Students applying for the RISE Program must meet the following basic program eligibility:

• Students must commit to a full program schedule (July 10-21, Monday – Friday). 
• Student must be a current U.S. Citizen (if students holds dual citizenship, contact the C5ISr Center Community Outreach Office at usarmy.apg.devcom-c5isr.mox.outreach@army.mil to request a security determination as to whether the student is eligible. (Students who hold dual citizenship should feel free to submit an application prior to receiving a security derermination in order to ensure they meet all program deadlines.)
• Students must be 16 years of age or older on or before July 1, 2023. 
• Students must be enrolled in a Maryland High School. Both rising juniors and seniors eligible to participate. Current year seniors who will graduate in 2023 are not eligible for RISE.
• Students can only participate in RISE once. Students who have already completed RISE are no longer eligible. 
• Students must have no major disciplinary history. 
• Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 (preferred program GPA is 2.5 or higher). 

Placement priority will be given to students who self-identify in one or more of the following categories.

•  Qualify for a free or reduced lunch
• Minority historically underrepresented in STEM (Alaskan Native, Native American, Black or African American, Hispanic, Latinx, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander)
• Female pursuing research in physical science, computer science, mathematics, or engineering
• Students receiving special education services/ Students having a disability
• Students for whom English is their second language
• Students who are potential first-generation college student (parents did not attend college)

As part of their RISE Application, students will be required to submit the following:

• Two (2) Essays (Essay Prompts will be provided in the application)
• A Formal Transcript from their school that reflects ALL high school level coursework and grades taken to date
  • AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT TRANSCRIPTS: The transcript must include the student’s name, the name of the school, years of course work and the current GPA. A copy of an electronic transcript that has all of this information is acceptable. Current year report cards without a full listing of all high school coursework/grades will not be accepted to meet this requirement.

Each RISE Application Packet goes through a four-step process.

STEP ONE – Review for Completeness:

Each application is reviewed to ensure it is complete. Due to the number of applicants, we will not be notifying candidates of incomplete or incorrect documents. Prior to submission, please ensure that you have answered all questions thoroughly and correctly, and uploaded the correct version of each document. Once you have submitted your application, you will not be able to add or amend any information or documents (such as resubmitting essays or transcripts). Applications that have not been fully submitted or that remain in “draft” form will not be moved forward for the review of eligibility.

STEP TWO – Review for eligibility:

Each complete application is reviewed to ensure that the student meets all of the basic eligibility requirements. Once the application has been reviewed for basic eligibility, all personally identifying information (to include school, county/town, gender, race, nationality etc.) is redacted before the application is sent to the RISE Panel for review

STEP THREE – RISE Panel Review:

Each application is reviewed by three members of the RISE Review Panel. Panel members review the Applicant Questionnaire, the Essays, Transcripts and Letters of Recommendation and assign each area a score. Scores from the three reviewers are then averaged, producing a “raw score” for all application packets.

STEP FOUR – Application of Priority Points:

Once the application packet has been given a “raw score”, any “priority points” based on the list above are applied. From here, the scores are re-adjusted and ranked. Students are accepted based on this final ranking.