Updated October 2026
TL;DR
Stanford’s SIMR is a free, eight-week summer research internship where high school juniors and seniors work in Stanford School of Medicine labs. Here’s what this guide covers: what SIMR is, who can apply, what you’ll do there, the Bioengineering Team Internship, cost and stipends, how to apply, how to stand out, and whether it’s right for you. The program strongly prefers Bay Area applicants and doesn’t provide housing, so read the eligibility section first. If you’d rather do research from your home, apply to Horizon.
If you’re interested in medicine or biomedical research, you’ve probably heard of SIMR. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program is one of the few summer programs where a high schooler spends eight full weeks in a real Stanford lab, and it costs nothing to attend. This guide walks you through how SIMR works, what Stanford actually asks for, and how to put together an application that shows you’re ready for lab work. If you want to compare it with other options first, see our guide to medical research opportunities for high school students.
Quick facts
Location: Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA (commuter only, no housing)
Cost: Free to attend; $50 application fee, waivable for families earning under $80,000
Stipend: Limited needs-based stipends; most students don’t receive one
Program dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 8 to July 30)
Application deadline: TBA (previous cohort: February 21)
Eligibility: U.S. high school juniors and seniors who are 16 or older by the start date and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents living in the U.S.
What is Stanford SIMR?
The Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR) is an eight-week research internship where you work in a Stanford School of Medicine lab under a mentor. Stanford describes its goals as building high schoolers’ interest in biology and medicine and showing them how research actually gets done.
You spend most of your summer doing lab work, alongside safety training, lectures, and seminars on careers in science and medicine. On the last day, you present a research poster to your family and the Stanford community.
Who can apply to SIMR?
You must meet all three of Stanford’s eligibility rules, and Stanford says there are no exceptions.
- You’re a current high school junior or senior when you apply.
- You’ll be at least 16 by the first day of the program.
- You live in and attend high school in the U.S., and you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Stanford also says the selection process heavily favors local Bay Area students, meaning those within about an hour’s drive. You can apply from out of state, but SIMR doesn’t offer housing. You’d need to stay with a responsible adult, ideally a close relative, and name that person on your application. Stanford may contact them before making a decision.
What do you do at SIMR?
You spend most of your summer in a lab, working about 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday. When you apply, you rank your top five choices from SIMR’s eight research areas:
- Immunology
- Cancer biology
- Stem cell and regenerative medicine
- Neuroscience
- Cardiovascular
- Genetics
- Bioinformatics
- Bioengineering
If you’re accepted, you’ll rank faculty and their research areas within those fields, and Stanford tries to match you with your choices. It doesn’t guarantee your top pick, though.
Beyond lab work, you’ll attend safety training, lectures specific to your institute, joint lectures with every SIMR student, and seminars on careers and medical or graduate school. The first day is a mandatory orientation and safety session. Your summer ends with a poster session, where you present what you found. If you’ve never made a research poster, it helps to know what a research mentor actually does before you start, since your mentor will guide that process.
How does the SIMR Bioengineering Team Internship work?
The Bioengineering Team Internship is a design-focused option inside SIMR, and you apply with the same application. You work in a team of four or five to identify a real medical need, come up with a solution, and build a prototype.
A teaching team of Stanford undergraduate and graduate students teaches the design process, brings in lecture speakers, and runs design reviews. According to Stanford’s program page, teams can use an advanced machine shop, maker spaces, and wet labs, and you’ll pick up skills like basic circuit design along the way. At the end, your team presents its prototype at the SIMR poster session, and some teams keep working on their projects long after the summer ends. There’s no fee beyond the application fee.
How much does SIMR cost, and is there a stipend?
SIMR is free for every student who gets in. The only cost is a $50 application fee. You can waive it if your family’s adjusted gross income is under $80,000, or if you have special circumstances and a school official writes a letter explaining them.
The stipend is where many guides get it wrong. Stanford says it has a limited number of need-based stipends funded by special grants, and that most students won’t receive one. Stipends are considered mainly for families earning under $80,000.
There are other costs to plan for too. You’ll arrange your own transportation, and a summer parking permit was about $38 a month in the previous cohort. Meals are only provided at special events. If you’re coming from outside the Bay Area, housing for eight weeks will likely be your biggest expense.
