The goal of our program is to use mathematics to expand the students' minds and encourage their creative thinking. We will not repeat the middle-school math curriculum. We will solve a lot of problems that are tricky, logical, fun, and might potentially be asked at a Wall Street interview.

In addition to solving problems like these, we will cover some ideas and methods for solving olympiad-style problems. We will also try to simulate the research process by inventing new problems and being the first to solve them. We will even learn an occasional magic trick. The main goal is to have fun!

The instructor is Dr. Tanya Khovanova, Lecturer in the MIT Department of Mathematics, MIT PRIMES head mentor, and an active researcher in the field of recreational mathematics.

Entrance Quiz

Selection will be based on all components of your application and the results of the entrance quiz.

All applicants will be invited to the PRIMES STEP online entrance quiz. The quiz will be conducted over Zoom on Sunday, June 6, 11am-12pm EDT. Right after the quiz, from 12pm to 1pm, we will hold a Q&A session for students and parents with the MIT PRIMES Director Dr. Slava Gerovitch and PRIMES Head Mentor Dr. Tanya Khovanova.

Students on the short list will be notified by Wednesday, June 9. Within the next few days, Dr. Tanya Khovanova will conduct online interviews with students on the short list. Admission decisions will be made by Wednesday, June 16.

Due to the large volume of applications, we unfortunately won’t be able to comment on individual applications or release the quiz results. Solutions to the quiz will not be posted.

Tuition for the 2021/22 academic year is $2,300 per year, including $100 registration fee and two installments of $1,100 (due in September and in January).

Special Instructions for Applicants

Do not upload folders with your application. The system will not process them. Use individual files only.

Ignore the questions: “Current Institution”; “Department”; “Location”; "Current Position Title"; "Highest Degree Held"; “Date” on the cover sheet. These are generic questions that are not relevant to the STEP program.

Please ask your teacher or another person familiar with your math background to write a letter of recommendation for you. Enter the name and email of that person on the standard cover sheet under "Reference Writer". The system will automatically email them a request for a letter.

If you have additional supporting materials you can upload them under "Optional Supporting Materials".

If you have any questions about your application, please contact PRIMES Admissions Assistant Andre Dixon at aldixon@mit.edu.

STEP sessions will be held either on campus in person, or online via Zoom, in accordance with the MIT policy on visitors (see https://now.mit.edu/policies/campus-visitor-policy/).