Tips & Advice for Submitting your Application

• Familiarize yourself with the application process. Make sure to read the instructions that precede the application tasks very carefully. Also, browse our FAQs and the Application Checklist for common questions and updates, and to learn general info about our programs. Check out our video on alumni reflections. Please note that specific deadlines and application details outlined in the application webinar may be out of date, so refer to the other resources listed for 2023 details.
   
• Make sure you choose the best recommender for each recommendation. Recommendations should come from teachers from 9th-11th grade. The following descriptions should be used to help you determine where each of your recommendation requests should be sent to:
  • Science/Math Teacher Recommendation: This should come from one of the following:
    • a natural science course, such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (We also accept recommendations from science courses such as Anatomy & Physiology, Engineering, Environmental Science).
    • a math course, such as Algebra, Calculus, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry, or Geometry.
  • Humanities Teacher Recommendation: This should come from a  humanities teacher (courses such as English, History, Classics, Economics, Social Studies, Government, Geography, etc) 
  • School Counselor Recommendation: This recommendation should come from a counselor, advisor, or member of administration who has access to your academic record (unofficial transcript) and school profile (document that summarizes demographics information and curricula offered at the school).
     
• Request your recommendations ASAP. It’s generally a good idea to touch base with your recommenders before you send the request in order to:
  • Inform them that our recommendation is a unique online form (not a letter) and that their recommendation is a required component due by Feb. 15
  • Ask for their most current and checked email address and make sure it’s okay to use it in your application
  • Give them some information about MOSTEC/MITES and why you are applying. You should consider giving your recommender a highlights sheet that outlines important details about your experiences, passions, and interests so that they have information they may need to write you a strong recommendation.
     
• Check with your recommenders to see if they’ve been able to access their account. Simply requesting the recommendation is not enough! You should check in to see if your recommenders have received the recommender request email, as these emails are sometimes blocked by very aggressive school email filters. If the recommenders still have not received the email, they should then contact us at summerapp@mit.edu so that we can work on granting them access to their accounts. 
   
• Submit your test scores (if available). Test scores are not required for submitting an application. However, if you have them, we strongly recommend that you include test scores as they give us more information by which to evaluate your application. We accept scores from the following standardized tests: ACT, ACT Aspire/PLAN, PSAT, SAT I, AP, IB. If your test scores from a recent test have not yet come in, we advise you to select "No," for that test to work on other parts of you application, and then edit the section to say "Yes" only when you've received the test scores. We will only consider test scores that are included by the application deadline.
   
• Submit your application early! We suggest you do this in order to avoid any last-minute issues with site traffic leading up to the deadline. Once you have completed the student portion of the application and have sent requests for your 3 recommendations, you can hit “Submit.” You must submit your application by February 1 at 11:59 pm (EST).

If you have a question regarding the application that is not covered in any of the resources listed above, please reach out to us at summerapp@mit.edu. We’d be happy to help! Please allow at least 3-5 business days for a response.