Hey, I am planning to apply to the SIMR program 2016 and was wondering if any of the previous students who attended could give us some insight into who are selected and whats the program really like.
I attended SIMR this year and if you want insight you have to be a little more specific because anyone who participated in the program can only really speak for themselves. When I talked to my mentor he really emphasized that the essays are the make-or-break of an application, not the test scores and grades. As for the program, I have to say that even though it was a lot of work, those two months were the best of my life because I was surrounded by people with similar goals which I never had before.
Thanks for your reply
So in more particular, I was sort of confused on what they were looking for in the tweet. Do they want something more creative that conveys the type of person you are (not related to science), or are they looking for something more serious that talks about your aspirations?
LOL I don’t think the tweet has much weight at all but put something that shows who you are in the best way possible. I put something like “Imagine looking for someone to join a project integrating science and math that would push the limits of patience and grit. #Iamher.” I think for the tweet at least it can be the least serious “essay” of the three.
I’m kind of surprised that less people seem to be interested in SIMR this year because it really is such a great program!
I’m a little on the fence about whether to apply to SIMR, just because it would basically eat up my entire summer (commute would be two hours for me). But I like the specific institutes and that mentorship would be one-on-one.
Applying won’t hurt! If I remember correctly you have to live within a certain distance to Stanford (I think 60 miles and/or an hour away). If you have family that lives nearby you could always room there. And, as for the time taken, it may not be for everyone but if someone is serious about a career in science than it doesn’t hurt to apply/attend.
I was wondering if its even worth applying for non-bay area kids, because and I quote “Non-local students can still apply, but their chances of admission will be much lower.” Is it even worth to throw the 40 bucks at it?
And what kind of caliber are we talking about? Is this pretty much akin to applying to Stanford or are the standards much lower?
I am not a Bay Area student and I still got in with a less than perfect transcript, almost no extracurriculars, and test scores lower than my peers. Over 30 people from my school have applied over the years and none got in. I go to a crappy school in the Valley so I used that perspective to my advantage. It all is honestly about how you present yourself and of course just plain luck. I mean over 1600 students applied last year and 85 of us got accepted so with an acceptance rate of about 5%. You really never know if you are going to get in but it doesn’t hurt to apply. I applied not even knowing about the difficulty and after I found out I told my friend that I was not going to get in ever because the program was looking for students much better than I. I got in and had the best two months ever and am going back this summer on a fellowship!!
Basically apply because you never ever know! 
Could you possibly post or pm your stats to me or some relative estimates of the people who got in? I may be in a similar situations where my transcript is not bad but not that great either and was just wondering what are my chances.
Also, does anyone know whether they limit the number of accepted students from each school?
@imajennymonster The exclusion rule is new and is effective starting 2016 summer.
@Punisher1998 I am not sure what you mean by each school. I think they individually look at your application, and don’t have a quota for each specific school.
Oh, I had read somewhere else on collegeconfidential that some summer programs will only allow at most 3 students from one school to be accepted to increase diversity. However, this rule doesnt seem to be true for SIMR
Here were my stats when I applied to SIMR
SAT I: not take
PSAT: 202 (61 CR, 80 M, 61 W)
SAT II: none
GPA: idk, do the maths
AP: 5 Human Geo, 1 Euro History, 4 Biology
Freshman year classes: PE, Spanish for Natives, Pre-AP Bio, AP Human Geo, Algebra 2, Pre-AP Eng 9 (all As)
Sophomore: AP Euro, AP Bio, Pre-calc, CP Chem, Pre-AP Eng 10, Spanish for Natives 2 (4 As 2 Bs)
Junior: AP Chem, AP Calc AB, APUSH, CP Eng 11, AP Spanish, AP Physics (5As 1B at the time which was only one semester)
Awards: Student of the Month once, student athlete soccer, Principals award
Extracurriculars: Bear Creek Latinos Vice President 11th grade (9th, 10th, 11th); 2 hours a week, (all school year), 32 weeks/year
Red Cross (10th, 11th); 1 hour/week, 32 weeks/year
Official School Tutor (11th); 40 minutes/week, 32 weeks/year
Community Service: Tutor for 5 friends (10th); 4 hours per week/15 weeks per year
Private Tutor (11th); 2 hours per week/10 weeks per year
Summer: Vacation Bible School (20 hrs) per week/ 1 week total (9th, 10th,11th)
I have no idea the specific stats of other people but I know that they were way higher. There was a girl there complaining about her 2350 SAT score … 
I don’t think it was as strict but when I applied they stated that there was much more favoritism given to local students.
how are you guys writing about the tweet? definitely the hardest part of the app lol
I am out of state, if I do get accepted, what would my housing options look like? I am seeking a cost estimate.
Also, will there be a limit on out-of-state students this year?
@CuriousBobby not exactly limit. But read the previous post where I quoted what they say.
I’m also wondering about #1
I’m glad that my parents are willing to take me there and hopefully we can just live in a hotel for the 8 weeks? idk
also curious about the acceptance from out of state since i’m from texas 
Has anyone completed the tweet? I have no clue what to write for that.
@imajennymonster Thanks for all the info! Are prior research/science-related activities required. Is is possible for you to share your essays? Should we be very settled on which focus we want to do if we get in?