(1) You must include your Unique ID in ALL correspondence and provide it to your recommender- it is how we track all your data to correlate application, grades and recommendation.  It is also your learn.edly.io username!

(2) Students have not been receiving the email from bwsix.edly.io to set their password and activate their accounts - Please review this document for the steps

And please check your spam/junk folders before emailing us.

(3) This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page is comprehensive and detailed - search for keywords is the way to use it!

4) Eligible students were sent the application information in the email titled "BWSI - Online Student Registration Form - Approved & APPLICATION Information" Gmail users should check spam/junk/promotion folders before emailing BWSI Admins.

5) 3/25/24 Update Post: The company we use for our application is having some behind the scenes issues.  When you hit "Save" on a started application, you cannot submit.  They do not have an answer at this time why it is happening.  Due to that we have removed the option to save and you must complete the application in one sitting.  If you already saved application, you will have to start over.  There is no way for us to retrieve it for you as we do not see any data until you hit submit.  We are working with them to fix this issue and as soon as we hear of a fix we will re-enable the save feature.  We will not be responding to emails regarding this error.  Your Teacher Recommendation is not affected by this error.  They do not need to resubmit.  If you submitted a transcript/proof of grade we may not have received it so you should upload with the active application.

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3/20/24 Post: Students who save their application form and then come back, have had errors when trying to submit : "The password you entered is incorrect. Please try again. (Error ID...)". Currently the only option is to start a new application and enter all the information before submitting (without saving and coming back).

We are receiving many emails about the account login and password reset process- Please review this document for the steps

The website is https://learn.bwsix.edly.io/ to view and login

Students will receive the following emails as part of the online course registration process: 1) a formstack confirmation email with the data that you entered on the registration form;  2) an edly.io email that provides account information; 3) a formstack email with program information

Please see info below about eligibility to apply to the summer program.

What students are eligible to apply for the summer program?

You must be a student physically attending High School in the United States, be in the United States for the duration of BWSI and your grade no greater than a current junior (11th grade).  We do not accept current Seniors (12th grade) or college students as program participants.

Will you be offering an in-person program?

We will host a few courses as in-person and others will continue to be virtual programs in 2024.  We will not be offering a residential program, students accepted into the in-person courses will have to provide their own housing.

 Where is MIT? Where should I stay?

The main campus address for MIT is 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA.  There is also the MBTA Kendall Sq Red Line stop that is within walking distance.

Which programs are available?

Here is the full course listing. 

Where can I get more information?

We try to keep our website as up-to-date as possible

Are these courses individual or team-based?

The online courses are independent study and therefore individual performance based.  Our July program is rigorous, challenging and team-based so that students can achieve more together.

What is the daily schedule?

We will be hosting classes from 10am - 6pm EDT, Monday-Friday, July 8-Aug 2, Final event for the in-person courses will be on Aug 3, with the overall Final Event to include the virtual courses on Aug 4.  There will be a mix of lectures, labs, and office hours. As we accept students from across the US, some classes may be adjusting hours for different time zones based on their students.

Do you offer programs for middle school?

We piloted our first course in 2019 with the Mini-RACECAR course, we will not be able to host a middle school program this year. At this time we will not be offering a middle school program. Please visit Outreach.mit.edu for a list of the many programs that MIT offers.

What other STEM programs are available?

MIT has many programs here, Lincoln Laboratory has more listed http://www.ll.mit.edu/outreach and pleased to link to Media Lab's https://aieducation.mit.edu/index.html#curriculum. All are adapting to policy changes based on COVID-19.  Here is a list of our favorite resources.

I'm a freshman/sophomore, can I apply?

We encourage interested students to be nominated or self register to access the online course, but as we can only accept a limited number of students, accepted students are generally finishing their junior year (i.e. rising seniors)

Do my scores/grades in the online course affect my enrollment?

Enrollment for the summer program is competitive and score in the online courses are an important part in our enrollment decisions, so follow instructions and do your best!  The number of times you can answer is limited so guessing may hurt your score.  Grades are important but not the “Total Course Progress” as that does not show up in the grade report.

