12 Free Pre-College Programs for High School Students in Massachusetts
Pre-college programs are a good way to get a real look at what academic and professional life beyond high school actually involves. Whether you're working in a cancer research lab, building radar systems under the supervision of MIT engineers, or spending a year tackling unsolved mathematics problems with a graduate student mentor, these experiences develop practical skills, subject-matter knowledge, and connections that classroom learning alone rarely provides. While cost is often a barrier to entry, many programs offered by prestigious universities and research institutions are free to attend or provide significant financial aid.
Why should you attend a program in Massachusetts?
Universities and research institutions in Massachusetts run some of the most selective and well-resourced pre-college programs for high school students in the country. MIT, Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern, UMass Chan, and Hampshire College all offer programs that place you inside working research environments, not simulated ones. Program options here can range from sequencing DNA in a genomics lab to spending a full academic year mentored by an MIT graduate student on an original mathematics problem, completing a health disparities research project at a medical school, or taking on college-level coursework in engineering, physics, or artificial intelligence. Local Massachusetts students benefit from commuter options that place world-class research experience within reach, while out-of-state students can access free residential programs at MIT and other institutions.
In this blog, we’ve gathered 12 free pre-college programs for high school students in Massachusetts.
If you’re looking for free programs in Massachusetts, check out our blog here.
1. Research Science Institute (RSI) at MIT
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Stipend: Fully funded
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective, only ~2.5% of applicants chosen
Dates: 6 weeks in the summer
Application deadline: Mid December
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors aged 16+
RSI is a six-week residential STEM program hosted at MIT and run by the Center for Excellence in Education. You will begin with a week of intensive lectures delivered by faculty across mathematics, science, and engineering, followed by five weeks of individual research conducted under the direct supervision of a scientist or engineer at MIT or a Boston-area research institution. You will go through the full research cycle: developing a literature review, executing a research plan, and then presenting your findings in both written paper and oral form to an external panel of scientists during the final week. Projects span mathematics, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, computer science, robotics, and physics, and five papers and five oral presentations are selected each year for special commendation. This is one of the most prestigious and selective research programs in the country.
2. MITES Summer
Location: MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: 6 weeks from late June through early August
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: High school juniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
MITES Summer is a six-week residential program at MIT for rising seniors. You will take five courses — mathematics, life sciences, physics, a humanities subject, and a project-based elective in areas like machine learning, architecture, or genomics — covering material that most high school curricula don't reach. The pace mirrors a first-year college semester. You will receive a written evaluation from each instructor at the end of the program, which you can submit as supplemental material with your college applications. Beyond coursework, you will participate in lab tours, attend a college fair, meet with admissions counselors, and explore Boston with your cohort. The program ends with a presentation of your project work at the MITES Summer Symposium.
3. MITES Semester
Location: Remote
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June – December
Application Deadline: February 1
Eligibility: High school juniors who are U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents
MITES Semester is a six-month hybrid program designed for students who cannot commit to a six-week residential experience but still want access to MIT-affiliated coursework, mentorship, and college preparation. During the summer phase, you will take one project-based STEM course and one core course in Calculus, Physics, Computer Science, or Science Writing, all held live online during evenings so you can keep your daytime schedule. From September through December, the commitment shifts to weekly webinars guiding you through college applications, financial aid, and STEM career planning. All instruction is free, and you apply to both MITES programs through a single application, indicating which you'd like to be considered for.
4. MIT PRIMES
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: January 1 – December 31
Application Deadline: December 1 of the previous year
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors residing in the Greater Boston area
MIT PRIMES is a free, year-long after-school research program run by MIT's Department of Mathematics. You will be assigned an MIT graduate student or postdoctoral scholar as a mentor, and work on an original, unsolved problem in mathematics, theoretical computer science, or computational biology. The program runs in four phases: an advanced reading period in the winter, an active research period in the spring, an independent study period in the summer, and a write-up period in the fall culminating in a presentation at the annual PRIMES conference in October. By the end of the year, you will have produced a research paper posted on the PRIMES website, which you can submit to national science competitions or academic journals. You will meet with your mentor at least once a week and commit at least ten hours per week during the active research phases.
5. MIT Women's Technology Program — Mechanical Engineering (WTP-ME)
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free for families with household income under $120,000, with need-based discounts available for higher income brackets
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Extremely selective, only ~20 participants accepted per year
Dates: June 27 – July 25
Application Deadline: December 15
Eligibility: Students currently in 11th grade who identify as women or are from groups historically underrepresented in engineering
WTP-ME is a four-week residential program at MIT in which you will study mechanical engineering through hands-on labs, lectures, and team projects designed and taught by MIT graduate students. The curriculum covers fluid mechanics, statics, materials science, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and engineering design, combining analytical work, computer-aided design, and physical prototyping. The program is designed for students who have not studied engineering before, making this one of the premier options for high schoolers with limited access to engineering.
