Are you a high school junior interested in developing skills and confidence in technical fields? Consider applying to Minority Introduction to Engineering & Science! (MITES).
Minority Introduction to Engineering & Science (MITES)
MITES is one of three summer programs that the Office of Engineering Outreach Program offers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology every summer. It is an intense six-week program that offers rising high school seniors the opportunity to take math and science courses at MIT, and engage in hands-on workshops and projects. This summer program is a perfect chance for student interested in STEM fields to discover what it’s like to study those courses at the college-level, and to meet many more like-minded students. The program is free and students only pay for transportation to and from MIT.
Eligibility & Selection Criteria
As the program name indicates, MIT strongly encourage minority students to apply:
Underrepresented in science and engineering, defined as being African American, Hispanic/Latino 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
While the program encourages students of the above background to apply, it is not limited to those students. To be eligible to apply to MITES, applicants must be U.S. Citizens or permanent residents, and must be high school juniors or equivalent.
Every year, MITES accepts around 70-80 students, who hold a strong academic record and have demonstrated their passion for science, technology, engineering or math during their time in high school.
All applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will be considered, regardless of race or ethnicity.
MITES Program Details
MITES is an intensive six-week residential summer program from mid June to late July for rising high school seniors. It’s an academic enrichment program, during which students will enroll in 4 core classes during their 6 weeks from the following choices:
Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry
Calculus I, Calculus II
Physics I, Physics II, Physics III
Additionally, students will also have the option of choosing one of five electives:
Humanities
Architecture
Electronics
Genomics
Engineering Design
Digital Design
The focus of the program is to train the student’s analytical thinking and to push them beyond just getting a good grade in class.
MITES Application Deadline
The MITES application for summer 2018 has not opened yet, but it will be available mid-November 2017.*
Last Year’s Application Timeline:
Application Launch: Mid-November, 2016
Application Deadline: February 1, 2017 at 7:59 PM Eastern Standard Time
Recommendation Deadline: February 15 at 7:59 PM Eastern Standard Time
Decisions Released: April 15, 2017
*Please check back in mid-November when application deadlines are announced. We’ll update them once they’ve been released.
Please note that by submitting an application you will be considered for all 3 summer programs (MITES, E2@MIT and MOSTEC) that the Engineering Outreach Program at MIT offers. You will not be able to choose which to only apply to one specific program.
MITES Application Requirements
Applying to MITES will also be good practice for applying to college. The application requires:
Applicant Information
Academic Information
Optional test score: SAT, PSAT, ACT Aspire/PLAN, or ACT
Extracurricular Resume
Recommendation Letter from guidance counselor
Recommendation Letter from current or last year’s Math Teacher
Recommendation Letter from current or last year’s Science Teacher
Essays
Students are required to write 5 essays of 300 words or less. There is also an optional essay 6 for students if they choose to do. Here are last year’s essay prompts:
Essay 1: What are some career goals you have for yourself at the moment? How might the OEOP summer programs help you attain these goals?
Essay 2: Which one of your extracurricular or volunteer activities is most important to you, and why?
Essay 3: How has your racial, ethnic or cultural identity impacted your academic development or shaped your academic aspirations?
Essay 4: Please describe the most significant challenge you have faced and how you overcame it. (This challenge can be personal, academic, or social).
Essay 5: If you could develop, invent, or innovate anything to change the world for the better or improve the lives of others, what would it be, and why?
Essay 6: Is there any other information you would like to share with us that is not presented elsewhere in your application? (Optional)
Here are all the application details for MITES.
MITES Summer Program Feedback
MITES has been offered to students every summer since 1974 and has accepted over 2,000 students to participate. Many students who participated in MITES are typically also interested in applying to MIT for college, and almost 30% of MITES alumni have matriculated to MIT!
In fact, College Admits on AdmitSee also encourage students to apply to MIT’s summer programs, some even wrote what they learned at MITES in their college supplemental essay:
GBau, MIT ‘16, used his time at MITES to describe his personality, but also his passion for the sciences:
“Determination. If there existed a word that would define my personality, this would be its closest synonym. I’m not only speaking of the act of not in or refusing to give up. It symbolizes the fortitude to draw on every strained drop of willpower and reach beyond, surpassing all limitations. At MITES, it meant staying up to study and work long nights that turned into morning rises to finish a problem set for Physics 3, refusing to acknowledge defeat or surrender to a particularly confusing physics problem.”
And at the end, he was accepted to MIT early action to study aerospace engineering. Unlock his MIT profile to read his full application essays and his MITES experience in his advice section!
It may seem early to start thinking about your summer plans, but for high school juniors, there are many competitive summer programs that have early application deadlines. So, don’t miss out on these opportunities! For more information about MIT’s summer programs, please check their OEOP site.
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