How do you get into RSI? You apply in the middle of junior year, by 11:59 pm ET on December 11, 2026, with essays about your STEM goals, two or three recommendations, a transcript, and PSAT, SAT or ACT scores, and you compete with more than 3,000 other applicants for about 150 free places. CEE, the nonprofit that runs it, says it accepts less than 2.5% of applicants. This guide covers eligibility, the application, what admitted students have in common, and what to do if the answer is no.
Facts about RSI come from the Center for Excellence in Education's own pages as of November 2026, plus named third-party guides where CEE has not published a number. Every page is linked in the Sources section.
What RSI is
The Research Science Institute is a six-week residential summer program run by the Center for Excellence in Education (CEE), a nonprofit founded in 1983, in collaboration with MIT. CEE describes it as the first cost-free summer program to combine on-campus coursework in scientific theory with off-campus research.
The summer has three parts:
- Week one: intensive STEM classes taught by professors, plus an evening lecture series that has included Nobel laureates.
- Weeks two through six: a five-week research internship with a working scientist as mentor, on an individual project. CEE calls this "the heart of RSI." Students read the literature, draft and carry out a research plan, and work what CEE describes as business hours plus.
- The final week: a written paper and a conference-style oral presentation. An outside panel of Boston-area scientists selects five papers and five presentations for commendation.
Each summer about 100 students attend at MIT. In August 2026 CEE announced that RSI will expand to Stanford University in 2027, with an inaugural class of 50 students directed by Andrew Charman, a UC Berkeley physicist and RSI alumnus from 1986. MIT keeps its 100 seats, so the total class grows to about 150. CEE says the Stanford program mirrors MIT: same six weeks, same structure, same cost of zero.
Who is eligible
- Grade: students with one year of high school left. CEE says students typically apply in the middle of their junior year. High school seniors are not eligible, and there is no path for younger students.
- Age: applicants must turn 16 by July 1 of the program year.
- School type: public, private and homeschool students may all apply.
- US citizens and permanent residents apply directly to CEE, including those studying overseas. Schools do not nominate students.
- International students do not apply directly in most cases. Each participating country runs its own selection process on its own schedule, usually through a partner agency. CEE lists partner programs in Bulgaria, China, India, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, and says it has agreements with 61 countries. If you attend school outside the US, contact CEE to ask whether your country participates and who runs selection.
Sophomores cannot apply yet, but the next twelve months are when admitted students do the work that gets them in; see research programs for 10th graders.
What RSI costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition, housing and dining for six weeks | Free, covered by CEE |
| Application fee | $75, non-refundable; waivers available for demonstrated financial need |
| Travel to campus | Not addressed on CEE's FAQ; AdmissionSight reports students pay their own. Confirm with CEE. |
RSI pays no stipend.
Dates and the deadline
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| RSI 2027 application deadline | 11:59 pm ET, December 11, 2026 |
| Decisions | March 2027, sent to all applicants at once; no rolling admission |
| RSI 2027 at MIT | June 20 to July 31, 2027, as reported at Empowerly |
| RSI 2027 at Stanford | June 27 to August 7, 2027, as reported at Empowerly |
CEE has not posted 2027 session dates on its program page; RSI 2024 ran June 23 to August 3. The deadline is firm, and late applications are not considered.
CEE's Stanford announcement said application details for that site would be released later. As of November 2026 there is one application at cee.org, and CEE has not said whether applicants choose a campus or are placed. Check the apply page before you submit.
The RSI acceptance rate
CEE does not publish a formal acceptance rate, but its application FAQ gives the inputs. RSI receives more than 2,500 US applications and about 600 international applications a year, and CEE says it "accepts less than 2.5% of applicants." Third-party guides put the figure between 2% and 5% depending on which year's class size they use.
Two things to keep in mind: the US and international pools are selected separately, and adding 50 seats at Stanford in 2027 raises the total class by half. Unless applications rise in step, 2027 is the easiest RSI cycle in years, which still means odds in the low single digits.
