Summer is the highest-leverage time on a student's calendar. A focused summer program lets you go deep on a subject, live on a college campus, and produce something tangible while school is out. Massachusetts is home to MIT and Harvard, RSI and PROMYS, and a dense Boston-Cambridge cluster of labs, hospitals, and startups.

Options include selective pre-college programs at universities, STEM intensives like SSP and COSMOS, arts and writing institutes, and free, fully funded programs for students with financial need.

How you spend your summers tells colleges what you choose to do with unstructured time — a powerful indicator of genuine interest.

How to get started with summer programs

1. Start in the fall — the best summer programs have December–February deadlines for the following summer.
2. Prioritize selective, free or aid-supported programs (SSP, MITES, COSMOS, TASS) over pay-to-play enrichment.
3. Pick programs that go deep on one interest and produce something tangible — a project, portfolio, or paper.
4. Line up recommendations early and give teachers three weeks' notice with a short brag sheet.
5. Have a strong plan B: a local research reach-out, a self-directed project, or a virtual program you can run yourself.

Featured programs

Browse 17+ curated programs for high school students:

• PROMYS at Boston University — Boston University: Explore number theory in a 6-week immersive summer program for high schoolers. Build research skills, enhance college applications, and dive into hand
• Beaver Works Summer Institute — MIT: Elite summer program for high schoolers in Grades 10-11 focused on STEM fields like drones and cybersecurity. Gain hands-on experience and boost colle
• Harvard Summer School — Harvard: Transform your summer with a 7-week program at Harvard. Earn college credit, deepen academic skills, and boost your college applications through hands
• Boston University Summer Challenge — Boston University: Academic summer programs at Boston University. Pre-college courses and campus experience.
• Broad Institute Scientific Internship Program — Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Research internship at world-leading genomics research institute.
• Tufts University Pre-College Programs — Tufts University: Pre-college summer at Tufts University. Multiple tracks including STEM, international relations, and humanities. College credit available.
• Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra — Boston Symphony Orchestra: Elite orchestral training at Boston Symphony's Tanglewood. Perform in renowned summer music festival setting.
• Secondary School Program at Harvard — Harvard University: Take actual Harvard undergraduate courses for college credit. Live on campus and experience Ivy League academic environment.
• Boston College Experience — Boston College: Explore a two-week summer program for high school sophomores and juniors at Boston College. Build academic skills, enhance college applications, and e
• Tufts Pre-College Programs — Tufts University: Transform your summer with hands-on academic programs for high schoolers in grades 10-12. Build skills, boost college applications, and explore future
• Boston Leadership Institute — Boston Leadership Institute: Boost college applications with a Boston-based summer program for high schoolers. Gain hands-on experience, enhance academic skills, and explore futur
• MIT Sloan Business Analytics Program — MIT Sloan: Master data analytics and strategy in this hands-on summer program for high school students. Develop Python skills and boost college applications with
• Sphinx Performance Academy — Sphinx Organization: Full-scholarship summer chamber music intensive for string players ages 11-17, hosted in 2026 at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and CU Boulder; every
• LLCipher — MIT Lincoln Laboratory: Free one-week summer cryptography workshop from MIT Lincoln Laboratory at Beaver Works in Cambridge, MA, introducing high schoolers to the abstract al
• GrubStreet Teen Summer Writing Fellowship — GrubStreet: Free three-week summer writing fellowship at GrubStreet in Boston for local students entering grades 9-12; fellows study with published authors, meet
• Wall Street 101 — Bentley University: One-week finance immersion at Bentley University's trading room (60 workstations, 24 Bloomberg terminals) for rising juniors and seniors. Residential
• Babson Summer Study — Babson College: Babson College's credit-bearing summer entrepreneurship program for high school juniors and seniors: earn 4 Babson credits fully online ($6,295) or in

Frequently asked questions