Marin County, California • marinSTEMnavigator.org
Marin Youth STEM & Opportunity Navigator

Real pathways. Real opportunities.

Local and beyond.

Photo: Elizabeth — prismatic light
My Mission: Connect every motivated Marin County student – regardless of school, income or connections to
opportunities that can change their trajectory.
Know a program I am missing? Email: navigate@marinstemnavigator.org
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National & Competitive Programs

Summer Programs Worth Traveling For

These are real, merit-based programs run by the U.S. military academies, federal agencies, and elite institutions. Every program on this list is selective, substantive, and carries genuine weight on a college application or academy nomination packet.

Not pay-to-play. These are not the $3,000 “leadership academies” you see advertised in college prep magazines. Every program here is run by the U.S. government, a federal service academy, or a nationally recognized research institution. Selection is competitive and based on merit.
Application timing matters. Most of these programs open applications in December or January for the following summer. Set a calendar reminder in November to check each program’s website. Missing the application window by a week is the most common way students lose out on these opportunities.
University Course Navigator

Real College Courses. Free or Low Cost.

Top universities now publish their actual course content online. These aren’t random videos — they’re the same lectures, problem sets, and exams used at MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley. Used right, they can strengthen your college application and build real skills.

MIT OpenCourseWare
2,500+ courses • Free
Harvard (CS50 + more)
600+ courses • Free
Stanford Online
AI, engineering • Free/Paid
edX & Coursera
Thousands of courses • Free audit
Explore the full guide →

Know a program I’m missing?

This guide is student-maintained. If you know of a STEM opportunity, internship, competition, or local resource that Marin youth should know about, let me know!

Submit an opportunity →
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Made by a student, for students.

Hi — I’m Elizabeth, an 8th grader in San Rafael. I built this because if you’re doing the hard work to be exceptional, you deserve to know every amazing opportunity out there to help you get where you want to go.