How do you apply to SIMR?
You apply online through Stanford’s Slideroom portal, and you can’t edit anything after you submit. In the previous cycle, the application opened December 19 and closed February 21, with decisions emailed in early April. Check simr.stanford.edu for the 2027 dates once they’re posted.
Here’s what you’ll submit:
- An online application with your contact details and research area rankings
- A transcript covering 9th grade onward (unofficial copies are fine)
- Test scores, if you have them (they’re optional, and there’s no minimum GPA)
- Two essays, each up to 3,500 characters including spaces, which is about one double-spaced page
- One letter of recommendation from a current or former high school teacher, ideally in science or math
- The $50 fee, or a fee waiver request
Your teacher’s letter is due on the same day as your application, so ask well in advance. Fee waiver requests close one day before the deadline, since Stanford processes them by hand.
How do you write a strong SIMR application?
Since SIMR doesn’t require a minimum GPA or test scores, your essays and your teacher’s letter carry a lot of the weight. These tips can help you use them well:
- Show why research, not just why medicine. SIMR is lab work, so explain what draws you to asking questions and testing ideas, not only to becoming a doctor.
- Be specific about your research areas. Read about each institute before you rank them, and connect your choices to something you’ve actually studied or wondered about.
- Show that you can handle setbacks. Experiments fail all the time, so a story about sticking with something difficult says a lot about how you’d do in a lab.
- Pick a recommender who’s seen you think. A science teacher who watched you work through a tough lab will write a stronger letter than one who only knows your grade.
- Plan your logistics early. If you live outside the Bay Area, sort out housing before you apply, since you’ll need to name your host on the application.
For broader advice, read how to get into a top high school research program.
Is SIMR right for you?
SIMR is a strong fit if you live near Stanford, can commit to a full-time summer, and want real experience in a biomedical lab. Here’s how the trade-offs look.
What works in its favor:
- It’s free, so your spot depends on your application, not your ability to pay.
- You do real lab work in a Stanford School of Medicine lab with a mentor.
- You finish with a research poster you can talk about in college applications and interviews.
What to weigh before you apply:
- Selection heavily favors Bay Area students, and there’s no housing.
- It’s full-time for eight weeks, so there’s little room for a job, other programs, or summer school.
- Most students don’t receive a stipend, so housing and transport costs fall on your family.
- You must attend the full program, and finals can only excuse you for a couple of days in the first week.
If SIMR doesn’t fit your location or schedule, it’s worth looking at other fully funded STEM programs and the most competitive research programs. If you want lab experience near home, here are 7 ways to find a research lab as a high school student.
Can’t get to Stanford? Do research from anywhere
If SIMR’s location or housing rules don’t work for you, you can still do serious biomedical research. Horizon is a selective online research program that pairs you one-on-one with a PhD scholar or professor from universities like Oxford, Stanford, and Columbia. You choose from more than 300 topics, including neuroscience, gene editing and CRISPR, and medical sociology, and you finish with a research paper of about 20 pages. Apply to Horizon or join the next info session to see how it works.
Frequently asked questions
No. Stanford says there’s no minimum GPA, and standardized test scores are optional. You’ll still submit a transcript, so your coursework matters, but your essays and teacher’s letter carry a lot of weight.
Partly. You rank your top five research areas when you apply, then rank faculty after you’re accepted. Stanford tries to match your choices but doesn’t guarantee your first pick.
It can, when you’re able to explain what you did and what you learned. A program name alone matters less than the work behind it. Our guide on whether summer research programs actually help with college admissions goes deeper.
You can still do real research through a structured online program. Horizon pairs you one-on-one with a PhD scholar or professor, so you can build a full research paper from home.
Resources
External sources
- Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR), Stanford Medicine
- SIMR Program Information, Stanford Medicine
- SIMR 2026 Program Information Document, Stanford Medicine
More from Horizon
- Medical research opportunities for high school students
- How to get into a top high school research program
- 16 fully funded STEM programs
- The most competitive research programs
- 7 ways to find a research lab
- What does a research mentor actually do?
- Biology research topics
Image Source: SIMR logo