From a broad interest to a finished piece of research
Every Aldevere programme is written for the student before the first session and supervised by a mentor matched to their field, from a network that includes researchers at Harvard, Oxford, NYU and Columbia. An academic adviser, separate from the mentor, looks after the student from start to finish. This page sets out how the work itself is done.
Three stages, from a question to finished work
Research Scholar and the Field Seminars move through the same three stages. At each one the student does the reading, the thinking and the writing, and the mentor questions, teaches and gives feedback. The stages stay the same; the project is different for every student, because the question is.
Finding the question
Most students begin with a broad interest rather than a question. Before the first session the programme is written for them: a reading path and project plan for Research Scholar, or a syllabus, assessment brief and reading bank for a Field Seminar. Through that reading and discussion with the mentor, the student moves from "I'm interested in medicine" to "I'm curious about the relationship between socioeconomic inequality and antibiotic resistance": a question precise enough to investigate, and theirs to defend.
- A reading path or syllabus, written before the first session
- Early reading in the field
- A focused question the student chose
Building the argument
With a question in hand, the substantive work begins: one-to-one sessions with a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher in Research Scholar, over eight weeks or more, or 8 to 10 seminar sessions for one to three students. The student reads primary and secondary sources, builds an argument and drafts it. The mentor asks why, points to the evidence and gives written feedback at each stage, while the academic adviser follows the student's progress and wellbeing. If the match is not working, we change the mentor.
- Sessions with a mentor matched to the question
- Primary and secondary sources, read and discussed
- An argument the student builds and drafts
- Written feedback at each stage
Finishing the work
The programme ends with work the student wrote. In Research Scholar that is an essay, literature review, or policy or analysis brief, typically 3,000 to 5,000 words depending on field, which the student presents. In a Field Seminar it is a research essay or project, marked against published criteria and followed by a research conversation. Every programme then closes with a written report on the student's work, covering strengths, next steps and evidence of growth, and a recommendation for what comes next.
- Final work the student wrote
- A presentation or a research conversation
- A written report and a recommendation
- A certificate a university can verify online
What the finished work gives an application
Selective universities see many applicants with the same grades. A finished piece of research shows what grades cannot: a question the student chose, the sources they read and an argument they can defend.
The UCAS personal statement
One of its three questions asks what the applicant has done to prepare outside of education, and why it is useful. A research project in the subject is a specific answer.
US applications
A research entry for the Common App activities list, and material for the essays and supplements that ask what a student cares about intellectually.
Interviews
Interviewers ask students to think aloud about their subject. A student who did the work can discuss it in detail, and Research Scholar ends with a note on how to discuss the work in applications and interviews.
A reference
Mentors are glad to write a reference or letter of recommendation for a student who has attended and taken the work seriously, from someone who has read their work closely.
The skills every university course assumes
Academic Essentials is a programme in its own right, for students whose next step is the skills themselves: writing, reading and citing at the standard universities expect.
It starts with the Academic Readiness Review, a 60-minute session that produces a written plan: the priority skills, the duration, a weekly plan and the evidence the student will produce. It ends with a written readiness note and a recommendation for what comes next.
Sessions for one to three students in
- Academic writing and argument
- English for university study and admissions tests, including IELTS, TOEFL and SAT
- Source use and citation
- Study habits
- Research-question foundations
What every Aldevere programme includes
These hold for every student, in every programme.
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Designed before it begins
Every programme is written for the student before the first session: a syllabus, assessment brief and reading bank for a Field Seminar, a reading path and project plan for Research Scholar, and a written plan from the Academic Readiness Review for Academic Essentials.
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A mentor for the question
Students are matched to a mentor whose work fits their question. If no one in our network fits, we recruit someone who does.
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An academic adviser alongside the mentor
Every student also has an academic adviser, separate from the mentor, who looks after their progress and wellbeing from start to finish.
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Parents kept informed
Parents receive the schedule before the first session, progress updates at set points and whenever they ask, and a debrief at the end.
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A new mentor if the match is not working
If the match is not working, we change the mentor.
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A written report at the end
Every programme ends with a written report on the student's work, covering strengths, next steps and evidence of growth, and a recommendation for what comes next.
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Certificates
Each certificate says Completion only when every session was attended and the final work submitted. It carries its own number, and anyone the student shows it to, such as a university, can verify it at aldevere.com/verify with that number and the student's full name.
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References
Mentors are glad to write a reference for a student who has attended and taken the work seriously.
The student writes every word. Mentors question, teach and give feedback. Our academic integrity policy sets out what that means in practice.
With the family's consent, a referring counsellor is kept informed of the recommendation, the match and the student's progress. How counsellor referrals work.
Start with an interview
The interview is where we learn what the student is curious about and recommend the programme that fits. It can be booked once the application is submitted, and the recommendation and fee are confirmed in writing before any payment is requested.