My grade is lower in my course than it should be- why?

Not all modules are made available during the pre-applicaition time.  We evaluate grades on a curve for each course, so if the max score of any student is only 50% (vs 100%) we take that into account.

What is the cost on the online prerequisite program? 

The online prerequisite courses are free for students, and we make every effort to provide all the unique supplies needed for course-related projects.  

What is your privacy statement?

The MITLLBW Privacy statement can be found here

What are the prerequisites for my preferred course?

 This page lists the courses that require the Python Core course in addition to your specific course pre-requisites.

I have course selection questions.

 Students are encouraged to select a preferred course in the onine registration application, they should work through the pre-requisites for that course- but are NOT limited to taking/trying just those online courses.  They are asked to select a preferred course (and alternate choices) again in the summer application. Students may not be accepted into their preferred course based on summer course enrollment, and we make every effort to place as many students as possible in their preferred course or their alternate choices.

What if I did the online courses last year and am applying again this year?

Our courses reset each year, even if you completed a course the prior year you must take it again in order to apply for this upcoming summer.  No exceptions are made to this policy.

What if I have an existing BWSIX account? What if I already have a BWSI UID?

Students who have existing accounts or already have an account on the BWSIX platform MUST use that information and add it to their registration form and on their Summer Application.  Students with an existing account will not be provided a new one, and learner MUST let us know on the forms what their account username is otherwise we may not be able to correlate your grades in the online courses with your Summer Application.

What does the summer program cost? Are there any fees for the summer program?

• BWSI will be charging a fee in 2024 for the Summer program (applies to any of the summer courses whether virtual and in-person). 

  • For any family that has a family income $150,000 or greater the fee for the program will be $1,750. The program will be free for qualifying families.  We do not offer, nor can we help find or pay for housing for students attending in-person programs.

  • BWSI will be verifying the income of all who apply to the program if you select  "< $150,000" (less than $150,000) on your application. 

  • This verification will not happen unless you have been accepted into the summer portion of the program.

I'm a teacher/parent/mentor/coach - how do I nominate a student?

I'm a teacher/parent/mentor where can I get more information?

Can students self-registration?

Do I need both a teacher nomination and to self-registration?

Does it help to have both a teacher nomination and to be self-registered?

No, we only use your registration form (and its the same form for you whether you are nominated OR self-register) to create your account and send you the summer program Application.   It does not improve your chances if you have a teacher nomination after you have registered, but only creates more work for us and your teacher.

How do I apply?

See our website for information.

Have I been nominated for online courses?

After nomination, students are sent an email that contains a link to register.  Please check your spam/junk folder to make sure it did not go there.

What is my Unique ID (UID)?

It is a 9 or 10 digit number with suffix "_bwx".  You receive your UID via email when you complete the online student registration form for bwsix.edly.io. access.  This is also your username for bwsix.edly.io once your account is created, and is located in the top right of bwsix course pages after you are logged in.

What if I have an existing BWSIX account? What if I already have a BWSI UID?

Students who have existing accounts or already have an account on the BWSIX platform MUST use that information and add it to their registration form and on their Summer Application.  Students with an existing account will not be provided a new one, and learner MUST let us know on the forms what their account username is otherwise we may not be able to correlate your grades in the online courses with your Summer Application.

My school is not listed on the student form?

 Select "Not listed"  and enter in school name in next field, make sure you check the list!  Most of the schools are there.

Do I need teacher a recommendation?

No for the online course, some teachers will still nominate students for access to online courses but students can now self-register. A teacher recommendation is needed for the enrollment application for the July summer portion of the program.  You will need a teacher (or mentor) recommendation for the enrollment application - DUE April 7.

I did not receive BWSIX (or online course) registration email- why not?

Emails are sent to the addresses provided by your teacher, very often our emails are blocked by school network firewalls, check your spam or junk mailbox.  Your parent will also receive the email.

I used my gmail/hotmail/icloud address and still did not receive BWSIX (or online course) registration email- why not?