For context on how RSI compares with other selective summers, see summer research programs for 2027 with deadlines and odds.
What the application asks for
| Component | What CEE requires |
|---|---|
| Essays | Written responses about your goals in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. CEE does not publish the prompts in advance. |
| Recommendations | Two from math or science teachers, or one teacher and a research supervisor. CEE accepts a maximum of three letters. If you have done a research project of four weeks or longer, CEE asks you to request a letter from that supervisor. |
| Transcript | Your official high school transcript, uploaded by a counselor or registrar. |
| Test scores | PSAT, SAT, ACT and AP scores. The PSAT is strongly encouraged. International students may submit their own country's national exams if they cannot take US tests. |
| Fee | $75, with waivers available. |
The application is as long as a college application. Finish a week early and give recommenders four to six weeks.
Test score targets
CEE publishes recommended minimums rather than cutoffs:
| Test | Recommended score |
|---|---|
| PSAT | Math 740 or higher; Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 700 or higher |
| SAT | Math 750 or higher |
| ACT | Math 33 or higher; verbal 34 or higher |
CEE's wording is that lower scores "must be offset by strong indicators" such as recommendations, grades and science activities. Scores do not win a seat; they keep your file in the pile while the essays and letters are read.
How to write the RSI essays
CEE does not release prompts, but its FAQ is specific about what it wants to read: curiosity shown through concrete examples, such as self-directed projects, challenging books and online courses, rather than a statement that you love science. Three rules follow:
How to write your first research paper covers explaining a method and a result in plain language, which is the same skill.
Recommendations
Choose teachers who have watched you do something difficult, not the teacher who gave you the highest grade. The strongest file has one letter from a teacher in a rigorous class and one from a supervisor who saw you do research for a month or more. Ask in October and share your activity list and draft essays. See how to get a letter of recommendation from a research mentor.
What admitted students usually have
CEE does not publish a profile, so this section is informed opinion based on what RSI asks for. The pattern described by third-party guides and alumni is consistent:
- Top grades in the hardest courses available, with math past the standard sequence.
- Scores at or above the recommended lines.
- Sustained work outside class in one or two areas: olympiad medals, Science Talent Search entries, a published paper, a science fair run to state or ISEF, or a long-running independent project.
- Evidence of independent research, the element that most separates an RSI file from a strong college application. CEE asks for a research supervisor's letter if you have worked on a project for four weeks or more. That question exists because many admitted students can answer yes.
The practical conclusion for a sophomore or early junior: the most useful thing you can do before December is complete a mentored research project and get it to a result. That is what the YRI Fellowship is built to do: ten weeks, one PhD mentor, one first-author paper submitted to a peer-reviewed venue, and a mentor letter at the end. Students who finish before the RSI deadline apply with a supervisor letter, a manuscript and a specific research interest in hand. For other routes, see how to find a research mentor and how to email a professor about research.
The odds, frankly
Three thousand applications for roughly 150 seats. Most applicants have top grades, many have the scores, and a large share have competition results. The committee is choosing among students who are all qualified, so a rejection from RSI says nothing about whether a student is good at research. Hundreds of students with files equivalent to the admitted class are turned away every year because the dormitory has a fixed number of beds.
Apply if you are eligible, because the application is cheap and the upside is large. Do not build a junior year around it. Apply to the Summer Science Program, Simons, Clark Scholars and the others on the same calendar, and make sure the research you would have done at RSI happens anyway.
If you do not get in
Rejections arrive in March of junior year. That leaves one summer and one fall before college applications, and the question that matters is what you will have done by then.
The students RSI admits mostly did research before they applied. That is the part of their profile you can copy without an acceptance letter. A first-author paper submitted to a peer-reviewed venue, an ISEF or JSHS run, and a detailed letter from the PhD who supervised the work are what admissions officers read as evidence of research ability, and none of them requires a residential program.
