School of Molecular and Theoretical Biology

After the deadline, the admission committee meets and creates a ranking of all the applications carefully considering all aspects of the application. Occasionally, the admission committee may ask for a telephone or Skype interview with the applicant prior to reaching a decision. The school does not comment or provide feedback on the application of specific applicants or on the reasons why a specific decision has been reached. Once the admissions committee communicates a positive decision, we ask for a rapid response on whether or not the applicant accepts our invitation. Admission to our school is competitive and in case the applicant cannot attend the school for any reason, we need to know as soon as possible.

The school program is targeted at high school students and aims to integrate participants into researcher in scientific labs. Application for participation is open online. Before applying, please familiarize yourself with information on the school website. We accept applications from students up to their final school year. A substantial part of the research at the school is based on the knowledge of molecular biology taught in high school. That is why if an applicant is scheduled to join the 9th grade or lower we ask that applicant to address the issue of basic knowledge in molecular biology and why he or she believes that they will be able to participate on an equal footing with older students.

The application form includes aspects of your past academic achievement as well as your own assessment of your interests in science and in our school. The applicants must work independently on their application. Any borrowed text without a proper citation will be treated as plagiarism, with the offending applications removed from consideration. Students with evidence of plagiarism in the application of the current year may apply again, however, in such cases the admissions committee is likely to request an additional interview. The application also includes a letter of support for application by any person nominated by the student; a parent, teacher or just a friend. We strongly recommend against having the applicant write the letter of support and giving it to another person to sign. In case you cannot find anyone to write a letter on your behalf, we ask to get in touch with us so that we can work out a solution.

Does not accept transfer credit.

The participation in the school is free to all students accepted by the admission committee. It includes travel insurance for non-EU students, living expenses and all materials required for laboratory work. Getting to the school is not normally covered by the Foundation. The students and their parents are expected to pay for transportation to the school. However, we realize that for some families, especially from distant regions, the cost of transportation may be prohibitive. In that case at the time of application we ask you to indicate that you will need additional financial aid for transportation and, should you be accepted to the school, the Zimin Foundation will provide further aid that will cover a part of or, in a few cases, the entire cost of getting to our school. The school is strongly dedicated towards the participation of students from distant regions and from families with special circumstances. The necessity for financial aid should not inhibit anyone from applying and will not be taken into consideration in any way in the course of the admission process.