6. MIT Lincoln Laboratory Radar Introduction for Student Engineers (LLRISE)
Location: MIT campus, Cambridge, MA, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 12 – 25
Application Deadline: March 11
Eligibility: Current high school juniors who are U.S. citizens
LLRISE is a two-week residential engineering workshop in which you will build functioning radar systems from scratch. Working with scientists and engineers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a federally funded research and development center, you will learn modular RF design and circuitry, electromagnetics, antenna design, the Doppler effect, radar signal processing, and target ranging. You will practice soldering, populate electrical boards, and build both a Doppler radar and a range radar over the course of the program, applying creative problem-solving at each stage. Classes take place at Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, while students are housed in MIT dormitories. The program is funded by the Department of Defense's National Defense Education Program and is free of charge.
7. √mathroots at MIT
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Extremely selective, approximately 20 students per cohort
Dates: July 1 – 15
Application Deadline: March 3
Eligibility: U.S. citizens or students attending high school in the U.S. before their final year, aged 14–18. Should be comfortable with high school algebra, geometry, trigonometry, exponents, and logarithms, and precalculus is strongly recommended
√mathroots is a two-week residential mathematics program at MIT run by MIT PRIMES. You will work through creative and challenging problems across many areas of mathematics, including combinatorics, number theory, and probability. The program allows instructors with experience in both research and competition mathematics to guide sessions based on the group's interests and momentum. Alongside daily problem-solving classes, you will attend invited lectures from visiting mathematicians and participate in group activities designed to build both mathematical confidence and community.
8. Northeastern University Young Scholars Program (YSP)
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 22 – July 30
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors who are Massachusetts residents within commuting distance of Northeastern's Boston campus. Must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
YSP is a free six-week research program run by Northeastern's Center for STEM Education, now in its 30th year. You will be placed in a faculty-led lab within the Colleges of Engineering, Science, or Health Sciences and contribute to ongoing research in areas such as bioengineering, cancer therapy, battery chemistry, environmental engineering, or data modeling. A seminar series runs alongside lab work, covering major engineering disciplines, and you will go on field trips to corporate and government research sites around Boston to see how scientific work operates outside the university. The program concludes with a poster session and symposium at which you present your findings to peers and faculty. If you’re interested in medicine, healthcare, or fields adjacent to these, this is a solid option to consider.
9. Broad Summer Scholars Program (BSSP)
Location: Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free; a $3,600 stipend is paid to all participants upon program completion
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: June 29 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 21
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors in the greater Boston area within commuting distance to the Broad Institute who have earned a B or better in science and math classes. Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or non-U.S. citizen with employment authorization (including DACA)
BSSP places you with a Broad Institute scientist for six weeks of original, mentored research in areas including cancer biology, psychiatric disease, chemical biology, computational biology, and infectious disease. You will have access to an on-staff tutor to work through scientific concepts relevant to your project, and you will receive training in scientific poster design and presentation skills. The program includes scientific seminars, a poster session open to the Broad community, a college fair, and social events alongside your cohort. This is one of the few options in Massachusetts that provides a paid stipend to high schoolers.
10. DF/HCC CURE Program
Location: Longwood Medical Area, Boston, MA
Cost: Free; students are paid a weekly stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive
Dates: 7–11 weeks during summer, varying by role and mentor
Application Deadline: February 6
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, or seniors at least 16 years old at program start, who reside in or attend school in Massachusetts
The CURE program is run by the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, a collaboration spanning seven institutions, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. You will be paired with a research mentor and spend your summer conducting hands-on cancer research in basic, clinical, or population science. Beyond lab work, you will attend scientific seminars, participate in journal clubs to develop your ability to read and interpret scientific literature, take part in career exploration roundtables, and build professional relationships with researchers across the network. You will write an abstract and present your findings at the end of the program. This is a highly intensive, paid opportunity at the cutting edge of cancer treatment, making it a highly prestigious option.
11. UMass Chan Medical School High School Health Careers Program (HSHCP)
Location: UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA
Cost: Free, with a stipend awarded upon completion
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 28 – July 24
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Massachusetts residents who are sophomores or juniors in a Massachusetts high school, aged 16+. Must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
HSHCP is a four-week residential program at UMass Chan Medical School that lets you take enrichment courses in Science/Biology, Mathematics, English, Communication Skills, and Information Technology, alongside Cultural and Contemporary Health Issues seminars. A required Health Disparities Research Project asks you to investigate a healthcare equity issue affecting a specific cultural community in Massachusetts. Afternoons include internship and job-shadowing placements with physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals. Field trips reinforce the classroom curriculum throughout. Transportation between UMass Chan and Worcester State University is provided daily. Participants who complete the program receive a Certificate of Achievement and a stipend.
12. Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics (HCSSiM)
Location: Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
Cost: Free for domestic students from families with household income under $85,000, and need-based financial aid is available on a sliding scale for all other families
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 28 – August 8
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students who have completed at least 9th grade. Precalculus is strongly recommended; mathematical readiness matters more than grade level
HCSSiM is a six-week residential mathematics program at Hampshire College for students ready to spend a summer delving considerably deeper into math than any high school curriculum can. The program opens with workshops in which you and your cohort work through open-ended problems across combinatorics, number theory, probability, topology, and more, guided by college faculty and graduate and undergraduate instructors. Midway through, the format shifts to maxi-courses and mini-courses, allowing you to pursue specific topics in greater depth. Guest lecturers from academia and industry visit throughout the six weeks, and the direction of each workshop is guided by what the students in it find interesting. While this is a paid program, it offers a full scholarship to students who meet family income criteria and a scaling fee structure otherwise.
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