One Last Summer: How Regeneron STS 2026 Finalists Are Spending the Weeks Before College

In just a few weeks, these students will pack up bedrooms, say goodbye to family and friends, and begin new lives on college campuses across the country.

For the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and mathematics competition for high school seniors, this final summer before college has been anything but ordinary. Some are continuing the research that brought them to the national stage. Others are teaching younger students, exploring new cultures, reconnecting with family or simply taking time to slow down after an extraordinary senior year.

We caught up with several finalists to learn how they’re spending this brief pause between high school and college, and what they’re most excited to discover next.

Alyssa Yu
Poolesville, Maryland →Harvard University

One conversation during the Regeneron Science Talent Search changed Alyssa Yu’s summer.

After connecting with a senior epidemiologist during a finalist event, Alyssa began a computational epidemiology research project at the National Institutes of Health. The experience allowed her to expand beyond the theoretical epidemiology research she conducted for the Science Talent Search and explore a more applied, data-driven side of the field.

“Because I am just fresh out of high school, I think it’s really important for me to explore as much as possible,” she says.

This fall, Alyssa is looking forward to more than just classes. She’s excited to meet people with different perspectives, build lasting friendships and continue asking big questions through research.

“I’d like to understand wildly new perspectives, hear about the cool things that other people are building, and share my own journeys with them as well,” she says. “College is a great time to break out of my comfort zone and find new hobbies and passions.”

Linus Chen-Plotkin
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania →Princeton University

Linus Chen-Plotkin’s summer has taken him from the Indian Himalayas to Tokyo and Italy, but his curiosity hasn’t taken a vacation.

Between international travels, Linus collaborated with an English professor at Johns Hopkins University on a computational analysis of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Middle English. He also submitted his Regeneron Science Talent Search physics paper to a scientific journal and is now revising it in response to peer review.

“I’ve gotten to relax, spend time with friends and family, and indulge my academic interests,” he says.

At Princeton, Linus is especially eager to take his first proof-based mathematics course, one he expects will challenge him while introducing entirely new ways of thinking.

Uma Sthanu
Austin, Texas →Stanford University

Uma Sthanu intentionally designed her summer around three passions she hopes will shape her future: research, mentorship and entrepreneurship.

She joined Regeneron’s Neurotherapeutics group, applying machine learning to behavioral data. She also returned to MIT’s prestigious Research Science Institute, this time as a teaching assistant in data science, statistics and research methodology. She also attended Y Combinator’s Startup School to learn how scientific discoveries can become real-world innovations.

Together, those experiences, she says, helped clarify the impact she hopes to make. “My goal is to contribute to meaningful research while also helping build the next generation of curious, capable and ambitious young scientists.”

At Stanford, Uma hopes to continue pursuing groundbreaking research while expanding opportunities for younger students to discover science for themselves.

 

Khushi Karthikeyan
Ardsley, New York →Yale University

Teaching, research and family have defined Khushi’s final summer before college. They spent part of the summer teaching coding at a summer camp, gaining valuable work experience while helping younger students develop new skills. At the same time, Khushi’s been preparing her Regeneron Science Talent Search research for journal submission, hoping to arrive on campus with a publication already underway.

Just as important has been spending time with their parents and sister. “My time at home with them is limited,” they say, “and I want to make good use of what I have left.”

This fall, Khushi looks forward to challenging themselves academically, finding a community of equally passionate students and continuing research in astrophysics, a field that has always captivated them.

Khushi says, “One of the things that excites me most about starting college this fall is the range of new, interesting classes I can take. I deeply enjoy expanding my mind, and I always love learning more about things that fascinate me.”

Finnegan McGill
Tucson, Arizona →University of Arizona

After a whirlwind senior year, Finnegan McGill made the most of a summer that balanced adventure, family and science.

He traveled to Germany to visit his grandparents, saw Bruno Mars perform at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and spent time waterskiing with family in Virginia. But for the Regeneron Science Talent Search finalist known as the “bird guy,” summer also meant sending his A-BiRD device back into the Arizona desert to collect additional data.

“If you know me as the ‘bird guy’ from STS, you’ll be happy to know that my A-BiRD device spent part of the summer back out in the Arizona desert collecting additional data!” he says. “It was nice to finally have a summer to relax before college.”

This fall, Finnegan will join the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona, where he plans to study molecular and cellular biology on the pre-med track. He’ll also return to his former cancer research lab to help complete experiments for a publication and hopes to shadow physicians as he begins college.

“As I prepare to begin college, I’m most excited to explore… everything!” he says. “I can’t wait to meet new people and take advantage of all the opportunities the university has to offer. I’m also hoping to play intramural soccer—if I make it through the tryouts. Wish me luck, and Bear Down!”

Natalie Muro
Colorado Springs, Colorado →Duke University

After the fast pace of senior year, Natalie made a conscious decision to slow down. She’s spent the summer paddleboarding, running, catching up on favorite television shows and making memories with friends and family before leaving for college.

“It has been wonderful to have the opportunity to slow down a little,” she says.

Natalie plans to continue the research she submitted to the Regeneron Science Talent Search while exploring new biomedical engineering ideas, joining Formula SAE and discovering all that college life has to offer, including, she jokes, finding her favorite coffee shop!

Sophia Liang
Ellicott City, Maryland →Brown University

For Sophia Liang, this summer became an opportunity to reconnect with family and with a part of her own story. She spent five weeks traveling throughout China, visiting relatives she hadn’t seen in nearly a decade and immersing herself in experiences that broadened her understanding of culture and identity.

“It gave me a very different perspective on not just daily life, but also led to conversations with family on their personal and cultural values that I had never considered before,” she says.

When she arrives at Brown this fall, Sophia is excited to embrace the University’s open curriculum, continue exploring science and discover Providence.

She says, “While I’m certain I’ll continue expanding my knowledge of science, I’m also very open to discovering new interests. I’ve heard Brown offers a wide variety of courses, from Comedy to Meditation, and I’ve been eyeing a club that explores Providence’s cultural scene. I’m excited to see how I’ll grow through these and many other experiences!”

Leanne Fan
San Diego, California → Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Leanne has embraced what she’s heard is one of life’s rarest seasons.

She says, “I know college is going to be a ton of fun but also a ton of work, so I want to take any chance I can get to reconnect with friends around the world and learn about what they’ve been up to. I’m brushing up on some programming skills as well so they can maybe aid me in future research projects.”

At MIT, she hopes to find an academic community where she feels at home, continue her work in biophotonics and learn from classmates whose experiences differ from her own.

“I’ve been told that this summer before college is a rare point in time where we have few expectations and are kind of floating in this blissful state,” she says. “I’m trying to savor it as much as possible.”

Interested in competing? Learn more about applying to the Regeneron Science Talent Search: https://sciencetalentsearch.smapply.org/