It is up to each school to determine their selection process (lottery, first-come/ first-serve, pre-application ) in choosing two (2) designated nominees.Schools that exceed the two (2) student nomination limit, as well as independently submitted, late, and incomplete applications may be disqualified.
Yes. Schools that have not previously nominated a student in prior years will not appear on our current database. Should that be the case, any schoolofficial (typically a science teacher, a science research coordinator) may nominate students for the Simons program by completing the nomination form and we will include that information on our database in future years.It is strongly recommended that only one (1) school official be in charge of the nomination process to ensure there are no more than two (2) nominees from each school.
No. Allapplicants mustcurrentlybe in their junior year (11th grade) of high school at the time of applying; must be US citizens and/or permanent residents; and must be at least 16 years of age by the start of the program.
No. If admitted into the Simons program, all participants will need to provide documentation/proof of being a US citizen or holding a valid/current permanent/resident card. There are no expections to this requirement.
No. All applicants must currently be in their third year of high school (11th grade) at the time of application. There are no expections to this requirement.
The deadline for students to apply to the Simons SRP program is: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2024 @ 11:59 PM (EST). We are unable to receive and consider materials submitted after the deadline. Teacher recommendations should be submitted by FEBRUARY 15, 2024.
A completed application comprises: 1) online application; 2) student transcript (uploaded with online application); 3) two letters of recommendation from teachers (math/science preferred); and 4) school nomination from desginated high school official. Applicants who have prior research experience may also request a third letter of recommendation from a previous faculty mentor.
Please do not attempt to send any other supplementary materials (test scores, resumes, awards)that are not requested as we are unable to include with application files.
Applicants may select their top three faculty mentor preferences on their online application. We cannot accommodate requests to work with mentors not on the published list. Students who are interested in independent research (outside the SSRP program) should not be discouraged from contacting faculty directly and making their own arrangements.
Contacting and reaching out to potential faculty mentors is not essential during the application process. Many faculty mentors are extremely busy with other obligations and often are unable to respond to individual applicant inquiries. Applicants in some cases may be contacted by Simons SRP staff or potential faculty mentors as part of the application process.
Applicants will be notified when letters of recommendation are submitted. Teachers who submit a letter of recommendation on behalf of an applicant will receive an automated email confirming submission of their letter of recommendation. (It is recommended that both applicants and teachers check spam email folders, as sometimes these confirmation messages are filtered there.)
All applicants will be notified of their admissionsdecision in early April. The Simons program is unable to release early admissions decisions. Applicants whom receive offers from programs at other institutions and need to commit are encouraged to take advantage of those opportunities. Applicantswhom wish to withdraw their application/admissions candidacy should contact simonssrp@stonybrook.edu.
There are no tuition charges/fees; however participants are responsible for their own transportation/dining costs (commuters) and/or residential costs (if dorming on campus).
Upon admission, the program will require proof of medical insurance coverage, waivers regarding liability, emergency contact forms, etc. from the applicant and their parent or guardian.
All admissions decisions are final. Please note that admissions into the Simons program is highly selective and we receive far more applications from extremely talented qualified students than we can accommodate in the program. Due to the extremely large number of applications received, the Simons program cannot provide individualized feedback to applicants.
There are many wonderful mentors for High School Researchers outside of the SSRP program at Stony Brook University. These arrangements are made by mutual agreement between students and faculty mentors, are contingent upon University guidelines, and may require additional paperwork (to be coordinated by the mentor's department) . Additionally, we suggest that applicants seek out alternate research and science education programs offered at Stony Brook University and elsewhere.
The Simons Summer Research Program is very competitive and applicants should not be discouraged from pursuing research by other means.
