I was wondering if anyone knew how much being a part of the MIT PRIMES program (http://math.mit.edu/research/highschool/primes/index.php) helps in admissions to competitive colleges for math and computer science (MIT, Stanford, CMU, Ivies…). I know that on top of simply being a part of the program there is the potential of getting research published, but how much does just being in the program mean?
Just being in the program - not much. If it leads to a research project, or if it’s something a student can write about in a meaningful way perhaps quite a bit. My kid had various afterschool science related activities (such as an IBM by invitation only lecture series) that were listed on his resume, but I don’t think they did much except reinforce a longstanding interest in STEM subjects.
@mathmom Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear, but every student who is selected for the program engages in a year-long research project with a mentor (either a graduate student at MIT or a college professor). There is a conference at MIT where participants present their research, and all students write a paper outlining their findings (which usually end up on archive), but only a handful get their research papers published. In addition, the selection process is quite rigorous, with only around 5-10% of applicants being selected based on a problem set containing collegiate level problems, essays, and achievements. It seems to me that the IBM lecture series is a different type of program.
Oh I agree, it seemed to me that the MIT program was definitely more research oriented. Unless the student really was not involved it’s hard for me to see how it would not be valuable. The IBM program was aimed at kids early in high school to introduce them to cutting edge research, but it was up to the kids to make connections to pursue things they thought were interesting in future years.