MITES Saturdays FAQs

MITES Saturdays is an academic enrichment and career exploration program for 7th–12th grade public school students from Boston, Cambridge, and Lawrence, MA who have a strong academic record and interest in science and engineering. Upon acceptance to the program, students have the opportunity to re-enroll and continue participating in the program until they’ve graduated high school. Through a hands-on instructional approach, students increase their mastery of academic subjects, strengthen their understanding of the practical applications of math and science concepts, discover new academic and professional opportunities, and gain exposure to a college environment.

MITES Saturdays meets on MIT’s campus eight times per semester during the fall and spring. Each session starts promptly at 10 am and ends at 3:30 pm. The fall semester typically takes place over 8 Saturdays from September through early December. The spring semester typically takes place over 8 Saturdays from February through early May. Occasional optional Saturday events may be planned each semester (e.g., college visits, application workshops, social events).

It’s important for students to attend all sessions because the material for each class builds over the course of the semester, and absences can hinder a student’s ability to complete coursework and contribute to class discussions and group projects. We expect students to be proactive in arranging their schedules to minimize conflicts on MITES Saturdays.

Each semester, students take two courses:

• Academic Mentoring Seminar (AMS): this course explores non-technical skills that are important to student success in college and beyond (e.g., communication, organization & executive functioning, self-advocacy).
• A hands-on STEM project course: this course topic changes each semester. Examples include Civil engineering, Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, and an Engineering Design Capstone.

Although there will be homework and students take rigorous classes, students do not receive formal grades, nor do they receive high school or college credits.

All students who participate in MITES will receive qualitative final evaluations from each instructor. Students often choose to include these as supplemental material for scholarship and college applications.

MITES Saturdays students can expect to spend no more than 2 hours on homework per week.

All program-related costs are covered by our funders, students only pay for transportation to and from MIT.

Transportation for Lawrence students is provided by Lawrence Public Schools.

Lunch is provided for all MITES Saturdays participants.

The MITES Saturdays application is open to 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders who both live in and attend public school in Boston, Cambridge, or Lawrence, MA.

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. Visas of any type are not substitutes for US citizenship or US Permanent Residency. If you are admitted to MITES, we may ask you to verify your citizenship or permanent residency via one of the following options: (1) Official US Birth Certificate, (2) Valid US Passport, (3) Official Permanent Resident (Green) Card.

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

To apply for MITES Saturdays, visit mitesapp.mit.edu to create an account. The application opens in the fall. Applications are due November 30, 2023.

MITES Saturdays participants are eligible to apply for MITES Summer or MITES Semester during their 11th grade year.

The deadline for the MITES Saturdays application is typically the last week in November or first week in December (see application portal for the exact deadline for the particular year). All sections of the application, including requests for recommendations, must be complete by the deadline in order to be considered.

MITES Saturdays decisions are released in early February. Applicants will receive their decision via email. Decisions will not be shared via phone or mailed out to applicants.

Due to the large volume of requests we receive, we suggest you first thoroughly review the following resources to learn more:

• Apply to MITES Saturdays
• About MITES Saturdays

If you still have questions after reviewing the resources above, please contact us at: mitesapp@mit.edu

Test scores are not required in order to apply for our programs. However, we do strongly encourage students to submit test scores from at least one standardized test if they have them (e.g., PSAT, MCAS, or ACT).

The MITES 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. There is no minimum GPA required to apply. Students admitted to MITES Saturdays are expected to maintain A’s and B’s in school throughout their time in the program.

If available, please upload your first quarter grades. If your first quarter grades are not available, you should submit your most recent grades.

The recommendation request email is automated and is sometimes blocked by school spam filters. If your recommenders have not received the email containing the link, double check your application to ensure you typed in the correct email address. Then, ask your recommenders to check their spam folder.

If you are sure that your recommender has checked their spam and that their email address was correct in your application, then your recommender may need help accessing their account. Please have your recommender email MITES Saturdays: mitesapp@mit.edu

To ensure that we can resolve your issue as quickly as possible, please limit the number of emails you send. If following up on a prior issue, please respond to the same ticket.

If your recommender’s email address changed, or you made an error and mistyped the address, OR if you need to change your recommender altogether, follow these steps:

You may change your recommender or update their contact information by logging into your account. Note: Regardless of when you update this information, the recommendation deadline will stay the same.

In the rare case you must change your recommender, first reach out to your old recommender to let them know. Once the recommender is changed in the system, any work that the initial recommender completed will be lost. This means you should make sure your recommender has not already started their recommendation before you make any changes.

This application requires two recommendations:

• One math or science teacher (e.g., Algebra, Biology, Computer Science).
• One from any other academic course (e.g., English/Language Arts, Social Studies, Spanish, different Math/Science course).

MITES recommendations must be submitted by the recommender via our online portal. We do not accept recommendation letters. Due to the high volume of applications, we cannot accept any additional recommendations beyond the required number and type.