High School Honors: How to Apply

Admissions

If you are entering your junior or senior year of high school in fall 2026, we invite you to apply. Qualified juniors need to be in Honors and/or AP courses.

Admission decisions take into consideration your high school grades, rigor of courses taken, standardized test scores (optional for summer 2026), personal statement, and one letter of recommendation. A second letter of recommendation is optional.

The application must be submitted by the prospective student, not by a parent, guardian, counselor, agent, or other party. Please use the information below to prepare your application. Applications will be saved automatically and can be revisited and edited before being submitted.

Application instructions

Submit the online application. The following items are required to submit the online application.

• High school transcript: Your full high school transcript must begin in 9th grade and include your fall 2025 grades (a minimum of your quarter 1 grade report, trimester 1 grade report, or semester 1 progress report is required). Transcripts do not need to be official; we will accept screenshots of an academic portal as long as the student’s name is visible.
• Personal statement: You will be required to submit a personal statement of 500–750 words describing why you want to attend the High School Honors program.
• One recommendation: You will also be required to enter the email addresses for one person who will submit a recommendation on your behalf. This recommendation should be from an academic teacher. A second, optional recommendation can be from a counselor, advisor, or teacher who knows you well. We cannot accept recommendations from tutors, coaches, or course prep facilitators.

• • Once you create login credentials and can access the application form, you will submit your recommendation request on the Recommendations page. We strongly recommend you submit the recommendation request as soon as you have identified your recommender(s) – do not wait until you are ready to submit the entire application to request the recommendation. Teachers appreciate having as much time as possible to respond.
  • Once you have submitted your recommendation request, you will be able to track the status of the request on your Applicant Portal, and will be notified when a recommendation is received by Summer Term on your behalf. You may add or change a recommender through your Applicant Portal after you submit your application, in the event a recommender does not respond. Please note that the emailed recommendation form must be used, and outside letters cannot be accepted. The recommendation consists of a series of multiple-choice questions and one open field response.
• Standardized test scores: We have adopted a standardized test-optional policy for summer 2026 applicants. Should you choose to submit a SAT, ACT, PSAT, or PreACT as part of your application, please upload an unofficial copy of the score along with your other supplemental materials (a screenshot is fine). We will not receive them if you send them through the testing agency. In order to be accepted, your full name must be visible on the score report. Note that this test-optional policy does not apply to English language proficiency exams, which are still required for international applicants if English is not your native language.
• International documents: International students must upload a copy of your current valid passport and additional forms with their application in order to obtain an F-1 student visa. We also require proof of English language proficiency, such as scores from the TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo, if English is not your native language. For English proficiency test score requirements, please see Information for International Students.
  • The deadline for international students is March 14, 2026 at 5:00pm.
• Financial documents (financial aid applicants only): If applying for financial aid, please visit our Tuition, Aid, & Payment page for information on required documents. Do not email these materials. Please note that students enrolled in only one course (commuter or online) and international students are not eligible for financial aid.
  • The deadline to apply for financial aid is February 4, 2026 at 11:59pm.
• Application fee: A $75 nonrefundable application fee, paid by credit card, is required at the time of submission of the online application form.

HIGH SCHOOL HONORS APPLICATION

Applications are only reviewed for admissions after all of the materials listed above are received and verified by our office.

You can check the status of your application at any time through your Applicant Portal. After submitting the application, you can currently make the following changes in your Applicant Portal.

• Upload additional materials – Be sure to email us at summerhs@bu.edu when you provide new materials after you submit. Doing so alerts our team to verify your new materials and minimizes delays in receiving your decision.
• Update your permanent or mailing address
• Change your email address
• Change your password
• Update or change your recommender

If you need to request a major change, please contact us at summerhs@bu.edu.

Note: Email is the primary form of communication during the admissions process. Please be aware that parents or guardians are copied on all correspondence from our office. Therefore, you should ensure that both parent or guardian and student email addresses are entered correctly on the application, and inform our office immediately if there is a change in either email address.

Email: summerhs@bu.edu
Fax: 617-358-0646

Mailing Address:
Boston University Summer Term
High School Honors Program
200 Riverway, Suite 214
Boston, MA 02215

Application deadline

The final application deadline for domestic applicants to the High School Honors program is May 22, 2026, at 5 pm EDT (February 4, 2026, at 11:59 pm EST, for financial aid applicants, and March 14, 2026, at 5 pm EST for international students). All supplemental materials and recommendation letters must also be received by this date. Please note that we may stop accepting applications if courses fill up, so we encourage you to apply early.

If you are applying for financial aid, applications are not considered complete until financial aid documents have been received. Admission decisions are made without regard to financial aid requests. Please note that financial aid applications are not reviewed on a rolling basis; all financial aid decisions will be released within three weeks of the February 4th deadline, but not before.

Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis. Once our office verifies that your application is complete, it will be reviewed for admissions. We will contact you if any additional or corrected materials are needed to complete your application. 

We begin reviewing applications at the beginning of January. Within three weeks of your application being verified as complete by our office, you will be notified of an admission decision.

Contact us

If you have any additional questions or comments, please contact us.