To be eligible to apply to MITES Summer, applicants must be:

• U.S. citizens or permanent residents

• High school juniors

Students selected for MITES generally have the following qualities:

• Passion for science, technology, engineering, and math—demonstrated through extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation

• Strong academic record

We strongly encourage students from the following backgrounds to apply:

• Underrepresented in science and engineering, defined as being African American, Hispanic/Latinx, or Native American

• Underserved, defined as coming from low socioeconomic means, which may be indicated by qualification for free/reduced lunch

• Potentially the first family member to attend college

• Absence of science and engineering degrees in family

• Coming from a high school with low admittance rates to top-tier colleges, especially rural or predominantly minority high schools

The MITES Semester and MITES Summer application is open to 11th graders. In order to be eligible for a MITES program, you must be a United States citizen or permanent resident with a current US green card.

All applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be considered, regardless of race or ethnicity.

• Six weeks over the summer—late June through early August 

*Dates to be confirmed, please check program website. 

• Classes, recitations, workshops, and tours on weekdays 9:00am to 5:00pm

• Social events, office hours/homework, and exploration of the Greater Boston area on evenings and weekends

• Room and board provided free of charge

One more advantage: At the culmination of the program, each student receives a written evaluation from their instructor, outlining strengths and growth areas, as well as highlighting the student’s contributions to the class. Many students choose to submit this as supplemental material with their college applications.

Application opens: November

• Application opens!

• Identify who your recommenders will be

• Begin brainstorming your short answer responses

Student deadline: February 1

• Student deadline: February 1, 11:59 pm PST in order to be considered. This includes identifying 3 recommenders. Because of the large number of applicants, we encourage students to submit applications early—as soon as all sections are complete—in order to avoid the last minute website traffic right before the deadline.

Recommender deadline: February 15

• Recommender deadline: February 15, 2024 

Decision: Mid-April

• Decisions are released! Enrollment begins for admitted students.

• Admitted students must complete all enrollment materials in order to participate in MITES.

• Admitted students may be requested to send one of the following in addition to other enrollment materials: (1) Official US Birth Certificate, (2) Valid US Passport, (3) Official Permanent Resident (Green) Card

Program starts: Late June

• Programs begin! Exact program start dates vary.

The MITES Semester and MITES Summer application and selection process is holistic, meaning that we consider a variety of factors when determining which students are the best fit for our programs. We look for students with demonstrated interest in science and engineering and a strong academic record who are motivated, hard-working, and focused on growth and improvement.

Step 1: Applicant information

This brief section consists of general questions about the applicant. Additionally, applicants have the option to indicate whether they want to be considered for one or both national programs. Note: We highly encourage students to apply for both programs. Applicants will only be considered for the program they indicate. Selected applicants will only be offered admittance into one of the two programs.

Step 2: Academic information

Applicants will be asked to provide their high school course history and upload an unofficial transcript which includes their GPA and completed courses from 9th and 10th grades as well as from the first quarter of their 11th grade year, if available. For information about weighted versus unweighted GPAs, see the FAQs page.

Step 3: Test scores (optional)

While test scores are NOT required for applying, we strongly encourage applicants to submit scores from at least one standardized test including: SAT I, PSAT, ACT, AP, or ACT Aspire/PLAN. Our admissions process is holistic, which means we consider many distinct factors and information shared in all sections of your application. Test scores provide a more complete picture of you. To include test scores, applicants must receive them before our submission deadline. Please refer to the College Board or ACT websites to determine test and score release dates.

Step 4: 5 short answer responses

The short answer questions are designed to give us a sense of who our applicants are as individuals. We encourage applicants to begin brainstorming early and use each short answer prompt as an opportunity to share a different facet of yourself with us. Each short answer response has a word limit of 300.

Examples of past short answer prompts are as follows (see application for most up to date prompts):

1. Share with us how aspects of your identity (e.g., race, culture, first-generation college student status, gender, etc.) shape your aspirations.

2. What are you passionate about? How have you spent time developing this passion?

3. What do you hope to gain from participating in the MITES Semester/Summer program? If selected, how would you contribute to the MITES Semester/Summer community?

4. Tell us of a time you experienced a significant challenge in your life. What did you do and what did you learn?

5. The STEM field uses science, technology, engineering, and/or math to understand more about the world around us and to solve problems. If you could develop, invent, or innovate anything to change the world for the better using STEM, what would it be and why?

6. (OPTIONAL): If you could meet us in person, what would you share with us about you that isn’t already in the application?

Step 5: Extracurricular activities

Applicants will be invited to tell us about their extracurricular activities. The extracurricular activities section of the application gives us a sense of our applicants’ passions and interests outside of the classroom.

Step 6: 3 recommendation requests

The application requires 3 recommendations that must be submitted by the recommenders via our online portal by February 15. We do not accept recommendation letters.

As part of the student application, each applicant will be asked to identify one recommender from each of the categories below.

1. Math or science teacher (from courses such as Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry, Geometry, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy & Physiology, Engineering, Earth Science, Computer Science, etc.)

2. Humanities teacher (from courses such as History, English/Literature, Art, Foreign language, Classics, Economics, Government, Music, Psychology, Sociology, Geography, etc.)

3. School counselor or administrator - Note: this recommender will be asked to upload a school profile (document that overviews the school’s demographics, curriculum, and grading scheme) and unofficial transcript, including 11th grade first semester grades on behalf of the student.

Once an applicant has indicated who their recommenders will be, each recommender will receive an automated email from our application portal with a link to fill out the unique recommendation form. Applicants must submit recommendation requests by February 1 (student application deadline). All recommendations are due by February 15 (recommender deadline).

We suggest that applicants check in with their recommenders early and often. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that recommenders have submitted their materials by the deadline using the online portal. A student’s application will not be considered complete if recommendations are not received by the February 15 recommender deadline.

• Decisions are released in mid-April. 

• Applicants will receive an email when decisions have been posted. 

• Applicants should view decisions by logging into their account. 

• Decisions will not be shared via phone or mailed out to applicants. 

• We encourage any applicants who are deciding between multiple programs to carefully consider their offers and to determine what is in their best interest. 

• If you do decide to accept your spot in another program and it is a binding decision (meaning that you are obligated to attend after accepting the offer), please let us know by emailing mitesapp@mit.edu.