need-based aid. Horizon also gives a $695 scholarship to the top 25% of non-aid applicants in each cohort and $3,000 to the strongest application in each cohort (source).
• Compare what you get per dollar, not just the total. Horizon’s Labs track includes 23 scheduled sessions (15 with your mentor, 4 on publication, 4 with a writing coach). RISE doesn’t publish a session count, so ask how many meetings you’ll have before you pay.

If your budget is tight, RISE is the cheaper ticket. If you qualify for aid, Horizon’s real cost could come down a lot, so it’s worth applying and seeing your offer before you rule it out. For free alternatives, check our list of free summer research programs for high school students.

How Hard Is It to Get Into RISE Research vs Horizon?

Horizon accepts about 26% of applicants, while RISE doesn’t publish an acceptance rate. Both describe themselves as selective, but only one gives you numbers to back that up.

Here’s what each admissions process looks like:

Horizon’s bar is clear. You need a 3.67 unweighted GPA (or equivalent) and real interest in your subject, but no prior research experience. Admitted students average a 3.93 GPA and a 1500 SAT, though test scores are optional (source). Summer cohorts are the most competitive, and ninth graders face the toughest odds at about 5%.

RISE’s process starts with a parent call rather than a written application, and its FAQ doesn’t list GPA or other requirements. Without published numbers, there’s no way to know how selective RISE really is, which also makes it harder to judge how competitive your cohort will be.

Who Are the Mentors at RISE Research and Horizon?

Both programs pair you with PhD-level mentors, but Horizon also gives you the option of working under a university professor. That’s the main difference here.

• RISE says it has 500+ Ivy League and Oxbridge PhD mentors. The mentors it features include PhD students and candidates at Cambridge, Columbia and the University of Chicago, plus a Harvard master’s student. So most of your mentors will be current grad students, which can be great for close, hands-on help.
• Horizon says 70% of its mentors come from the Ivy League, Stanford, Oxford or Cambridge. Seminar instructors are faculty, like an associate professor at Cambridge and a lecturer at Dartmouth. Labs mentors are PhDs and postdocs, some working in industry at companies like Regeneron. You can browse them on the instructors page.

Why it matters: a professor’s recommendation or feedback carries different weight than a grad student’s. At Horizon, students who earn an A or A- can ask their instructor for a recommendation letter, though it isn’t guaranteed. If a letter from faculty matters to you, the Seminar track is worth a look.

Can You Get Published Through RISE Research or Horizon?

Both programs help you submit your paper to journals, but neither can guarantee you’ll get published, and you should be wary of any program that does.

• RISE builds submission into the last two weeks of the program and reports a 90% publication success rate, with student work in 40+ journals. It lists venues like the Journal of Emerging Investigators, The Concord Review and the Columbia Junior Science Journal.
• Horizon Labs students get 4 publication-focused sessions and support for up to 3 rounds of journal submissions. Horizon states plainly that rigorous programs “cannot and should not promise publication.” Alumni have published in places like NHSJS, the Journal of Student Research and The Stanford Journal of Science, and can also submit to the Horizon Academic Research Journal, which accepts only about 10% of submissions.

A quick reality check on publication rates: “published” can mean anything from a selective peer-reviewed journal to a student-run outlet that accepts most submissions. Before you trust any percentage, ask which journals students got into and what share were peer-reviewed. That one question tells you more than the headline number.

Is RISE Research Legit?

Yes, RISE Research is a real program with real PhD mentors, but some of its outcome numbers are hard to verify. That’s worth understanding before you pay.

Here’s what we found on RISE’s results page and program page:

• Its admissions stats (like a 22% Harvard acceptance rate for RISE scholars) come from a survey of 137 students, with no details on how results were checked.
• The homepage says scholars are “3x” more likely to get into top 10 universities, while another section says “up to 4x”.
• RISE describes the program as both 10 weeks and 12 weeks on different pages.

None of this makes RISE a bad program. It means you should treat the headline stats as marketing and ask for specifics. For fairness: Horizon’s outcome numbers are self-reported too. The difference is that Horizon publishes its denominators, like 6,539 applications and 1,223 alumni, so you can see what the percentages are based on.

Whichever program you’re considering, ask these before you commit:

1. How many 1:1 sessions will I get, and how long is each one?
2. Which journals did last cohort’s students actually publish in?
3. Who chooses my mentor, and can I see their background first?
4. What happens if my mentor and I aren’t a good fit?
5. What’s the full cost, and is there any aid?

RISE Research or Horizon: Which One Should You Choose?

Pick RISE if cost and speed matter most. Pick Horizon if you want a more structured, selective program with a professor option and clear admissions standards. Here’s a quicker way to decide.

RISE Research might fit you better if:

• Your budget is closer to $2,000 than $7,000, and you don’t qualify for need-based aid
• You want to finish a paper in about 10 to 12 weeks
• You need a very flexible schedule around school and activities
• Your GPA is below 3.67 and you still want a 1:1 mentor

Horizon might fit you better if:

• You want to work under a university professor, not only a grad student
• You like learning in a small group of 3 to 6 students (Seminars) or want dedicated publication sessions (Labs)
• You want a program with a published acceptance rate and a 10-year track record you can point to on college applications
• You qualify for need-based aid or think you could earn a merit scholarship
• You want a longer runway, 12 to 16 weeks, to go deeper on a tougher topic

Still weighing other options too? Our roundup of summer research mentorship programs for high school students and our honest review of Lumiere’s research programs cover more choices side by side.

Thinking About Applying to Horizon?

If you want to write a serious, college-level paper with a professor or PhD mentor, Horizon is built for that, and the winter priority deadline is October 18, 2026. The final deadline is November 22, and the cohort starts December 14.

Here’s why students choose Horizon:

• You don’t need research experience. Your mentor teaches you the methods from scratch.
• You pick your topic. Choose from 300+ sub-topics across STEM, social sciences and humanities.
• You work with top-tier mentors. 70% come from the Ivy League, Stanford, Oxford or Cambridge.
• Cost doesn’t have to stop you. Need-based aid and merit scholarships up to $3,000 are available.
• Outcomes are published. 39% of Horizon’s 1,223 alumni have gone on to the Ivy League, Stanford or MIT.

Applying takes one online form, and if you’re shortlisted, you’ll hear back about an interview within 3 to 5 days. Apply to Horizon’s winter cohort here, or join an info session first if you have questions.

FAQs

Resources

• RISE Research: program overview
• RISE Research: FAQ and application steps
• RISE Research: cost and payment options
• RISE Research: financial aid
• RISE Research: results and outcomes
• Horizon: programs, tuition and FAQ
• Horizon: homepage and admissions stats
• Horizon: instructors

More from Horizon

• How to Write a Research Paper in 90 Days
• 20 Great Summer Research Mentorship Programs for High School Students
• 15 Free Summer Research Programs for High School Students
• 14 Online STEM Summer Research Programs for High School Students
• Our Honest Review of Lumiere Education’s Research Programs
• AI Research Topics for High School Students
• Horizon Academic Research Journal Vol. 4

Image source: Horizon Academic Research Program