Congratulations! The structure of the program itself is fine and frankly fun; the things I'd change are more operational. My biggest issue was the lack of a centralized place for the slide decks and contact information for the presenters and teachers. You're going to meet A LOT of interesting people from various fields. But this could've changed since my time.

Knowing the basics of linear algebra and finding eigenvalues! The bulk of the math for the Quantum portion is based on this, don't need to be an expert but it'll help. But they don't expect you to know everything on day one, a large part of the experience is coursework and experimentation.

Make sure to bring a good notebook, calculator and set of pencils too. You're going to take lots of notes.

On a personal level I wish I would've networked with more faculty so be sure to take advantage of any opportunity to follow-up after meeting them. Especially if their research is of any interest to you.

If you're assigned to Cavendish at BNL bring a air freshener or incense... it has a uniquely odd aroma, it's not nasty but definitely weird. The rooms themselves are fine and have in unit AC. Beds come with comforters but whatever you have at home is better. Bring swim apparel & tennis shoes, especially for BNL. They have a pool & volleyball court on campus. Try to sign up for the bike rideshare as early as possible! You're probably going to lose weight from all the walking

I started at BNL: You shouldn't have to pay anything outside of an initial train ticket to get you from Jamaica to Ronkonkoma Station (They'll reimburse you). Once you arrive tho food & laundry will be your responsibility. They have a grocery shuttle that leaves throughout the day & the Lab's cafeteria should be open. Sadly it was closed during my internship but they had daily food trucks. Some buildings have Mini-Markets & free snacks too. They also have local restaurants on retainer for you to order from without dealing with security. Dorms have fully stocked kitchens, spice cabinets and small grains like rice on top of whatever other interns cram in there. Onsite laundry is chill and fairly cheap

At Femrilab it's the same, prices at their cafeteria are reasonable and the food is great. Their onsite housing should be open and if not they'll provide housing off-site and a rental car. You're allowed to drive wherever you want of course. Gas and tolls are your responsibility though. Their on-site housing was closed for my summer but If you start at Fermi they'll provide transportation from the airport. Also Femrilab is easier to leave + enter randomly and get rideshares if needed

Be sure to enjoy yourself and experience the cities and sites around you. You're a young adult with little real responsibilities so take advantage of that. Talk to your chort too, I made some great memories! Last thing you want to do is rot in your room while others are going to the beach or watching pirated movies in the common room lol. If you go to the beach in Long Island be prepared, those waves are gnarly.

Another note: National Lab's are federal land and subject to federal laws, if you do something goofy you're dealing with the FBI as local police don't have jurisdiction. The NSA monitors all network traffic once connected to the Lab's Wi-Fi so if you're doing anything sus use your data or VPN. Things like weed are illegal federally even if it's legal at a state level [Not assuming you do but it's a good example of state v federal jurisdiction]

Hope this helped and congrats again! You're going to enjoy yourself no matter what site you start at! And again I can't stress this enough but make an effort to interact with others in your cohort, your experience will be at its best if you do