The YRI Fellowship is designed for exactly this timeline: ten weeks of one-on-one work with a PhD mentor, the student as first author, a paper submitted to IEEE, Springer or Elsevier venues, and ISEF and JSHS preparation included. Mentorship continues at no extra cost until the paper is published. 87% of Fellows publish, 73% place at competitions, and Fellows have been admitted to Brown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Caltech and Harvard. It costs $2,997, with a three-month payment plan and case-by-case scholarships, and admissions are rolling, so a student who hears from RSI in March can start in April and have a submitted paper by the time the Common App opens. See how research strengthens college applications and how to publish a research paper in high school for what that looks like on the application itself.
Download the YRI Fellowship brochure
The program, the outcomes, the mentors and the tuition, in one PDF you can read with your family.
Related guides
- YRI vs RSI vs SSP, all three compared
- Summer research programs for high school students 2027: deadlines, costs and odds
- How to get into MIT
- Research opportunities for high school students
- How to start a research project in high school
- Regeneron Science Talent Search guide
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the RSI acceptance rate?
CEE's FAQ says RSI receives more than 2,500 US and about 600 international applications a year and accepts less than 2.5% of applicants. With 150 seats across MIT and Stanford in 2027, the rate stays in the low single digits.
When is the RSI 2027 deadline?
Applications for RSI 2027 close at 11:59 pm ET on December 11, 2026. CEE does not consider late applications, and decisions go out to everyone in March.
Is RSI free?
Yes. Tuition, housing and dining are covered at both MIT and Stanford. The application fee is $75, with waivers for demonstrated need. Confirm travel arrangements with CEE.
Can sophomores or seniors apply to RSI?
No. RSI is for students with one year of high school left, who typically apply in the middle of junior year and must turn 16 by July 1 of the program year. Seniors are not eligible.
Does RSI require the SAT or ACT?
CEE asks US applicants to submit PSAT, SAT or ACT scores if they can take those tests, and strongly encourages the PSAT. Recommended levels are PSAT Math 740 and reading and writing 700, SAT Math 750, or ACT Math 33 and verbal 34. Lower scores can be offset by strong recommendations, grades and research.
Can international students apply to RSI?
Yes, through their own country's selection process rather than directly. CEE has agreements with 61 countries; contact CEE to ask whether yours participates. See also research programs for international students.
What is RSI at Stanford?
Starting in summer 2027, CEE is adding a second RSI site at Stanford for 50 students. CEE says it is the same six-week program at the same zero cost. MIT continues with 100 students.
What should I do if I do not get into RSI?
Do the research anyway. The admitted class mostly did research before applying, and a first-author paper plus a mentor's letter carries the same weight on a college application whether or not it came from a summer program. The YRI Fellowship is a ten-week, one-on-one program with a PhD mentor that ends in a paper submitted to a peer-reviewed venue, with ISEF and JSHS preparation included; 87% of Fellows publish. Applying takes ten minutes and there is no fee.
Sources
- CEE: Research Science Institute (program structure, 100 students at MIT, 50 at Stanford in 2027, cost-free, December 11 deadline)
- CEE: Apply to RSI (eligibility, recommendations, transcript, test scores and recommended minimums, deadline)
- CEE: RSI Application FAQs (age 16 by July 1, homeschool eligibility, $75 fee and waivers, 2,500 US and 600 international applications, less than 2.5% accepted, March decisions)
- CEE: Life at RSI (seminar week, labs weeks two to five, outside panel selects five papers and five presentations)
- CEE: RSI International Outreach (partner countries and selection agencies)
- CEE: Applications Being Accepted for 2024 RSI (2024 dates June 23 to August 3, six-week structure)
- CEE press release via Chester County Press: RSI at MIT Will Expand to Stanford in 2027 (50 students, director, free, CEE founding)
- Empowerly: competitive summer programs 2027 (reported 2027 session dates for MIT and Stanford)
- AdmissionSight: Research Science Institute complete guide (no official rate published, travel costs, application tips)
- Polygence: how to get into RSI (third-party acceptance rate estimate, application components)