Research and Passion Project Programs Build Unique Projects with Professors & PhDs in 6 weeks

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Our T20 Mentors

Professor Thomas H.
Professor Thomas H.
Head of CS Department, Purdue
Mrudula N.
Mrudula N.
PhD, NYU School of Medicine
Claire N.
Claire N.
MBA, UPenn Wharton
Professor Damian T.
Professor Damian T.
PhD in Immunology, UConn Health
Qingyang X.
Dr. Qingyang X.
Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins | Data Science, Harvard
Dr. George M.
Dr. George M.
MD, Mayo Clinic SOM
Isabella D.
Isabella D.
Physics, UC Berkeley
Dr. Priscilla C.
Dr. Priscilla C.
PhD in Cancer Biology & Genomics, USC
Professor Hoa Tran
Professor Hoa Tran
PhD in Computational Mathematics, NYU
Vibha S.
Vibha S.
Analytics, UC Berkeley
Jocelyne W.
Jocelyne W.
Pre-Law, Princeton University
Osezele O.
Osezele O.
Engineering, Dartmouth | Opus Fellow
Aditya J.
Aditya J.
Biology, UC Berkeley
Andy P.
Andy P.
Computer Science, UT Austin
Aakash S.
Aakash S.
EECS & Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
Bhaktram J.
Bhaktram J.
Computer Science, NYU
Julia D.
Julia D.
Chemical Biology, UC Berkeley
Yashita T.
Yashita T.
Informatics, University of Washington
Amina
Amina A.
Computer Science, Columbia
Perpetual
Perpetual B.
Engineering, UPenn
Professor Thomas H.
Professor Thomas H.
Head of CS Department, Purdue
Mrudula N.
Mrudula N.
PhD, NYU School of Medicine
Claire N.
Claire N.
MBA, UPenn Wharton
Professor Damian T.
Professor Damian T.
PhD in Immunology, UConn Health
Qingyang X.
Dr. Qingyang X.
Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins | Data Science, Harvard
Dr. George M.
Dr. George M.
MD, Mayo Clinic SOM
Isabella D.
Isabella D.
Physics, UC Berkeley
Dr. Priscilla C.
Dr. Priscilla C.
PhD in Cancer Biology & Genomics, USC
Professor Hoa Tran
Professor Hoa Tran
PhD in Computational Mathematics, NYU
Vibha S.
Vibha S.
Analytics, UC Berkeley
Jocelyne W.
Jocelyne W.
Pre-Law, Princeton University
Osezele O.
Osezele O.
Engineering, Dartmouth | Opus Fellow
Aditya J.
Aditya J.
Biology, UC Berkeley
Andy P.
Andy P.
Computer Science, UT Austin
Aakash S.
Aakash S.
EECS & Bioengineering, UC Berkeley
Bhaktram J.
Bhaktram J.
Computer Science, NYU
Julia D.
Julia D.
Chemical Biology, UC Berkeley
Yashita T.
Yashita T.
Informatics, University of Washington
Amina
Amina A.
Computer Science, Columbia
Perpetual
Perpetual B.
Engineering, UPenn
Acceptance rate icon
94.4%
T20 acceptance rate
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132k+
Parents love us
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5000+
Classes completed
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30+
Professor and PhD mentors
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What is Elite Minds

What is Elite Minds?

Elite Minds is the secret weapon to gaining admissions into Top 20 universities. Our expert mentors, including PhDs and professors from Top 20 universities, work with students to build unique passion projects that help students stand out.

Elite Minds pairs students with PhDs and professors to create unique passion projects.

94.4% of our students go on to attend a
Top 20 university
Get Started

Our Story

We have been in your shoes.

Our parents were immigrants and we were the first in our family to navigate US admissions. We learned by finding T20 mentors who guided us in building unique passion projects. Now we help students do the same through standout passion and research projects.

Read Our Story
Pritwik Jeeva
Keerti Jeeva

Why Choose Elite Minds?

Elite Mentorship

Work directly with PhDs, professors, and expert mentors from Top 20 universities who provide tailored guidance and in-depth feedback to ensure your success.

Proven 4x Framework

Our proven framework has helped students increase their college acceptance rates by 4x through standout passion projects that make your applications stand out.

Official Certification

Earn official Elite Minds certification upon project completion, validating your expertise and strengthening your academic portfolio.

Collaborative Network

Join a community of ambitious peers, develop leadership skills through projects, and build lasting connections.

Student Spotlights

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Madeline Fong
Did a research project on how lifestyle factors affect the onset and severity of eczema symptoms in adolescents.
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Akash Arun Kumar
Created an app to help elderly care citizens who are struggling with mental health and find entertaining ways to improve mental health.
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Diya Sami
Established a 501(c)3 nonprofit connecting California athletic events with volunteers, directing all donations to athletic training programs in underprivileged communities.

Elite Opportunities

Students collaborating

Group Programs

Students build passion projects alongside accomplished peers under the mentorship of industry experts.

