One option is to pursue an extracurricular activity, such as a passion project or research program in the summer or throughout the school year. A mentored research program, specifically, is a sure shot way to explore a complex research topic in a structured and guided manner.
An extracurricular activity, such as a rigorous research program, allows you to explore niche interests in depth and develop advanced skills as a high schooler. Participating in extracurriculars outside school can enhance your college applications by demonstrating intellectual curiosity and initiative.
Standing out in the application pool is even more important if you want to study subjects like computer science at the undergraduate level. Many high schoolers know how to code now, so you need a tangible extracurricular activity/research project that showcases your skills in order to really stand out. College admissions want students who are curious, willing to tackle tough problems, and interested in the future. A research program can help you build skills, produce projects, and show colleges that you’re ready to take on new challenges.
Our blog today reviews one such research program that allows you to learn about computer science, AI, ML, and work on an independent research project under mentorship. We will review Veritas AI, covering its offerings, structure, mentors, eligibility, application details, and more.
What is Veritas AI?
Veritas AI is founded and run by Harvard graduate students and offers programs geared towards high school students who want to build their foundations in data science and AI. The program provides mentorship to learn about AI and work on projects in areas like medicine, finance, and climate science. You’ll get hands-on experience and build skills that are useful in college and beyond.
Plus, you’ll have the chance to create projects for your portfolio that show you know how to apply AI to solve complex, interdisciplinary problems. It’s a great way to show colleges that you’re proactive about learning and motivated to explore a field outside of the typical high school curriculum.
What programs does Veritas AI offer?
Veritas AI offers 5 programs that cater to different experience levels and interests in AI and related fields. All the programs below are remote, pairing you with mentors from top universities. Here’s a breakdown of each program:
1. AI Scholars
AI Scholars is an introductory program for high school students new to coding or AI. You’ll learn basic Python programming and key machine learning techniques, such as decision trees, neural networks, and both supervised and unsupervised learning. The program also covers AI applications in healthcare, image recognition, and finance.
You’ll apply what you learn through a group project at the end, helping you gain a solid understanding of AI. This program is open to high school students (grades 9–12) with no prior coding or AI experience. It lasts 25 hours, either over 10 weekends or 2 weeks during the summer.
2. AI Fellowship
AI Fellowship is an advanced program for students with a background in Python and machine learning. Over 12–15 weeks, you’ll work one-on-one with AI researchers or PhD candidates from top institutions. You’ll create an independent AI research project on topics like climate change, medicine, finance, or language modeling.
Along the way, you’ll learn to clean datasets, build models, evaluate performance, and write a research paper. Your mentor will guide you through both technical and research design aspects. By the end, you’ll have a detailed paper ready for submission to science competitions or student journals. This program is for high school students with prior experience in Python and machine learning or those who’ve completed AI Scholars.
Here’s a comparison of AI Scholars and AI Fellowship to help you understand which might fit your requirements:
3. Deep Dive: AI + Medicine
AI + Medicine Deep Dive is for students who want to learn how artificial intelligence is used in healthcare. You will spend 25 hours working with a mentor to study medical datasets and use machine learning to solve problems related to health. You’ll cover topics like exploratory data analysis, convolutional neural networks, image segmentation, and clinical prediction. You will also learn about issues like dataset bias and how to understand model results.
You’ll work in a group to complete a research project, choose a healthcare problem, and present your findings in a report. This program is for students in grades 8 to 12 who either know how to code or have completed the AI Scholars program.
4. Deep Dive: AI + Finance
AI + Finance Deep Dive teaches how artificial intelligence is used in the finance world. You will explore real financial data and apply machine learning tools to study problems like stock prediction, risk analysis, portfolio building, and fraud detection. The program introduces concepts like time series forecasting, regression, and classification.
It also includes a basic overview of financial markets and instruments so you can understand how these tools fit into the bigger system. You’ll complete a research project that applies what you learn to a finance problem. This program is for students in grades 8 to 12 who have coding experience or who have finished the AI Scholars program.
