Can I pay to make a journal review my paper faster?

Not at the journal we checked. The Journal of Emerging Investigators states it cannot expedite any manuscript for any reason, and it handles papers in the order received.

Is a journal with no stated timeline a bad sign?

Not by itself. Several journals state no figure at all. Ask the editors for their current schedule, and check the journal's other signals before you submit.

Does a rolling journal publish faster than one with a window?

Not necessarily. A rolling journal removes the wait for a window to open, but review, revision and issue placement still take time.

Should I plan my application around a publication date?

Treat any date as uncertain. Journal ranges depend on revisions and on you, so a deadline built on the shortest number can fail.

How Long Does It Take to Publish High School Research?

If you are wondering how long publishing takes, start with what each journal says about itself. This post sits under our guide to how to do research in high school and compares journal statements side by side. For the whole project calendar, see the high school research timeline.

What do student journals say about their own publication times?

The three journals we read give three different answers, and one gives none. The Young Scientists Journal, run out of Vanderbilt, states that it takes roughly 6 months between manuscript submission and publication.^[1] The International Journal of High School Research states that the process may take 3 to 6 months depending on how many revisions are needed, and that publication may take an additional 2 to 3 months after acceptance.^[5] The Journal of Emerging Investigators states that the length of its review varies by time of year, and its FAQ gives no number.^[3]

Journals update their pages, so a figure here can be out of date by the time you submit. Each source below lists the day its page was checked.

How do the journals compare side by side?

Use the table to see what each page states and what it leaves out. “Not stated” means the page we read gave no figure, not that no figure exists.

Journal	Stated time	Submission timing	Fee stated
Young Scientists Journal	About 6 months from submission to publication^[1]	One window: manuscripts from November 1 to December 1^[1]	Not stated on the page^[1]
International Journal of High School Research	3 to 6 months with revisions, plus 2 to 3 months after acceptance^[5]	Rolling, no deadline^[5]	$350 after acceptance, no fee to submit^[5]
Journal of Emerging Investigators	Not stated. Varies by time of year^[3]	Order received, deadlines are suggestions^[4]	$49 at submission^[3]

Fees are included because a wait and a cost usually come together. Scholarships and waivers exist at some journals, so read the page before you decide.

Why do the numbers look different for the same journal?

Two reasons: what the clock measures, and who is quoting it. The International Journal of High School Research page gives 3 to 6 months for the process and then a further 2 to 3 months after acceptance, so a reader who adds them gets a longer total than the first range suggests.^[5] Its page also gives an average time to acceptance of roughly one to three months.^[5]

A program’s own blog can differ again. Lumiere Education wrote that publishing in this journal may take 4 to 8 months, and that for most of its students it can take a full year.^[6] That is the company’s claim about its own students, dated by the page as published March 17, 2023 and updated September 22, 2025. It is not a statement from the journal, and the journal’s own page is the better source for what it promises.

What can make your own paper take longer?

Your side of the exchange counts. The International Journal of High School Research states that timing depends on submission quality, reviewer responsiveness and how quickly authors respond to revision requests.^[5] The Young Scientists Journal states that it is common for reviewers and editors to ask for revisions, and its schedule includes a second review round.^[1]

Waiting rules matter too. The Journal of Emerging Investigators states that manuscripts are worked on in the order received and that it cannot expedite any manuscript for any reason.^[2] It calls its deadlines suggestions, and states that a submission must be inactive for over 9 months before it is removed.^[4] It also aims to answer emails within 2 business days, which tells you that a quiet inbox for a few days is not unusual.^[4]

How should you use these numbers when you plan?

Treat each range as the journal’s description of a normal case, then work backward from the date you need. A short checklist:

Pick the venue first. The window and the rules decide your dates, so read them before you write the last section. One journal asks for a project completed within the past 1 to 2 years.^[1]
Add your revision time. The journal’s range assumes you answer promptly, so do not count on the short end.^[5]
Ask for current dates. The Young Scientists Journal calls its schedule approximate, so confirm it with the editors.^[1]
Check the journal itself. A missing timeline is common, but a missing review process is a bigger concern. Our guide to spotting a predatory journal lists the checks.
Decide if publishing fits your goal. Our post on whether publishing in a high school journal is worth it weighs the cost and the wait against other ways to share your work.

If you still need a mentor to get your paper ready for submission, start with finding a research mentor.

What should you do next?

Pick one journal, read its submission page today and write down its stated dates. If you want a second set of eyes on how your research reads next to the rest of your application, you can submit your profile for a free review on ivy-league.io.

What do we not know?

Three journals are a small sample of the venues open to high school students. A journal’s stated range is its description, not a record of what authors actually experienced, and the Journal of Emerging Investigators states no figure at all. Dates and fees change, and one journal page gives more than one range. Nothing here shows how long a particular paper in a particular field will take, and no source we read shows that a publication date, or a faster one, changes an admissions decision.