Please check your spam or junk mailbox to make sure it wasn't filtered, See this document for more in-depth answers.

I did not receive BWSIX (or online course) registration email after I completed the online form- why not?

Did you check the email entered was correct? Did you check your spam/junk email? The automatic response is sent to the email provided on the form, please contact bwsi-admin@mit.edu to see if this needs to be corrected.

How can I get BWSI emails at my school?

Talk to your school administrator to allow emails from "mit.edu" through the school firewall

How can I get BWSI emails at non-school email address?

Provide a non-school email address to your teacher when you ask them to nominate you for BWSI or if you self-register enter a non-school email address for your emails as school firewalls do sometimes block BWSI emails.

Can you change my school email address on the form?

Yes, we can on the registration form, send email to bwsi-admin@mit.edu.  Due to our limited resources it may not happen right away.

Once the bwsix.edly.io account has been created, we cannot change the email associated with that username and you will have complete the registration form again for a new UID.

What do I do after I get the BWSIX email?

We are updating based on making the program virtual as we are not having an in-person program this year, but this document has more in-depth answers.

Can I apply if I'm not a US Citizen? What about international students, including US citizens living outside the US?

Every student can enroll and participate in the online courses, but acceptance into the July program is limited to students already attending and physically present at a school in the US.  Students must be living in the United States during July  to be accepted into the summer program.

Can I apply for the summer program if I'm not in the United States?

We cannot accept students outside of the US due to logistical challenges, all students must be living in the US for the July program.

Can I apply if I am in home-school/go to alternative school?

Yes, the process is the same, (nomination for online, registration for online, enrollment for onsite) contact us if your instructors/mentors cannot access the required forms.

What does the error code mean when I try to use the registration form?

If you try to submit the student registration form twice, you will get an error  (Error ID: 665cd1a0933a2edcb9c8), we prevent students from filling out the forms multiple times, please contact bwsi-admin@mit.edu if you need to update or correct information on the form.

Why can't I continue to fill out the registration form- I only see "Save and Resume" ?

Formstack has chosen to use a dark format for the "Next" button in the lower right corner- see this image.

Why does my registration email say ".. not qualify for the summer program in July" ?

This means that you indicated that you are not living in the US currently or will not be in the US during our summer program.  See additional questions above for international students, or students abroad.

Being in the US during the school year and during the summer program is a requirement for the summer application and acceptance into the summer program.

What's my password??

For bwsix.edly.io - see 1) below,

for piazza- see 2) below.

1) What's the password for my BWSIX account on the login page?

2) What's my password for Piazza?

How do I get to correct course on Piazza?

Where's my access code to register for course on Piazza?

You do not need an MIT email to create an account or register for a course.

• Create an account first ib piazza.com
• Use link in the course to get to the correct course
• Use the access code to complete
• Say "Hi" to other people in the course

I was a student last year; do I need a new UID?

I can't find the correct bwsix course- what do I do?

I did not get into my first choice course - how much progress do I need to do in the new course?

I registered but cannot access/find the correct course?

Can I just do the online course (and not apply to the summer program) ?

How do I register for the online course?

How much of the pre-requisite is due before the summer application for each course?

How long does it take to complete a course?

I'm having trouble logging into BWSIX, what can I do?

How do I pick a course/What courses should I do?

Can I take more than 1 online course?

Can I take a different course other than my first choice? Can I switch courses?

Since the application asks for your top three choices, would you have to finish at least 50% of your top 3 courses before you apply?

How do I register for additional courses?

How do I ask questions about course material?

How do I register for Piazza?

Piazza says my access code is incorrect- what do I do?

I see the prior year courses; can I work on them?

After I register on BWSIX; can I change the email for the account?

What email is used for correspondence for BWSI?

Are there certificates available after completing the online course?

When are the certificates available?

When will you offer a middle school course?

How can I apply/ or apply for my child?

How can I do this in my school?

BWSI YouTube Channel

2023 Program pamphlet.

BWSI 2022 Program Pamphlet