YRI, short for the YRI Fellowship, is a research mentorship program that pairs each student 1:1 with a PhD mentor for 10 weeks to produce an original paper submitted to venues such as IEEE, Springer and Elsevier. The Research Fellowship costs $2,997, or 3 payments of $999, and 87% of Fellows publish.
Below are straight answers to the questions families ask most, grouped by topic: what YRI is, who can apply, cost, how the program works, results, the Top 1% Profile and how to apply. For a shorter overview, see What Is YRI?.
About YRI
1. What is YRI?
YRI is a research mentorship program. Each student is matched 1:1 with a PhD mentor, turns a question they care about into original research, and our publishing team gets the paper into a journal or conference such as IEEE, Springer or Elsevier. Most students start with no research experience at all.
2. Is YRI the same as the YRI Fellowship?
Yes. YRI is the short name and the YRI Fellowship is the full name. There are two programs: the Research Fellowship, built around one published paper, and the Top 1% Profile, built for Ivy League admissions. The official website is yriscience.com.
3. Is the YRI Fellowship connected to other organizations called YRI?
No. Other organizations also use the letters YRI, such as Youth Research Inc. in New York, and they are separate from us. The YRI Fellowship is the research mentorship program at yriscience.com, and everything in this FAQ refers to it.
4. Is YRI legitimate?
Yes. Fellows have published in IEEE, Springer and Elsevier, qualified for Regeneron ISEF, and been admitted to Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Caltech and Harvard. Every published paper on our Published Work page links to the publisher's own index, such as IEEE Xplore, so anyone can check it. For more, read Is the YRI Fellowship legit?
5. Who runs YRI?
YRI was founded by Ishan Jain, a Regeneron ISEF finalist who has published in JAMA Cardiology, placed Top 5 worldwide in the Conrad Challenge and written ten peer-reviewed papers presented at IEEE, ACM and Stanford. He is backed by a full-time team of PhD mentors, research writers and journal submission specialists. See About YRI for more.
6. How is YRI different from a summer program?
A summer program usually ends with a certificate and a photo. The YRI Fellowship ends with a paper sent to a journal to be checked by expert scientists, a science fair entry, and a student who can explain the work in a college interview. One is a nice memory. The other is proof a college can look up. See our YRI vs. summer programs comparison.
Who can apply to the YRI Fellowship
7. Who is the YRI Fellowship for?
Curious students from middle school up, in any field from machine learning to the humanities. It suits students who want a published paper with their name on it, a win at ISEF and the top science fairs, or a stronger application to Harvard, Stanford or the Ivy League.
8. Can middle school students do the YRI Fellowship?
Yes. YRI accepts students from middle school up, and several Fellows who started in 9th grade have papers accepted at IEEE conferences. Devansh Gupta became a first author at an IEEE conference at 14. Read more in Can middle school students do the YRI Fellowship?
9. Does my child need research experience?
No. Most Fellows start with zero experience. The program is built to take curious students and hold their work to professional standards through structured mentorship. A perfect GPA or test scores are not required either.
10. Does my child need a research idea before applying?
No. We find one together. The first two weeks are spent with the mentor finding the right question, not reading a textbook.
11. What subjects can my child research?
Any field they care about: STEM, social sciences, humanities and business. We match students with PhD mentors in their specific area, from AI and medicine to physics, chemistry, economics and psychology. See what YRI Fellows research for examples by field.
12. Is YRI online, and can international students join?
Yes to both. The Fellowship runs online, so students can join from anywhere, and YRI has worked with 1,000+ students from 50+ countries. Fellows from Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and India have had papers accepted at international conferences, and one qualified to represent Pakistan at Regeneron ISEF. Read YRI for international students.
Cost and payment
13. How much does the YRI Fellowship cost?
The Research Fellowship is $2,997. The Top 1% Profile is $9,997. See Tuition for both programs side by side.
14. What does the $2,997 include?
Everything. Unlimited 1:1 sessions with a PhD mentor, help from the first idea to the finished paper, editing, sending it to the journal, a mentor letter of recommendation, and free help until it is published. There are no hidden fees.
15. Is there a payment plan?
Yes. You can pay in full, or in 3 monthly payments: $999 for the Fellowship, or $3,333 for the Top 1% Profile.
16. Are scholarships available?
Yes. Scholarships are decided case by case, so if cost is a concern, tell us. Applying is free, and money only comes up after your child is accepted.
17. When do we pay?
Only after your child is accepted and you decide to go ahead. Applying costs nothing and does not commit you to anything.
How the YRI Fellowship works
18. How long is the YRI Fellowship?
The program is 10 weeks. If the paper is still in review when the 10 weeks end, the mentor keeps helping, free, until it is published. The program ends at week 10. Our help does not.
19. How much time does it take each week?
5 to 8 hours a week, set around school. That includes the weekly 1:1 with the mentor. It is built to fit into a school term, not fight it.
