Research & Fall Opportunities That Stand Out
BenResearch & Fall Opportunities That Stand Out
Every strong STEM applicant has good grades and AP Bio on the transcript — which means grades alone don't separate anyone anymore. Former Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt admissions officer Ben explains why original research has become one of the clearest signals in a STEM application, and how Empowerly's Research Scholars and AI Scholars programs give students that evidence before applications are due. If your student is aiming for a competitive STEM major, this is the fall decision with the most runway left.
Speaker Info
Ben
Ben Gutierrez has over ten years of experience guiding students through college admissions, with expertise in selective universities. He has served on admissions and scholarship committees at Vanderbilt and Johns Hopkins, where he gained insight into what top schools value. Ben helps students—especially those interested in STEM, pre-health, and research—develop standout academic and extracurricular profiles. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from Vanderbilt and an M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins.
About this Webinar
Every strong STEM applicant has good grades and AP Bio on the transcript, which means grades alone don't separate anyone anymore. Join Ben, a former admissions officer for Johns Hopkins and Vanderbilt, where he'll explain why original research has become one of the clearest signals a reader can find in a STEM application. You'll learn the difference between saying "I'm interested in biology" and actually spending twelve weeks studying something specific enough to write findings about and why that difference is exactly what admissions officers are trained to look for. Ben will also walk through Empowerly's Research Scholars and AI Scholars cohorts, both built to give students that evidence before applications are due. If your student is aiming for a competitive STEM major, this is the fall decision that has the most runway left.
In this webinar, you'll learn:
- Interest vs. Evidence: "I'm interested in biology" tells a reader nothing. Twelve weeks of research with actual findings tells them everything.
- Built for CS & Data Science Too: The AI Scholars Program gives technical applicants a finished, applied project — not just coursework — to point to.
- Fall Cohorts Are Filling Now: Both programs run on a semester timeline. Starting this fall means real results in hand well before senior applications open.