Boston Leadership Institute 396 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02481

"My daughter attended the 3-week Synthetic Biology and Biological Research program at BLI last summer, and it was a great experience. The program provided hands-on experience and introduced her to concepts in synthetic biology and biotech entrepreneurship, blending science and business aspects. The instructor, an experienced professor from Bentley University, made the learning experience both challenging and fun. Among the projects and hands-on techniques were CRISPR, bacterial transformation, PCR, and DNA sequencing. My daughter commented that she liked the google classroom and knowing the schedule for each day, and how she appreciated "knowing what they were learning and why they were learning it" Through collaborative projects, my daughter gained insights into real-world problem-solving. The diverse group of classmates and the two TAs added to the experience, fostering friendships and creating a network of like-minded individuals. My daughter enjoyed the field trips to the Body Worlds exhibit on Newbury Street, and the MIT Koch Institute/Broad Institute in Cambridge. The 3-week's program's intensity was well worth it, as my daughter is now more engaged in biomedical research. A special mention goes to the outstanding professor who not only made learning enjoyable but also offered to assist with publishing project results in a high school research journal. Thanks to this program, my daughter was accepted into the prestigious lab for the Summer 2024, where she will continue her research in synthetic biology—a seed planted by the BLI program and the wonderful professor who taught it. In summary, BLI delivered an immersive and transformative experience, exceeding our expectations. We look forward to our younger kids delving into STEM at BLI in the coming summer."

"Taking the Intro to Surgery course at the Boston Leadership Institute was a fantastic experience! I had an amazing teacher who taught me anatomy, surgical methods, gave great advice for my journey to becoming a doctor. I made new friends who had the same interests as me, and connected with the teachers as well. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone who is looking to meet people with a passion for learning, and have a great time!"

"I attended the electronics and robotics course over the summer at bli 2023. If you are looking for an in-depth learning experience, this is definitely not the place. Many of the activities were superficial middle-school projects. A lot of the equipment used, like motors were also faulty. The course itself is very unstructured, most of the time they told you to make a project without explaining the basics well. Also, there were a lack of activities outside of classes. The only options were volleyball and basketball, and on Saturday they just dumped us in the middle of boston(to be fair those field trips were fun bc of my friends). On Sundays we were just left with nothing to do. Also on weekends we weren’t allowed to eat in the dining halls??? They just bought random snacks, and that was supposed to be a meal. To be fair we were allowed to doordash, but there should be quality food provided in my opinion. However, the social aspect is amazing. The counselors ofc did their best of a camp on the brink of collapse. They were east to get along with, and made our experience much better. I met a lot of cool people, and still talk to them. At the same time, it’s not worth 4k just to socialize with other ppl :/ But that is just my 2 cents. Hope this was helpful"

"My daughter attended the Criminal Minds program August 2023. The teacher was great, the course content was great too. Everything out side of that was poor. The promised transportation came up very short and is a real consideration for a first time traveler on her own. Upon arrival there were ONLY 2 shuttles from the airport to campus - 2:30 and 6pm not multiples as described; returning to the airport, the earliest departing shuttle was 6:15am pickup at campus, not the "shuttles 5am to 10 am" as described, we had arranged for a 7:30 am flight around website description. The promised oversight was sparse, the outside class activities were cancelled with no back up plans and the food was awful. It worked out in the end, but if my kid were 14 or 15 traveling alone, I'd not do this program."

"I attended Boston Leadership Institute's 3-week STEM Entrepreneurship program last summer and it was fantastic! It was satisfying to delve into a subject that I am interested in pursuing in college and grad school, and wouldn't have otherwise experienced until then. My instructor was an experienced professor at a prestigious college who made our hands-on projects and research challenging, interesting, and fun. I learned a great deal about how to solve a real world issue through entrepreneurship, and how to prepare and present a stock pitch to venture capitalists based our ideas. My classmates came from all over the country and the world. It was great to work in teams with them and collaborate on projects and presentations. We all became friends and still keep in touch. The 3 weeks were intensive, and flew by! I'm already looking forward to next summer at BLI!"