The 2025 High School Research application will open in the Spring 2025. Please check back in March 2025.

Feel free to share your contact information through the linked JotForm to receive a notification when the application is open.

BTI 2025 High School Research Experience will be open to current high school students over the age of 16 by the start of the program and are available to participate in-person full-time from June 30th to August 7th (Monday through Friday). Selected students will receive an educational stipend of approximently $4,200 for the program. Housing and meal stipends are not included in the high school research program.

To be eligible, students must currently reside in the Ithaca region or surrounding counties as year-round residents and live within a reasonable daily commute to Cornell University (see image of NY state map).

Students cannot be graduating seniors and must be 16 years or older by June 30, 2025 to be eligible to apply.

Follow the link below to access our online application and create an account to begin.

Excited to apply and meet the requirements for the program? Read below to learn more about the application process. 

For your application to be considered, students must:

• Complete and submit the questions in the application form
• Include a 500 – 700 word essay explaining your interest in the research experience and potential career and educational aspirations
• Include a copy of your current (unofficial) transcript(s)
• Share two recommenders (name, phone, and email) who we can reach out to directly (your recommenders do not need to provide us a letter as part of the application process)
• Optional: Upload a copy of your resume

Application Tips:

Recommenders:
For your recommenders, consider asking a teacher, community leader, past employer, guidance counselor, program coordinator, etc. to serve as a recommender. Recommenders are typically individuals who can speak to your past academic performance, career or educational interests, work ethic, character, skills, or experience with a job (paid or unpaid). A parent or guardian is not a suitable reference for our program. You will be asked to share up-to-date contact information that we can use to reach out to them directly at a later time. 

Application:
We recommend creating your login account with an email that you plan to check regularly and writing down your password. It’s also a good idea to review all the questions in the application first and collect the necessary documents: transcripts, contacts for references, and a resume (optional). We also recommend reviewing the labs & projects available and determining which type of lab assignment you will be interested in. You will not be asked to select a specific lab, but the application will ask you to select if you are interested in a bioinformatics lab placement or a wet lab/field work lab placement. You can always save your application before you are ready to submit it and come back the next day to finish a section.

Essay:
For your essay, we do not expect applicants to have any prior experience in a research lab or working in science. Our review team wants to hear why you are applying to this program, why this program is of interest to you, and how this could relate to your educational or career aspirations. This essay is the best way for the review committee to understand your interests and your background. We anticipate this will be the biggest time commitment of the application and recommend writing a draft in google docs, word, etc. and getting another person (friend, teacher, parent/guardian) to review it for you. When you are finished editing the essay, you can copy it into the box on the application.

Resume:
We recognize that you may not have a resume, or feel you don’t have enough experience to create a resume. While it is not required, if you have time to create one the reviewers will read it. This is a great place to share that you were in the chess club, captain of the basketball team, or employee of the month at your local grocery store if it doesn’t come up in the essay. Google Docs and Microsoft Word both have resume templates that can get you started.

Click here to apply today!

Internships are funded by the National Science Foundation, Research Experiences for Undergraduates Award #1358843, individual faculty grants, and the generosity of donors including the Emerson Foundation , Ithaca Garden Club, John Ben Snow, the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County, Rheonix, Triad Foundation Inc, Yunis Realty , and many individual donors.