MIT is a great school, and hosts great summer programs for high school students. Some of these we’ve discussed before, like the Research Science Institute. That program is relatively straightforward; it’s an institute where high school students do research in science. Not all of their offerings are so simply named however, which leads to the topic of this article: What is the Beaver Works Summer Institute? Is it prestigious? Do I have to study beavers?
In this article, we’re going to explore the answers to these questions (though spoiler, there are very few actual beavers at Beaver Works). We’re going to explore what this program is, how you can get involved, and whether or not it’s a good option for you to pursue with your time this summer. Let’s jump right in!
Understanding Beaver Works Summer Institute
Beaver Works is a collection of programs at MIT, all of which are devoted to introducing promising high school students to advanced STEM topics. The most prominent of these is the Summer Institute (generally abbreviated to BWSI), a four week program hosted on MIT’s campus each summer.
During this program, students take part in hands-on project based learning, using newly developed skills to tackle real world problems and challenges. Note that there are both in-person and virtual courses each summer; students choose their ideal course and secondary ones when applying. These courses, both in-person and virtual, are full-day affairs (with breaks for meals of course).
Note that while some of these courses are only offered in-person, BWSI is not a residential program. Students taking part in these in-person courses are responsible for finding their own housing, and parents are required to supervise them during this month when they are not on campus. There is a fee of $2,350 to take part in BWSI. This fee is waived for families earning less than $150,000 annually. Proof of income is required in these cases.
The courses cover various fields in STEM, though many have computer science, engineering, or robotics components. You will be asked to list three preferences when applying (more on how that works in the next section), but you are not guaranteed to get your first choice course.
Applying to Beaver Works Summer Institute
BWSI has one of the most convoluted application processes we’ve encountered, and that’s saying something. It isn’t necessarily more difficult or competitive than other applications, but there are many moving parts, and it’s easy to get confused. We’ll break down how it works in detail to help you understand it.
All applications for BWSI begin and are done online. Here is a timeline for how the process works:
- Students register for online courses. Note that these are not the online summer courses offered by BWSI, but are self-paced online prerequisite courses designed to both give the students the skills they need to manage BWSI, and to help select which students will be admitted to the program.
- Note that students can self-register for these online courses, or may be nominated by a teacher.
- As part of the online course’s prerequisite program, students must take an individual benchmark exam (which measures their progress and learning in the course) to be eligible for summer.
- Those students who are eligible then are sent the application link for BWSI, and must complete that application.
- All students who enroll in BWSI must complete the online course prior to the start of the summer program.
It is possible to complete the prerequisite online courses without enrolling in the full BWSI. This can be a valuable learning experience even if you don’t qualify for Beaver Works as a whole, and it is worth considering registering for these courses if you have a strong interest in STEM.
Note that students not in the US may enroll in these online prerequisite courses, but only students residing and attending high school in the US may take part in the full summer institute. Homeschooled students within the US are allowed to participate fully in both programs.
Registration for the initial online summer courses opens in December. Registration and login information for these is sent out in mid-January.
The Beaver Works Prerequisite Course
The prerequisite courses are one of the most important parts of the Beaver Works application, which is something that surprises many students, or catches them off guard. These are serious courses, and require a significant investment of both time and effort to complete. Moreover, your actual performance in them matters. You don’t need to master every topic, but you do need to be seen trying, putting forth your best effort into what’s asked of you.
These courses are online and asynchronous, and can be done at more or less your own pace. We say more or less because you need to have completed half of the course’s modules done by a certain point in time to be considered for your application; how much must be done and when depends on the course, but usually this first milestone must be reached by the end of March.
Courses have various modules; lectures and readings on a specific topic, mirroring the format of a university course (which is what it is intended to be). There are discussion sections as part of these, where you must put in your own response to the material, and respond to that of another student. Instructors are specifically looking for you to go beyond summarizing the content of the reading or lecture, but to bring in original ideas, thoughts, or conclusions based on what you have learned.
These courses are a lot of work, and presented at a collegiate level. In total, you can expect one of these courses to require fifty hours of work, for watching the lectures, doing the readings, and composing your responses. There aren’t any tests or quizzes like an ordinary course, but the work you do still matters. It prepares you for what you’re going to learn during the summer, and lets the teacher of the course evaluate if you are fully prepared. This is their initial evaluation, before even what is asked on the application itself.
The Beaver Works Application
The Beaver Works application requires several specific components. First, of course, the online course we discussed above. Next is the application itself, this has standard demographic questions, three short essays, and asks for a single letter of recommendation. It is not the easiest summer program application, but it isn’t the bulkiest either (outside of the prerequisite course).
When you apply, you are asked for your first, second, and third choices for summer courses. They recommend (and we agree) entering all three, even if one is your clear favorite. Each course has its own prerequisite course, but you are only expected to do the one for your first choice. If you instead get your second (or third), you may switch partway through; you must finish the entire online prerequisite for the course you end up being admitted to.
The essay questions are the most important part of the application itself (though we have already discussed how important the prerequisite courses are). These essay questions change each year, but always relate in some way to your interests in STEM, and the Beaver Works program.
When answering these questions, your goal should be to highlight how you are a good fit for this program, and any prior experience you have had with these fields. You want to be very genuine in your answers, and showcase real passion for the topics at hand. MIT is known to like students who like learning and exploration for their own sakes, and this is true in their summer programs as well.
Your letter of recommendation can come from either a teacher or a mentor who has worked with you on STEM projects in an academic setting. The letter should not come from a family member (even if they fall into one of those categories). This letter is due by April 3, and should be sent to Beaver Works directly by your recommender. We recommend asking for these well ahead of time; composing a good letter takes time.
Is Beaver Works a Good Program for You?
This is always the question with summer programs, for they don’t exist in a vacuum. The point of any of these is to help you explore topics you are interested in that you might not find in high school, and to help you prepare for what you may be studying in college.
To that end, Beaver Works is incredibly helpful for some students. If you are interested in STEM, especially computer science and engineering, then you can find a number of excellent programs and learning opportunities here. If instead you are interested in the social sciences or humanities, then this may not be the best program for you to pursue.
Beaverworks is somewhat unique in terms of these programs because of its multi-part structure, and how freely accessible the prerequisite courses are. Thus students can benefit from this part of the program without ever intending or partaking in the latter part.
Note that simply taking these Beaver Works prerequisite courses isn’t a major activity, and is not something generally worth bragging about in your college applications. Instead, this is something to do if you have a deep interest in one or more of these fields, and want a guided approach to studying and exploring it in more depth. Many of these are subjects which high schools do not regularly teach, and getting to explore collegiate level coursework in them is a great chance to see if they are something you are truly interested in.
The program itself is a good opportunity, if not in the very top tier, and is something worth applying to if you are interested in these fields. We advise having it be an option if you are applying to other programs focused on technology, engineering, or other STEM fields; even if you end up attending another program, the coursework you take to prepare for Beaver Works will set you up well for that as well.
Final Thoughts
There are many options for summer programs, especially for students interested in STEM, but Beaver Works offers something unique, even in this crowded field. The prerequisite courses are a lot of work, but that same work is highly beneficial for students if done with intention, even if Beaver Works may not be the perfect summer program for your goals. We hope that this article helped you understand what this program offers, and whether taking part is a good way to spend your summer.
If you are trying to find exactly the right summer program to match your interests, or want help managing the coursework required to apply to Beaver Works, then Ivy Scholars can help. Our mentors are masters of helping students apply to summer programs, and teaching you the techniques you need to manage your time well. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can make your summer program applications easier, we’re always happy to hear from you.