20. Who are the mentors, and how often do they meet my child?
Every Fellow gets their own PhD mentor, matched by field from a network of 1,000+ PhD mentors. Sessions are 1:1, every week, and unlimited. The mentor helps your child come up with the idea, then walks them through every step of the research. Read how YRI mentor matching works and who the YRI mentors are.
21. Will parents get updates?
Yes. Parents receive a summary of the weekly 1:1, and sessions are scheduled around school and activities. You see progress without having to manage it.
22. Who writes the paper, and whose name goes on it?
Your child writes it, and your child's name goes first. The mentor guides the research and our editors get it ready for the journal. The work and the credit belong to your child.
23. What does the rest of the YRI team do?
Our writing team edits every draft with your child until the paper is ready. Our publishing team picks the venue and handles the journal or conference process. Our competition coach preps your child for every major competition and rehearses judge questions.
Results
24. Will my child's paper be published?
87% of Fellows publish. We help pick journals and conferences where the paper has a strong chance, and our publishing team handles the submission. See the YRI success rate breakdown.
25. What happens if the paper is not accepted?
We keep helping, free, until it is published. If the journal asks for changes, the mentor keeps working with your child at no extra cost.
26. Where are YRI papers published, and can we check them?
Fellows have published in IEEE, Springer and Elsevier venues, including IEEE EMBC, IEEE Xplore conference proceedings and Springer Lecture Notes. Every paper on the Published Work page links to the publisher's own index, so you can check it yourself.
27. Does YRI help with science fairs?
Yes. The Fellowship includes ISEF, JSHS and regional fair preparation, with the poster and judge questions practiced. 73% of Fellows place at competitions. Mubashir Suhail qualified to represent Pakistan at Regeneron ISEF 2026, and Shaswat Senthilkumar won 1st place at the Mercer Science & Engineering Fair held at Princeton University.
28. Does the YRI Fellowship help with college admissions?
Fellows have taken their papers to Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Caltech and Harvard. A publication does not guarantee an admission, and nobody honest will tell you it does. It gives your child something almost no other applicant has: proof they can do the work. Read how research papers help with Ivy League admissions.
29. Do Fellows get a letter of recommendation?
Yes. Every Fellow receives a letter of recommendation from their PhD mentor, who worked beside them for the full project. Fellows also leave with a public link to their paper.
The Top 1% Profile
30. What is the Top 1% Profile?
The Top 1% Profile is YRI's program built for Ivy League admissions. We build the whole application with your family: 2 to 3 published papers in one field, a patent with your child's name on it, a company or nonprofit, and the full competition season, all tied into one story. The founder works with each family personally. See the Top 1% Profile.
31. Top 1% Profile or Research Fellowship: which is right for my child?
If your child is aiming for Harvard, Stanford or the Ivy League, choose the Top 1% Profile. If you want one published paper to start, in 10 weeks, choose the Fellowship. Fellowship alumni can apply to the Top 1% Profile later, and they often do, because a published paper is the strongest possible opening for it.
32. How much does the Top 1% Profile cost, and how long does it take?
It is $9,997, or 3 payments of $3,333, and runs 6 to 9 months, case by case. It takes only 8 families a year, because the founder is in every profile personally. Admission is by application and interview, not payment, and if it is not a fit, we will say so and point you to the Fellowship.
Applying to YRI
33. How do I apply to the YRI Fellowship?
Fill out a short form. It takes about 10 minutes, with no essays, no transcripts and no fee. A person reads every application, not a filter. Our step-by-step guide to applying covers what to prepare.
34. How long does a decision take, and is there a deadline?
You get a decision within 48 hours. Admissions are rolling, so there is no single deadline, and you can apply when your child has room for 10 weeks of steady work. Read more about how YRI admissions work.
35. What is the YRI Global Research Proposal Competition?
It is a free competition for high school students worldwide. Students submit a research proposal of up to 1,000 words on any subject by January 10, 2027, and first place wins a full YRI Fellowship scholarship valued at $2,997. See the competition guide or enter at /research-proposal-competition.
Still have a question?
The fastest way to get a personal answer is to apply. It takes 10 minutes, costs nothing, commits you to nothing and gets you a decision within 48 hours. Your child gets a PhD mentor, an editing team, a publishing team and free help until the paper is published.
You can also browse the Student Stories to see what Fellows have achieved, or read YRI Fellowship reviews and Is the YRI Fellowship worth it?
See the YRI Fellowship and apply in 10 minutes
Sources
- What Is YRI?: what YRI is, legitimacy, who it is for, cost
- The Research Fellowship: program steps, mentors, time per week, decision time, FAQ
- Tuition: prices, what is included, payment plans, scholarships
- The Top 1% Profile: program, price, length, 8 families a year
- Published Work: published papers and competition results
- Student Stories: individual Fellow results
- About YRI: the founder and team
- YRI Global Research Proposal Competition 2027: rules, prizes and deadline
