Plain guides for parents and students: what UK and US universities say in their own words, how to write about a project, what to build, and how to show it. Evidence-led, no promises.
What UK and US universities say, in their own words, about projects done outside school, and what a project has to be to count.
Read the guide →The 2026 UCAS personal statement has three questions. Here is how a real project answers the third, with a structure, a worked answer and the mistakes to avoid.
Read the guide →What MIT, Stanford, Yale and Caltech say about activities, why one finished project outweighs ten memberships, and how to present it on the Common App.
Read the guide →Twenty-five projects a 14 to 17 year old can finish in twelve weeks: practical ventures, ambitious builds and impact campaigns, each with what “done” looks like.
Read the guide →How a 14 to 17 year old can start, run and finish a small business in twelve weeks, with the safeguards parents need and the evidence universities ask about.
Read the guide →What a university-application portfolio is, which universities look at one, what goes in it, and the one-page format that works whether or not it is ever uploaded.
Read the guide →UCAS question 3, super-curricular activity, written work, interviews and EPQ offers: what the UK’s leading universities ask for beyond A levels, and how a real project meets it.
Read the guide →Holistic review, the activities list, the essays that ask about a project, and which colleges accept the work itself: what US colleges look for beyond the transcript, and how a Signature Project meets it.
Read the guide →Not sure what to build? The CURIOO Project Finder asks a student ten questions and suggests three projects sized for twelve weeks: one practical, one ambitious, one for a cause they care about.
Parents: the Signature Project guide is a five-page PDF you can forward, at curioo.com/signature.
