High School Student Opportunities FAQs

Eligibility

No, you cannot. You can apply for the program next year when you are a junior. You may be able to apply for ambassador programs or courses if available.
You are not eligible for our high school internship, but you can wait to apply next year for our Undergraduate internship.
International students already in the US may be eligible to participate in internships. You will need to check with your legal counsel on this type of matter. Based on your visa, sometimes even unpaid internships are not allowed, but service learning experiences can be. Please check first. ISB cannot sponsor visas for high school interns. Also, websites such as this one might also be helpful in determining eligibility: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/study-or-work-under-f2-visa--internships-under-f2--1630906.html
You cannot apply for this round, but you can apply next year if you are eligible.
If you are still eligible, yes, you can apply! An example of this is for students who applied last year as 10th graders but are now 11th graders. Yes, you can also use some of the same materials if it makes sense and is still pertinent in your life. For instance, to reduce the burden on your teachers, you can have them use the same letter of recommendation. You can even use some of the same text in your cover letter if it is still pertinent.

Application Features

First try taking screen shots from your online grade platform. If that does not work for all semesters, type up a rough list of the courses you have taken, the estimated grades you received, and the name and address of your school. Upload that document as your unofficial transcript with your application. If you are chosen to move forward, we can email your school to verify your grades later in the process, if needed.
Let us know via email, copying the teacher you have requested the letter from. The teacher can then set up a 15 minute meeting with our team to verbally give your recommendation.
You can edit your application as many times as you want before the deadline. Keep in mind, Google Forms will not allow you to change the file you uploaded after submitting it, but you can upload additional documents. We will check applications for completeness, but will not review application contents until the deadline.
Mid-January the application process opens.
  • Friday, March 15 at 4:00pm Pacific Time the application window closes.
  • March 16 - April 15 or after: Review of applications. All applicants will receive an email notification of their status by April 30.
  • April 15 - May 31: Deeper review with phone and/or in-person interviews.
  • June 1 - June 16: Notification of status and offers.
  • July 1: First day working at ISB for HS Internship. August 23, 2024: Last day working at ISB for HS internship.
    Additional files include your transcript, resume and cover letter (which should address the prompts listed in the application instructions). There is also a place to add other documents and/or to showcase any additional work that might strengthen your application.
    Yes, as long as you are eligible based on your grade level, you can apply to multiple internships and/or ambassador programs within ISB.
    Yes. On your application, make sure to click the “Service Learning” option. Also, describe in the section asking about “educational benefit” that you’d like volunteer hours. We could help document any needs for your school to accept these as volunteer hours.
    Be sure the recommendation letter includes the teacher's name, contact information, and affiliation, the date, and the applicant's name along with the letter itself. Encourage your teacher to include information about you that we cannot see in your resume or application. Descriptions of your work ethic, passions, personality and working style, etc. are all useful to include.
    They should send their letter to the see@isbscience.org email or mail a hard copy to 401 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109. A PDF version of the letter is preferred.
    You should include all available transcripts from high school and beyond. This includes transcripts from multiple high schools, Running Start, and technical schools. Your transcripts should span all years (not just your current year/semester).
    First, check your spam folder. If it is true that you have not received a decision yet, you may want to consider taking the opportunity that's been offered to you. Making decisions about which opportunity to go for when you have different deadlines is an important part of your academic and professional development. Even if you don't work with ISB this summer, there are plenty of opportunities available at ISB throughout your undergraduate and graduate years. If you are in the midst of our May/June interviews and you can't decide between opportunities, please reach out to us! We can help talk through the decision.

    Work Life

    Housing is not provided. Students, with the approval of their guardian(s), will need to arrange their own housing, if required. This is a paid internship though - the first installment of your stipend would be received approximately 2 weeks into your internship.
    There is limited parking available at ISB. Most interns either bus or are dropped off. ISB will provide you with an unlimited ORCA card for bus services for in person internships.
    We offer ORCA cards to high school interns for public transportation for in person internships.
    During the internship hiring process, we talk with students and analyze their essays so that we can match students with available projects and mentors. The idea is for students and mentors to pick projects together - so yes, in a way you do pick your own project. But that project is aligned with current and/or new projects at ISB. Also, the internship allows for the development of skills outside your project including website design, curriculum development and interviewing. The work you do in these areas is up to you and picked by you and your fellow interns.
    No, the HS internship application process is your first opportunity to work with the ISB team. We encourage you to stay connected with us throughout your journey. We offer numerous positions along your STEM career continuum and encourage you to apply again. Also, we are happy to offer advice along the way.
    Here are two examples (of many!) from previous interns describing what their typical day looks like: 2019 Interns, and 2018 Interns View other intern webpages for more examples of what a typical day as a HS intern at ISB looks like. The 2020 and 2021 intern pages showcase what it is like to have fully remote internships.
    Work hours are flexible based on your particular internship. Interns work approximately 40 hours a week which typically falls between a 9:00AM - 5:00PM M-F work schedule. However, interns can work out specific schedules with their mentors.
    This depends both on the program (internship or ambassadorship). The internship will be fully in person. The ambassadorship will be remote with potential times to be in person.

    Other

    Please see our For Students pages for things you can do right now, without being a formal intern or ambassador. Also, here is a list of Internships in the Puget Sound Region. This website allows you to search and sort internships based on your location and interest.   Here are two very hands-on, laboratory-based experiences (scholarships are available for both if needed): Project Biotech at Shoreline Community College and Camp BioMed through NWABR.   Other internships in the local area include: Seattle Children's Research Institute Internships and Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center Internships.   The TEALs program has a terrific list of compiled internship and summer opportunities: https://www.tealsk12.org/students.   Coding for Medicine offers summer camps for high schoolers.   There is also the WANIC summer course of which we participate in (find information in mid-March).