Granbury High School junior Bailey Stone has been selected to participate in the Small-Town and Rural Students at MIT (STARS@MIT) program, earning the opportunity to spend three days on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stone will attend the fully funded STARS@MIT Fly-In September 24–26, 2026. She is one of only 20 students selected from more than 8,000 applicants nationwide for the highly competitive program.
Designed for high-achieving high school juniors from rural and small-town communities across the United States, STARS@MIT gives students an opportunity to experience academics and student life at MIT while learning more about the college admissions process. Participants in the program have also historically been admitted to MIT at a significantly higher rate than the university's overall applicant pool.
“Bailey is an outstanding representative of Granbury High School and our entire community,” GHS Principal Duane Fish said. “Being selected for an opportunity like STARS@MIT speaks to her hard work and tremendous potential. We are incredibly proud of Bailey and excited for her to represent Granbury at one of the world’s premier institutions for science and technology.”
During the two-night, three-day program, Stone will stay in an MIT residence hall with a current undergraduate student and explore the university’s labs, classrooms and makerspaces. She will also have opportunities to tour Cambridge and Boston, participate in admissions workshops and connect with current MIT students and fellow participants from rural and small-town communities across the country.
MIT covers round-trip transportation, housing, meals and program activities for participating students. The STARS@MIT Fly-In is part of MIT’s involvement with the national STARS College Network, an initiative aimed at expanding access to higher education for students from rural and small-town communities.
Selection for the program includes a competitive application process in which students submit academic information, a high school transcript, a teacher or counselor recommendation and written responses addressing their community, educational journey, interest in STEM and what they hope to bring back to their hometown following the experience.
“Opportunities like this show our students that growing up in a small town does not limit how far their talents can take them,” Fish said. “We look forward to seeing Bailey take everything she learns from this experience and use it as she continues planning for a very bright future.”
More information is available through MIT Admissions’ STARS@MIT website.