RISE: How to Apply

Admissions

If you are entering your senior year of high school in fall 2025 and are a US citizen or legal permanent resident, we invite you to apply. Admission decisions take into consideration your high school grades, rigor of courses taken, standardized test scores (optional for summer 2025), essays, and one letter of recommendation.

The application must be completed by the prospective student, not by a parent, guardian, counselor, agent, or other party. Please use the information below to prepare your application ahead of time, as applications cannot be saved and finished later.

Application instructions

  1. Complete the online application. The following items are required to complete an online application.
    • Essays: You will be required to submit three essays on the following topics:
      1. Why you selected your subject of interest (300 words)
      2. Your academic achievements (250 words)
      3. Why you want to attend the RISE program (200 words)
    • Internship applicants only: You must list three faculty members you are interested in working with this summer and explain how their research interests align with yours. Please consult the Internship page to learn more about the exciting research happening at BU and to find professors whose interests match your own. Note: We cannot guarantee that students accepted into the RISE Internship track will be placed in one of the laboratories listed on their application. We also cannot provide a list of available mentors.
    • One recommendation: You will also be required to enter the email address for one person who will submit a recommendation on your behalf. The recommendation should be from a science or math teacher, a guidance counselor, or a research supervisor with whom you have worked for at least six months and who knows you well. We cannot accept recommendations from tutors or course prep facilitators. Once you submit your online application, instructions for submitting a recommendation will be emailed automatically to your recommender. Note: 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.
    • Application fee: A $60 nonrefundable application fee, paid by credit card, is required at the time of submission of the online application form.

RISE APPLICATION

  1. Upload supplemental materials. You will receive an upload link via email upon successful submission of your application.
    • High school transcript: Your full high school transcript must include your fall 2024 grades (in a quarter system, this includes first and second quarter grades). Transcripts do not need to be official; we will accept screenshots of an academic portal as long as the student’s name is visible. The most competitive applicants will have a cumulative, unweighted GPA in the A– to A range.
    • Standardized test scores: We have adopted a standardized test-optional policy for summer 2025 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.
    • 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. The deadline to apply for financial aid is the same as the application deadline of February 14, 2025.

Applications are only reviewed after all of the materials listed above are received.

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: rise@bu.edu
Fax: 617-358-0646

Mailing Address:
Boston University Summer Term
Academic Immersion Program
200 Riverway, Suite B14
Boston, MA 02215

Application deadline

The deadline to submit a RISE application and supplemental materials is February 14, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST. Recommendations are due by February 21, 2025 at 11:59 pm EST, and applicants are responsible for ensuring that their recommender submits by the deadline. For further information on the RISE admissions process, see the RISE Admissions Timeline page. 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.

Contact us

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

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