How do I stand out as a STEM major?

Answered

To stand out try to achieve something that is not that common.

1.) Win a National level STEM competition like the INTEL science awards, State level would be excellent as well.

2.) Get your research published in an Int'l/National journal that is widely respected. Or be mentioned as a contributor to the research paper as evidence of your ability.

3.) Patent your design for something unique with the US Patents & Trademarks service. This could be something like a device, methodology, or a process.

4.) Get a high profile internship at a Research University like Stanford etc. Yes, HS students have been known to do something like that.

5.) Take classes not available at your HS, for instance, higher-level math or astrophysics.

6.) Create a youtube channel that is STEM which is either educational or entertaining about STEM topics.

7.) Start a STEM-related nonprofit like refurbishing and repurposing laptops to kids who come from marginalized backgrounds

8.) Start a STEM club that is not generic like a robotics club.

9.) If you identify as female, non-binary start a STEM club to support and advance STEM topics to girls/non-binary kids who are smart

10.) Pursue a STEM hobby project that is unusual like applying physics concepts to creating new cooking or baking recipes.

Getting top test scores alone is not enough to stand out because 93% of MIT and CalTech applicants get rejected and they are all super smart kids by most people's standards.

Good luck!