Top Summer Programs for High-School Students

The Pre-College Program at the Ivy League Brown University is an excellent program for high school students to explore their interests by taking real college courses and getting the college feel, especially with Brown's special open-curriculum experience.

Colleges love to see passionate youth and niche endeavors into a field of interest, showing commitment to a cause and a love that runs deeper than a high-school transcript. Extracurriculars are one way to satisfy this often overlooked element of the college application, but can also be overshadowed by a thin-spread pool of interests with little interconnectedness.

While remaining vital to the application process, summer opportunities provide a path for students to show additional efforts to explore various areas, whether those may be in the humanities, STEM related, or in an entirely different discipline. Whether the summer course or activity involves contributing to charity work in a community or doing independent research in a professional setting, the following summer programs are offered by prestigious universities for excelling in higher education.

Brown Pre-College Programs

Open to in-state, out-of-state, or international students, the Brown Pre-College Summer Program offers upwards of 310 courses from which to choose. Besides submitting a high-school transcript, a 250-500 word personal essay is the only writing portion requirement of the application, with recommendation letters being optional. For in-state or commuter students, an on-campus program is provided in Providence, Rhode Island, while other options are available such as off-campus and online opportunities to experience these programs abroad. From learning about the psychology of willpower to studies on television diversity and research oriented around in-vivo models, the Brown Program allows students to curate an invaluable toolset for future careers and college resumes.

Apply today at: https://precollege.brown.edu/apply.

Yale Summer Session

Offering three exclusive on-campus opportunities, Yale University offers the Yale Summer Session, the Science, Technology, and Research Scholars (STARS) program, and the Yale Writers’ Workshop. For the summer session, high-school students are able to live on-campus in their residential colleges and also fulfill graduation requirements with course credit from an ivy-league university. Additionally, the Yale Writers’ Workshop allows likeminded writers to collaborate on manuscripts, attend publishing professional talks, and connect with the Yale community. Courses offered offer full transferability at many universities, as well as unique experiences for high-achieving high-school students such as guided tours of electric facilities and committed environmental work.

Apply today at: https://summer.yale.edu/summer-2026.

The Research Science Institute (RSI) Summer Program

Offered exclusively by the MIT Mathematics Department, RSI is a six-week summer program available to rising high-school seniors (currently enrolled juniors), who are chosen for superior achievement in the realm of mathematics and engineering. Selection is highly limited and prestigious, with selection being determined by the Center for Excellence in Education, a nonprofit directed out of Washington DC. During this summer program, students develop professional presentations in collaboration with one another and present before a panel of scientists, many of which are former participants of RSI.

Apply today at: https://www.cee.org/programs/apply-rsi.

Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)

The SIMR provides students additional opportunities to explore their interests in biological sciences that occurs over the span of eight-weeks, providing basic research alongside Stanford faculty and other fellowship or researchers on-campus. In order to participate, applicants must be currently enrolled as juniors or seniors and at least 16 years old. Save for a $50 application fee, the program is free-of-charge and allows students to select from eight areas of research such as immunology, stem cell & regenerative medicine, and cancer biology.

Apply today at: https://med.stanford.edu/simr.html.

The Telluride Association Summer Seminars (TASS)

Highly acclaimed and competitive, the TASS is a 5-week, fully funded summer opportunity for high-school sophomores and juniors to develop critical thinking skills to explore areas around history, politics, art, and other related disciplines. Consisting of college-level seminars, discussion-based work, and program planning, the TASS aids students predominantly in humanitarian backgrounds free of tuition and boarding fees. To apply, an interview is required approximately a month after regular applications have been submitted. The two available programs include TASS-CBS (Critical Black Studies) and TASS-AOS (Anti-Oppressive Studies).

Apply today at: https://apply.tellurideassociation.org/.

There are SOO many more amazing programs you can apply for, so make sure to take the time to do your research and apply!! Most application deadlines are in early spring, opening around December or January and closing in February or March, so don't miss out on an amazing opportunity to boost your college application and pre-college experience!