49ers STEM Leadership Institute
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligibility FAQ
The Process
All students who apply and are accepted during their 6th grade year will begin the program in 7th grade. Student cohorts will enroll full-time at Cabrillo Middle School for the 7th and 8th grades and will continue with their cohort at Santa Clara High School for 9th through 12th grades.
The online application closes at midnight December 1, 2023 at www.49ersSLI.com. Due to the pandemic, we are only accepting online applications this year.
Who qualifies
-
Current 6th graders who live within the geographic area of Santa Clara Unified School District -- If you are a current 7th, 8th, or 9th grader and live within the Santa Clara Unified School District, please go to our transfer application
-
Students with a strong academic record (overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, strong math and science achievement in 6th grade and readiness for Algebra in 7th grade)
-
Students willing and able to commit to the 6-year program from 7th through 12th grade.
Key Dates
10/12/23- 6:00 p.m. Virtual Information Night - RSVP Here
11/1/23: Applications Open
12/1/23: Application closes
12/15/23: Written Responses Due
1/17/23: Semi-finalists invited to interview
1/25 - 1/30: Semi-finalist interviews
2/9/24: Accepted Student Notified
2/14/24: Commitment Meeting - Virtual
2/29/24: Commitment Paperwork Due
**These dates are subject to change
Yes. In order to apply for the program, students must live within the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) district boundaries at the time of the application deadline. The 49ers STEM Leadership Institute is a district program, and we are unfortunately unable to support students who live outside of SCUSD boundaries.
Yes. Students are welcome to apply, even if they are not currently attending a school in the Santa Clara Unified School District. They must, however, live within the district and be affiliated with a home school site.
Program FAQ
The Process
All students who apply and are accepted during their 6th grade year will begin the program in 7th grade. Student cohorts will enroll full-time at Cabrillo Middle School for the 7th and 8th grades and will continue with their cohort at Santa Clara High School for 9th through 12th grades.
The online application closes at midnight December 1, 2023 at www.49ersSLI.com. Due to the pandemic, we are only accepting online applications this year.
Who qualifies
-
Current 6th graders who live within the geographic area of Santa Clara Unified School District -- If you are a current 7th, 8th, or 9th grader and live within the Santa Clara Unified School District, please go to our transfer application
-
Students with a strong academic record (overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, strong math and science achievement in 6th grade and readiness for Algebra in 7th grade)
-
Students willing and able to commit to the 6-year program from 7th through 12th grade.
Key Dates
10/12/23- 6:00 p.m. Virtual Information Night - RSVP Here
11/1/23: Applications Open
12/1/23: Application closes
12/15/23: Written Responses Due
1/17/23: Semi-finalists invited to interview
1/25 - 1/30: Semi-finalist interviews
2/9/24: Accepted Student Notified
2/14/24: Commitment Meeting - Virtual
2/29/24: Commitment Paperwork Due
**These dates are subject to change
Beyond working directly with program teachers, small group tutoring is also available after school, and on a case-by-case basis, individual tutoring can also be arranged as needed.
All tutoring services are offered free of charge to families in the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute.
Students regularly participate in challenges and competitions that include (but are not limited to) FIRST Lego League (middle school robotics), FIRST Tech Challenge (high school robotics), Tech Museum Tech Challenge, ExploraVision, Maker Faire, Synopsys Science Fair, AMC, and Math Olympiad.
These competitions and challenges encourage students to work collaboratively in groups and to apply the knowledge they are gaining in the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute to real-world style situations and tasks.
Unfortunately, at this time, we do not host student visits or offer a shadow program, since it can be disruptive to class and valuable work time.
However, we do hold information sessions before applications are due in December. At these sessions, current students are available to answer questions from applying students and to describe their personal experiences with the program.
Registration & Enrollment FAQ
The Process
All students who apply and are accepted during their 6th grade year will begin the program in 7th grade. Student cohorts will enroll full-time at Cabrillo Middle School for the 7th and 8th grades and will continue with their cohort at Santa Clara High School for 9th through 12th grades.
The online application closes at midnight December 1, 2023 at www.49ersSLI.com. Due to the pandemic, we are only accepting online applications this year.
Who qualifies
-
Current 6th graders who live within the geographic area of Santa Clara Unified School District -- If you are a current 7th, 8th, or 9th grader and live within the Santa Clara Unified School District, please go to our transfer application
-
Students with a strong academic record (overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, strong math and science achievement in 6th grade and readiness for Algebra in 7th grade)
-
Students willing and able to commit to the 6-year program from 7th through 12th grade.
Key Dates
10/12/23- 6:00 p.m. Virtual Information Night - RSVP Here
11/1/23: Applications Open
12/1/23: Application closes
12/15/23: Written Responses Due
1/17/23: Semi-finalists invited to interview
1/25 - 1/30: Semi-finalist interviews
2/9/24: Accepted Student Notified
2/14/24: Commitment Meeting - Virtual
2/29/24: Commitment Paperwork Due
**These dates are subject to change
No. This program is generously offered free of cost to families. The 49ers STEM Leadership Institute is offered as a partnership between the Santa Clara Unified School District, the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, and the 49ers Foundation and is fully funded; no tuition is required from students.
We are also partnered with other organizations that support various efforts and offerings of the program so that all qualified students are able to participate in the program regardless of their family’s financial situation.
Accepted students are asked for a six-year commitment, from the 7th through the 12th grades. During this time, students are expected to attend a three-week summer session each year, starting with the summer leading into the 7th grade.