5. AI Trailblazers
AI Trailblazers is an introductory course for middle school students who want to learn what artificial intelligence is and how it works. The program covers the basics of Python programming, regression, neural networks, data analysis, and AI ethics.
Mentors walk you through each topic step by step so you can understand the ideas clearly and build simple projects. This program is for students in grades 6 to 8. It runs for 25 hours, either over 10 weekends or 2 weeks during the summer.
Here is a comparison of Veritas AI’s programs:
Is Veritas AI prestigious?
Many of Veritas AI’s programs are quite selective and rigorous in nature, particularly its research track. Alumni often go on to present their research at high school science fairs or publish in research journals. The program also has strong networking benefits, connecting you with mentors from institutions like Harvard, Stanford, and Google.
What are students saying about Veritas AI?
Here’s what some students have said about Veritas AI:
Many students say the one-on-one mentorship helped them move at their own pace and develop a high-quality research project. Some said it made them more confident in coding and conducting research. Others mentioned that their mentor gave them a letter of recommendation that supported their college application. Students also appreciated being able to choose a topic that matched their interests, instead of following a fixed curriculum that many pre-college programs usually offer.
We also came across a detailed review from a student who started the Veritas AI program with no prior AI experience. Through structured weekly live sessions, coding exercises, and a final team project, they were able to build a real-estate price prediction model. The student found the instruction engaging, valued the balance between theory and practical work, and felt it greatly boosted their confidence and readiness for further AI/ML studies. However, they mentioned that the organization of group projects and mentor availability could have been improved, which is something you should consider when evaluating this program.
Pros and Cons to consider
Pros
- You’ll work with experienced mentors: You’ll learn from researchers, PhDs, and professionals from well-known companies and universities. Their experience shapes the way you approach AI problems. Here’s a sample of the mentors you can work with:
- You will receive personalized mentorship: Veritas AI pairs you with a dedicated mentor who will guide you one-on-one throughout the program. This structure helps you move at your own pace, explore areas of personal interest like computer vision or NLP, and get regular feedback on your progress. It’s a more customized learning experience than you’d get in most classroom settings.
- You will learn by doing: The program emphasizes hands-on learning through real-world projects. Instead of passively watching lectures, you’ll write code, train models, and work with actual data. This practical approach helps you build and retain technical skills that are useful both in future coursework and in potential career paths.
- You can build a strong portfolio for college: Many students finish the program with a final project—such as a research paper or competition entry—that can be submitted with college applications. These concrete outputs demonstrate initiative and technical ability, which can strengthen your profile, especially for competitive STEM programs.
- You can work on your research project from anywhere
Since the program is fully remote, you can participate from home and fit it into your existing schedule. Whether you’re taking summer classes, managing extracurriculars, or traveling, this flexibility can make it easier to stay engaged without overcommitting.
Cons
- You may not be admitted to the program: Admission is selective, especially for advanced tracks.You will have to demonstrate a strong interest in the field of research you’re interested in, as well as consistent academic achievements in high school. If you’re looking for a fairly welcoming program that is not too rigorous and simply an introductory program to research, you may want to explore other options!
- You’ll need to manage your time well:
These programs require steady weekly effort over several weeks. You’ll have deadlines, mentor meetings, and project work that demand consistent attention. If you’re already balancing a heavy academic load or other time commitments, it could be challenging to keep up.
Our Review
If you want to learn AI and machine learning from the ground up and complete a research project, Veritas AI can be a good option. This program works well if you already have a topic in mind or want to explore how AI can be used in a field like medicine, finance, or climate.
The main strength of Veritas AI is the mentorship. You will be matched with researchers, PhD students, or industry professionals from top universities and companies. You will finish with a research paper, model, or presentation that you can submit to journals or competitions.
One challenge is the cost. The programs can be expensive. Veritas AI does offer financial aid, but full scholarships are limited, and admissions are competitive. If you’re serious about exploring AI, willing to put in time, and looking for mentorship on an AI project, Veritas AI offers an accessible and structured way to get started.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image source – Veritas AI