What counts as published?

College Admissions
#1

<p>So i have been in contact with an editor of an amateur science journal and he agreed to publish my work in the journal. Does that count as being published? Or are publications credible only if it is a national prominent journal? The work was based of a project i did for local science fairs and I won some awards at the city level, but didn't go on to state or anything higher. Can I say that my research got published or it is not really the same thing?</p>

<p>Also, since the journal in question is affiliated with a national organization--it even has a national convention that PhDs attend--would it count as a national accomplishment or not?</p>

#2

<p>You can state you were published (in a non-refereed journal) but I wouldn't say it was a national accomplishment.</p>

#3

<p>If it's just the local youth offshoot of a more prestigious organization, I wouldn't consider it national.</p>

#4

<p>But it is not the youth offshoot. They publish work by adults who have science credentials but are not necessarily in an academic setting. For instance, some of the publications have been by working engineers are other people involved in amateur science. I am not trying to argue that is it tantamount to Nature or anything like that, but I did have to submit it to the editor to have it reviewed, so it should count for something at the very least, right? How do I describe the award when I put it on the common app, since it only has categories for: school, state/region, national, and international?</p>

#5

<p>bump...here</p>

#6

<p>I would recommend attaching a resume to elaborate on your accomplishments. Write "published in [name of journal] and then explain the nature of the journal exactly as you have here.</p>

#7

<p>^^^Thanks. I was really wondering how the admissions committee would view the publication. The society is really legit and the editor (the guy who reviewed my article) is Forest Mims, who was named one of the 50 best brains in science by Discover Magazine.</p>

<p>Discovery</a> Fellow and Citizen Scientist Forrest Mims Named One of "50 best brains in science" - Evolution News & Views</p>

<p>Do you think that shows that it is legit and how do you think the admissions committee would view this?</p>