December 18, 2025
If you’re a high school student interested in space, you’ve probably heard of NASA SEES (STEM Enhancement in Earth Science). I applied in February 2025, got accepted in May, and in August finished an incredible summer analyzing exoplanet transit data with a team of students from across the country. Our research was even submitted to the NASA Exoplanet Archive.
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how I got in, so here’s everything I wish I’d known before applying.
What Is NASA SEES?
SEES is a nationally competitive summer internship for high school students hosted by the University of Texas Center for Space Research. You work alongside NASA scientists and academic researchers on real projects—not simulations, not busy work, but actual research that contributes to ongoing NASA missions.
The program runs from roughly May through July, with distance learning modules first, then remote work with your project team, and finally an on-site component at UT Austin (or a fully virtual track, depending on the project). Everyone presents at the Virtual Science Symposium at the end.
Projects span everything from remote sensing and climate studies to aerospace engineering and—what I did—exoplanet detection.
Why I Applied
I’d been into astronomy for years (hence this blog), but I wanted to move beyond just observing and actually do research. My older brother Wesley had gone through SEES a couple years earlier, worked on a project that ended up published in the Harvard Astrophysics Data System, and presented at a space science conference. Hearing about his experience made SEES my top choice.
I was also looking for something that would combine my technical skills—Python, data analysis, Linux—with my interest in space. The Exoplanet Transits project seemed like a perfect fit.
The Application Components
The application deadline for 2026 is February 22, and the process hasn’t changed much since I applied. Here’s what you’ll need:
1. Basic Information and Profile
Standard stuff: your contact info, school, grade, GPA. They also ask about your family, which I think is just for demographic/context purposes.
2. The Essay Questions
This is where the application gets serious. The prompts I answered included:
“Discuss what subjects interest you most, your current academic path, and your career plans. How might SEES affect these plans?”
I wrote about my fascination with physics, computer science, and engineering, and connected it to my goal of working on technology that addresses real-world problems. I mentioned the LA fires (which had just happened) as an example of why I care about using data to understand and predict environmental risks. I also emphasized that I wasn’t just looking to learn—I wanted to apply what I learned to something that mattered.
Option B prompt (I chose this one): “Discuss important life experiences in STEM that you or others engage in outside of school…”
I focused on VEX Robotics, where I’ve been captain and lead programmer for four years. I talked about leading my team to the World Championship, the design process, programming autonomous functions, and the awards we won. I also mentioned my AI/machine learning work with NVIDIA and my marine turtle conservation volunteering (which included data collection and building an educational platform).
“What skills have you learned from your extracurricular activities that will be valuable to you as a research team member?”
Here I connected the dots: engineering methodology from robotics, communication and listening skills from team projects, detail-orientation from debugging code, and research/outreach experience from my conservation work. I tried to show that I wasn’t just technically capable—I knew how to work with people and contribute to a team.
“How did you hear about SEES? Have you participated in similar programs?”
I was honest: my brother told me about it. I also mentioned his team’s success extending their project beyond the summer, which showed I understood that SEES isn’t just a two-month thing—it can launch longer-term research.
3. The Introduction Video
This was a short video introducing myself. I kept it simple: who I am, why I’m passionate about space, what I hope to contribute. I made sure to show some personality rather than just reading a script. They want to see that you’re someone they’d enjoy working with for a summer. Filming the video was a lot of fun, I was doing the outdoor shoot and bids were singing so loud that I had to do multiple takes.
4. The Recommendation Form
You need a teacher or mentor to submit a recommendation by early March. I asked my STEM teacher because they could speak to both my technical skills and my collaborative approach in group projects. Give your recommender plenty of time and context—send them info about SEES and remind them of specific projects you’ve worked on together.
My Strategy (What I Think Worked)
Show, don’t tell. I didn’t just say I was a hard worker or good at coding. I described specific projects: the interactive micro:bit game I built, the machine learning model I trained with NVIDIA, the robotics competitions we won. Concrete examples are more convincing than adjectives.
Connect your experiences. SEES reviewers are looking for students who can contribute to a research team. I tried to draw clear lines from robotics (engineering methodology, teamwork) to conservation work (data collection, public communication) to what I’d bring to an exoplanet research project.
Be genuine about why you want this. I wrote about wanting to get a new telescope and explore unknown planets. I wrote about NASA being “the path to space.” These aren’t sophisticated reasons—they’re honest ones. I think authenticity matters more than sounding impressive.
Demonstrate relevant technical skills. For the Exoplanet Transits project specifically, I highlighted my Python experience, Linux command line knowledge, and data analysis work. If you’re applying to a remote sensing project, emphasize GIS or image processing. Match your skills to your preferred project.
Don’t undersell yourself, but don’t oversell either. I mentioned winning state championships and going to Worlds, but I also wrote that I “(almost) always” paid attention to details—acknowledging I’m not perfect. Reviewers can smell exaggeration.
The Timeline (What to Expect)
Based on my experience and the current website:
- February 22: Application deadline (8:00 PM PT, no exceptions)
- March 1: Recommendation forms due
- Around May 1: Notifications go out (check your spam folder for sees@csr.utexas.edu)
- May 15 – July 1: Distance learning modules (Earth/Space Science, plus Python if your project requires it)
- June: SEES Speaker Series (Tuesdays and Thursdays)
- June – July 3: Remote work with your project mentor and team
- July 5-18: On-site at UT Austin (for on-site projects)
- July 20-21: Virtual Science Symposium presentations
The Python module is optional unless your project mentor specifies otherwise, but I’d recommend doing it regardless—it helped a lot with our data analysis work.
What I Actually Did: The Exoplanet Transits Project
Our team observed stars with known or candidate exoplanets using hundreds of telescope images taken over multiple nights. We used photometry software to measure tiny dips in brightness caused by planets crossing in front of their stars.
When we got a successful detection, we used more sophisticated modeling software to determine the planet’s size and mid-transit time. Accurate mid-transit times matter because they help astronomers schedule observations with large ground-based telescopes.
Our positive detections were submitted to the NASA Exoplanet Archive, where they can be used by researchers around the world. That’s the part that still amazes me—our work from a summer high school program is now part of the scientific record.
I wrote more about the technical details in my Exoplanet Transits research post—check it out if you want to understand the methods.
Advice for Applicants
Start early. The essays take time to write well. Don’t wait until February 20.
Pick a project theme that genuinely excites you. The project themes are listed on the SEES website. Read through them and think about which one aligns with your skills and interests. You’ll be spending a lot of time on this research—you should actually care about it.
Ask your recommender early. They have their own deadlines and busy lives. Give them at least a month.
Make your video memorable but not gimmicky. Be yourself. I filmed mine in front of my telescope setup, which felt natural.
Sign up for updates. Go to the SEES website and add yourself to the mailing list so you don’t miss the application window.
Was It Worth It?
Absolutely. I learned photometry techniques, worked with real scientific data, collaborated with students from across the country, got mentorship from researchers in the field, and contributed to an actual NASA database. The experience also pushed me to start this blog and share what I learned.
If you’re thinking about applying, do it. The worst that happens is you don’t get in and you have strong essays ready for next year.
Good luck, and feel free to reach out if you have questions.
Astronomer Willy 
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