In addition, due to the rigorous and innovative nature of a program that focuses on STEM content, non-cognitive skills, design thinking, and extracurricular competitions and challenges, students are asked to spend an extensive number of hours in the program beyond the regular school day. Most of this time is spent on additional instruction and work time; twice monthly on Saturday mornings and every Wednesday before school (at the high school level) or Wednesday after school (at the middle school).
Occasionally, student competition/challenge events will fall outside of these scheduled dates, or there will be optional reinforcement opportunities that are shared by the program staff to participating families.
Parent participation is a key part of how we support the students throughout the school year, and we highly encourage all families to contribute in any ways that they can. However, we understand that parents have varying levels of commitment to work and other activities outside of the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute. With this in mind, we offer a variety of ways in which parents can support the program, ranging from small one-time opportunities (contributing materials, chaperoning trips, speaking at an event) to longer-term commitments (mentoring student teams).
Admissions FAQ
If your question isn’t answered here, please contact the program at SLIAdmissions@SVEFoundation.org.
What if my question isn't answered here?
The Process
All students who apply and are accepted during their 6th grade year will begin the program in 7th grade. Student cohorts will enroll full-time at Cabrillo Middle School for the 7th and 8th grades and will continue with their cohort at Santa Clara High School for 9th through 12th grades.
The online application closes at midnight December 1, 2023 at www.49ersSLI.com. Due to the pandemic, we are only accepting online applications this year.
Who qualifies
-
Current 6th graders who live within the geographic area of Santa Clara Unified School District -- If you are a current 7th, 8th, or 9th grader and live within the Santa Clara Unified School District, please go to our transfer application
-
Students with a strong academic record (overall GPA of 3.0 or higher, strong math and science achievement in 6th grade and readiness for Algebra in 7th grade)
-
Students willing and able to commit to the 6-year program from 7th through 12th grade.
Key Dates
10/12/23- 6:00 p.m. Virtual Information Night - RSVP Here
11/1/23: Applications Open
12/1/23: Application closes
12/15/23: Written Responses Due
1/17/23: Semi-finalists invited to interview
1/25 - 1/30: Semi-finalist interviews
2/9/24: Accepted Student Notified
2/14/24: Commitment Meeting - Virtual
2/29/24: Commitment Paperwork Due
**These dates are subject to change
We accept applications in Autumn. And students should apply during their 6th grade year.
This year the application will be available and accepted until Friday, December 2nd, 2022.
We accept applications in the Autumn. During that window, a link to the online application can be found on our admissions page.
The application process occurs during the 6th-grade year, during which the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute is able to accept sixty students to join the program beginning their 7th-grade year. These students, should they complete all requirements, will continue in the program (no need to reapply each year) through their final year of high school.
10/25/22: In Person Open House at Cabrillo Middle School Stem Lab- Sign up here
11/1/22: Virtual Open House and Info Session (will also be recorded) - Sign Up Here
12/2/22: Application closes
12/22/22: Written Responses Due
1/9/23: Semi-finalists invited to interview
1/17 - 1/20: Semi-finalist interviews
2/1/23: Accepted students notified
2/8/23: Mandatory Commitment Meeting- Virtual 6pm
2/10/23: Accepted students commit to programDue to COVID-19, this year's info session will be virtual. A recording will be posted online after the event.
No, applying students do not need to contact their math and science teachers for recommendations.
In the application, we ask that you provide your current math and science teachers’ names and email addresses. After you have submitted the application, we will personally reach out to teachers, providing them with electronic recommendation forms to complete and submit to us directly.
Students are welcome to let their math and science teachers know that we’ll be reaching out for recommendations, but they do not need to collect any recommendations themselves.
An official transcript is required as part of the application, and can usually be obtained directly from your school counselor or front office. Please leave enough time prior to the submission of your written application to request a copy of this document from your school site.
For public school students, please submit the most recent transcript. We understand that this may not include 2nd quarter grades.
For private school students who only receive official transcripts on a semester basis, please email SLIAdmissions@svefoundation.org to inform us of the situation and submit an unofficial transcript or recent report card with the application. Then, please email the official transcript as soon as you receive it to SLIAdmissions@svefoundation.org.
Since 6th-grade applicants are accepted into the program from the 7th through 12th grade, there may not always be an opportunity for students in grades higher than 6th grade to apply.
We are only able to accept transfer applications if a current student is unable to return to the program the following year. When this occurs, applications for any vacant positions will be available and accepted in late Winter of each school year. Transfer applicants that are accepted would then begin the program the following year.
If you are interested in applying as a transfer student, please check the SLI admissions page at the end of the first semester for transfer application opportunities.
Since 6th-grade applicants are accepted into the program from the 7th through 12th grade, there may not always be an opportunity for students in grades higher than 6th grade to apply.
We are only able to accept transfer applications if a current student is unable to return to the program the following year. When this occurs, applications for any vacant positions will be available and accepted in Winter of each school year. Thus, we cannot predict the number of transfer application spots that will be available from year to year.
Please note that the exact dates for the transfer application process change every year; however, the application is typically due in Winter.
The 2022/2023 Transfer Application schedule is as follows:
10/25/22: IN Person Open House and Info Session at Cabrillo Middle School- Sign Up Here
11/1/22: Virtual Open House and Info Session (will also be recorded)-Sign Up Here
1/2/23: Application Opens
2/3/23: Applications Closes
2/17/23: Written Responses Due
2/27/23: Semi-finalists invited to interview
3/6 - 3/10: Semi-finalist interviews
3/20/23: Accepted students notified
3/22/23: Accepted students commit to program3/23/23: Mandatory Commitment Meeting- Virtual 6pm
Applicants are evaluated on their transcripts and their teacher recommendations (which we procure on behalf of the students).
Should they advance, applicants are also evaluated on their written responses and their interviews.