Learn More →
One-on-one mentoring session

1:1 Mentorship

Students and Elite Mentors collaborate to develop unique, impactful profiles with a spike that sets them apart.

Learn More →

Featured Examples

Computer Vision Navigator

Computer Vision Navigator

AI-powered app that processes real-time video to help visually impaired people navigate indoor spaces by identifying obstacles, reading text, and providing audio guidance.

Eshaan S.

Planarian Regeneration Project

Planarian Regeneration

An investigation of planarian regeneration that uses microscopy and advanced time-lapse imaging to reveal how they can regrow complete body structures from tiny fragments.

Caitlyn M.

Rural Health Express

Rural Health Express Nonprofit

A fleet of converted buses bringing essential medical care to underserved rural communities through mobile clinics staffed by volunteer healthcare professionals.

Sruti P.

CubeSat Satellite Station

CubeSat Satellite Station

A personal ground station network that uses software-defined radio and open-source software to track and receive data from educational satellites passing overhead.

Aidan N.

Read What Our Students Have to Say

Alice Y.

Alice Y., Princeton

★★★★★

Elite Minds helped me turn my passion for bioengineering into a real-world impact project. With their guidance, I developed a novel microfluidic device for rapid disease detection that's now being tested in local clinics. The mentors provided invaluable technical expertise and helped me overcome challenges throughout the research process.

Ranvir

Ranvir P., UPenn

★★★★★

Through Elite Minds, I launched a health-tech startup focused on mental wellness for teens. The entrepreneurship mentorship was incredible - they helped me develop my business plan, pitch to investors, and build a working prototype. What started as an idea is now a platform being piloted in several high schools!

Eric

Eric G., Cornell

★★★★★

The personalized guidance at Elite Minds helped me develop an AI-powered diagnostic tool for early cancer detection. Their mentors taught me everything from data analysis to medical imaging processing. The project has real impact - I'm now collaborating with researchers at a local medical center to validate the technology.

Student 1

Aziz M., UC Berkeley

★★★★★

Elite Minds mentors helped me develop an astrophysics project analyzing exoplanet data from NASA's TESS telescope. Their expertise was crucial in helping me write algorithms to detect potential habitable planets. The project led to a research paper that's now being reviewed for publication.

Spencer L.

Spencer L., Carnegie Mellon

★★★★★

With Elite Minds, I founded a non-profit that provides STEM education to underserved communities. The mentorship helped me develop a sustainable business model, build partnerships with local schools, and create an engaging curriculum. We've now reached over 500 students across multiple districts!

Student 1

Samantha S., UCLA

★★★★★

As a pre-med student, I worked with Elite Minds to develop an AI-powered mobile app that helps patients manage chronic conditions. Their mentorship was crucial in combining healthcare knowledge with technical implementation. The app is now being piloted at a local hospital's outpatient clinic.

Questions Parents Ask

Are Elite Minds programs online?

Yes. Every program is fully virtual, so students anywhere in the world can work with PhD mentors from T20 universities. Students meet their mentor in a live online session each week and build their research or passion project between sessions, which fits around AP classes, sports and other extracurriculars.

How much does it cost?

Group programs are $850, with an installment plan available. That covers 6 weeks of live mentorship from a PhD or professor in a small cohort, and a finished project your student can put on their college applications. For 1:1 mentorship, we go over pricing in a free consultation call.

How long are the programs?

Group programs are 6 weeks, with one live session a week. That is enough time to take a project from first idea to a finished research paper, app or nonprofit, and it fits into a summer or alongside the school year. Each program page lists its dates and session times.

Who are the mentors?

Our 30+ mentors are PhDs, professors, doctors and researchers from T20 universities and leading research institutions, including Harvard, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, NYU and Mayo Clinic. Your student gets the kind of research mentorship most students don't get until college. Each program page names its mentor and their background.

Who can join?

Motivated middle and high school students aiming for T20 and Ivy League universities. Most programs are open to students in 7th grade and above. Starting early gives students time to build a spike, the focused area of depth that selective admissions officers look for. Some programs have a GPA or coursework requirement, which is listed on the program page.

What does my student finish with?

A finished research or passion project that sets their college application apart, such as a research paper, an app, a nonprofit or a research presentation, depending on the program. It gives them real substance for the Common App activities list, their essays and admissions interviews. Students also earn an Elite Minds certificate when they complete their project.

Who started Elite Minds?

Pritwik and Keerti Jeeva, both from UC Berkeley. As children of immigrants, they were the first in their families to navigate U.S. college admissions. What made the difference was finding T20 mentors who helped them build their own passion projects, and they started Elite Minds to give other students that same advantage. Read our story.

How do I know Elite Minds is legitimate?

94.4% of our students go on to attend a Top 20 university. Every mentor is listed on our site by name, with their university, and you can read about our founders and see student projects and reviews on this page. Book a free consultation to ask us anything, or email team@elitemindsprogram.com.