Introduction: The Question Admissions Officers Are Quietly Asking If a high school student completes ten AI tutorials and five Coursera notebooks, does this demonstrate intellectual curiosity or simply persistence? This is the question admissions officers will increasingly ask when reviewing applications in 2026. Many capable students include "AI projects" on their resumes but struggle to explain why  they built them, what decisions they made , or what went wrong along the w

Is starting a p assion project  in 10th grade already "behind schedule,” or is that belief quietly preventing capable students from creating something meaningful? Each admissions cycle, I review applications from students who did everything "right": good grades, high test scores, and participation in multiple clubs. Many people, however, continue to struggle to explain what defines them academically. The issue isn't effort. It is a lack of ownership . Even excellent students