If you want genuine economics research experience as a high schooler, your realistic options fall into four groups: remote one-on-one mentorship, in-person faculty-mentored research, a research-based team competition, and academic leadership institutes that teach economic reasoning through policy simulations rather than independent research.

UC Santa Barbara's Research Mentorship Program (RMP) is a highly selective summer program that pairs high school students with UCSB faculty, postdocs, and graduate student mentors for about six weeks of hands-on, university-level research.