Free Summer Programs Programs for High School Students

Every program on this page costs $0 to attend — cost should never be the reason a strong student skips summer programs opportunities.

Many free programs are more selective than paid ones precisely because they are funded; treat their deadlines seriously.

143 verified programs match this page; 30 of the featured listings are completely free; 1 can be done online.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• Clark Scholars Program — Texas Tech: Elite summer research program for high school juniors and seniors. Gain hands-on STEM experience, earn a $750 stipend, and boost your college applicat
• Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Sciences — PA PGSS: Transform your STEM skills with this free, 5-week summer program at Carnegie Mellon. Gain hands-on experience and boost your college applications thro
• Virginia Governor's School Programs — State of Virginia: Transform your summer with Virginia Governor's School Programs! Free in-person leadership and STEM opportunities for 10th-11th graders to boost skills
• Telluride Association Sophomore Seminars (TASS) — Telluride Association: Explore a free summer program for rising juniors focused on Black experience, leadership, and humanities. Build critical thinking skills and strengthe
• Beaver Works Summer Institute — MIT: Elite summer program for high schoolers in Grades 10-11 focused on STEM fields like drones and cybersecurity. Gain hands-on experience and boost colle
• Johns Hopkins Pre-College Program — Johns Hopkins University: Pre-college programs at Johns Hopkins University for high school students in Baltimore.
• West Point Summer Leaders Experience — U.S. Military Academy: Experience a free week-long summer program at West Point focused on leadership development, military training, and hands-on learning. Boost college ap
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography High School Research Program — UC San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography: Summer research internship at premier oceanography institution. Work alongside scientists on cutting-edge marine research. Highly competitive, demonst
• Salk Institute High School Research Scholars — Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Research program at iconic Jonas Salk's institute.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center High School Research Program — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Prestigious cancer research program for exceptional high schoolers.
• SMASH (Summer Math and Science Honors Academy) — Kapor Center: Free 3-year summer STEM program for underrepresented students; highly selective
• College Greenlight Free and Low Cost Pre-College Programs — Apply College Greenlight: Curated directory of free and low-cost pre-college programs for high school students seeking affordable summer opportunities.
• Duke Summer Academy — Duke University: Pre-college program at Duke University for high school students focusing on stem.
• UCSF High School Biomedical Research Internship — University of California, San Francisco: Biomedical research at top medical research university.
• American Legion Boys State — The American Legion: Premier week-long government simulation program where high school juniors create a mock state government. Free, highly selective, and one of the most
• NYU Pre-College Program — New York University: Pre-college program at NYU in New York City with college courses and campus living for high school students.
• Google Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) — Google: Competitive free 3-week Google-hosted summer program in computer science for graduating high school seniors from underrepresented groups, including co
• MIT Women in Stem Research Program Pre-College Summer Program — MIT Women in Stem Research Program: Pre-college program at MIT Women in Stem Research Program for high school students focusing on stem.
• Louisiana Governor's Program — Northwestern State University: Transform your leadership skills in this free Louisiana summer program for 10th-11th graders. Gain hands-on experience and boost your college applicat
• Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program — Girls Who Code: Free 2-week intensive coding program for high school girls hosted at top tech companies and universities, covering programming, web development, and r
• Mississippi Governor's School — Mississippi Arts Commission: Arts-focused residential summer program for MS students.
• Broad Institute Scientific Internship Program — Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Research internship at world-leading genomics research institute.
• Johns Hopkins Global Health Leaders Conference — Johns Hopkins University: Global health leadership conference at Johns Hopkins for high school students interested in medicine and public health.
• Columbia University PreCollege Programs — Columbia University: Pre-college program at Columbia University for high school students focusing on real world experience in variety of classes at ivy league.
• Mayo Clinic Summer Research Fellowship — Mayo Clinic: Clinical and biomedical research at world-renowned medical center.
• U.S. Naval Academy Summer Seminar — USNA: Explore leadership and military training at this free summer program for high school juniors. Build skills, gain hands-on experience, and strengthen c
• Canada/USA Mathcamp Scholarships — Mathcamp: Full scholarships for Mathcamp. Need-blind admission.
• Mount Sinai High School Research Program — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Competitive summer research program at top NYC medical school. Students work in biomedical labs on real research projects. Strong pathway for medical/
• Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies — Stanford University: Pre-collegiate programs at Stanford University in humanities, bioscience, business, and social justice.
• Girls Who Invest Summer Intensive Program — Girls Who Invest: Highly selective free 4-week summer program placing high school girls and nonbinary students at top investment management firms for training in financ

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