10 Competitive Summer Programs for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
If you’re a middle schooler thinking about how to stand out later in high school, it helps to start exploring a subject/field early. What you do in middle school can shape your interests, give you direction, and build habits that last. Competitive summer programs are one way to do that. These programs often involve real work: projects, presentations, and mentorship from university students or professionals.
Some include subjects that many schools don’t teach, like artificial intelligence, environmental engineering, neuroscience, or urban design. Because they are competitive, these programs can also be strong additions to your college application later on.
What do we mean by “competitive” summer programs for middle school students?
In this blog, competitive summer programs are defined as those that are rigorous, often free or low-cost, and selective in their admissions. Many of these programs require a formal application—sometimes including essays, transcripts, or recommendations—and have low acceptance rates. While not as intense as some high school-level research programs, they still admit only a portion of applicants, and are super rigorous in nature!
To help you explore what’s out there, here’s a list of 10 competitive summer programs for middle school students!
10 Competitive Summer Programs for Middle School Students
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program gives you the opportunity to explore your academic interests and develop a project you’re truly passionate about. You’ll work one-on-one with mentors who guide you through every step of your project. These mentors are scholars from top universities like Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, and LSE.
The program is open to projects in a wide range of fields, including STEM, humanities, and social sciences. Founded by a Harvard and Oxford PhD who met during their undergraduate years at Harvard, the program is designed to be both challenging and rewarding. You can find the application in the brochure!
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,400. Need-based financial aid is available.
Application Deadline: February 9 (early admission), March 9 (priority admission), April 13 (regular admission I), and May 11 (regular admission II) or June 23 (Summer Cohort II)
Program Dates: 8 weeks starting June 2 (Summer Cohort I) or July 14 (Summer Cohort II)
Eligibility: Middle school students
Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program gives you a chance to explore the basics of artificial intelligence and machine learning in a way that’s engaging and practical. Over 25 hours, you’ll get hands-on experience with Python and learn about cool topics like data analysis, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics.
With a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio, you’ll get plenty of one-on-one support during lectures and group sessions. Past students have built machine learning models to classify music genres or even created algorithms to recommend educational resources tailored to specific needs.
Location: Remote
Cost: $1,790. Need-based financial aid is available.
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines for each cohort. If you'd like to take a look at the cohorts and deadlines, you can refer to this page.
Program Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (on weekends) during the spring cohort and 25 hours over 2 weeks (on weekdays) during the summer cohort.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8
The Stanford Middle School Scholars Program is an online program designed to help you get ready for high school. It starts with three weeks of summer classes, followed by weekly meetings in the fall. You’ll work on skills like academic writing, math problem-solving, and developing a growth mindset, all while learning how to explore your high school options.
Throughout the program, you’ll have live classes with instructors from Stanford Online High School, where you’ll get personalized support and feedback. You’ll also receive guidance on applying to high school programs and selective schools.
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 12
Application Deadline: March 20
Program Dates: 3 weeks in July and fall semester from mid-August–December
Eligibility: Low-income students in grades 6 or 7 who reside in and attend school in the U.S. and with a family income of less than $90,000.
The State Pre-College Enrichment Program (S-PREP) is a great option for middle school students interested in medicine and STEM. You’ll take courses in subjects like Anatomy, Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Brain & Cognitive Science. There are also math classes like Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Calculus, plus PSAT prep if you’re looking to get a head start.
Along with the courses, S-PREP offers workshops to help you with college prep, career development, and even college tours. You’ll also have access to college counseling to guide you through your options. Plus, students in S-PREP can apply for summer research programs with places like the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Location: New York, NY
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: April 15
Program Dates: July 7 – August 1
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 – 12 with a strong interest in medicine or related STEM subjects and who maintain an 80% grade average particularly in math and science
NYU’s Science of Smart Cities is a hands-on course for middle school students interested in engineering, technology, and computer science. You’ll explore topics like electronics, coding, microcontrollers, sensors, and other hardware. Working in teams, you’ll design projects that tackle real-world challenges.
The program also covers environmental and urban science, teaching you about sustainable design. By the end of the course, you’ll have not only learned technical skills but also improved your problem-solving and teamwork abilities.
Location: New York, NY
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: May 15
Program Dates: July 7 – August 1
Eligibility: Rising 7 – 8th graders who residents of NYC
NYU’s Sounds of New York City (SONYC) lets middle school students explore sound waves, noise pollution, and its effects on public health. You’ll sample sounds from local communities and study how they impact the environment. Along the way, you’ll learn electronics and coding to build devices that create and monitor sound.
At the end of the program, you’ll develop a smart city technology project and present it at an expo. To help with your presentation, you’ll attend theater-based communication workshops, giving you the skills to share your work confidently.
Location: New York, NY
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: May 15
Program Dates: July 7 – August 1
Eligibility: Rising 7 – 8th graders who are residents of NYC
7. dynaMIT
dynaMIT is a hands-on program by MIT that gives middle school students a chance to explore science and engineering. It’s a free program, aimed at students from underserved communities. In the program, you’ll work on projects in areas like physics, robotics, chemistry, and computer science.
MIT undergraduate and graduate students will mentor you, guiding you through experiments and activities. You’ll learn skills like coding, building models, and problem-solving. The program lets you connect with other students who are interested in STEM and gives you a taste of what it's like to study at MIT.
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: February 10
Program Dates: Week 1 starting August 11 for rising 6th – 7th graders. Week 2 for rising 8th – 9th graders
Eligibility: Rising 6 – 9th grade students
The Summer Engineering Experience: Making & Engineering (SEE) is a week-long program for middle school students who are interested in math and science. The Making & Engineering track focuses on engineering and design. Throughout the week, you’ll attend presentations and work on two projects.
The first is a group project that helps you learn to work as a team and solve problems together. The second project is individual, where you can be creative and design something on your own. By the end of the program, you’ll have developed skills in problem-solving, teamwork, and design, and you’ll have hands-on experience with real engineering projects.
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: April 10 (tentative)
Program Dates: July 7 – 11
Eligibility: Rising 8 – 9th grade students
Purdue University’s Physics Inside Out is an interactive program for middle school students that explores physics, astrophysics, and astronomy. You’ll take part in hands-on activities and lessons led by Purdue faculty and research staff.
The program also includes a tour of the university’s campus and research facilities, where you can see science in action. Plus, you’ll get a free lunch during the program, making it a fun and educational experience from start to finish.
Location: West Lafayette, IN
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 15 (tentative)
Application Deadline: April 17
Program Dates: June 9 – 13
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 and 8
The Ulysses S. Grant Foundation offers a 6-week program where Yale undergraduate students teach middle school students a “Core” class. You can choose from two types of courses: Investigations or Humanities. Investigations classes cover subjects like climate change, abnormal psychology, and architecture, while Humanities classes focus on art, ethnic studies, and literature.
Along with the Core classes, you’ll also take part in electives and group activities. These activities can include classroom discussions, debates, writing, acting, playing music, or even participating in activism.
Location: New Haven, CT
Cost: $75. Full financial aid is available.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: 8 – 15
Application Deadline: February 21
Program Dates: June 23 – July 30
Eligibility: Middle school students enrolled in public and parochial schools in New Haven, CT
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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