| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | April 19, 2027 (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Last year's cycle (2026): $9,900; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): $2,750; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Last year's cycle (2026): Need-based financial aid: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. About 40% received aid in the published cycle; average award was 70% of tuition, and aid included discounted or free gear rental, with top packages potentially covering flights.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Stone Lab scholarship assistance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Requirements and awards vary. The 2026 non-OSU/high-school deadline was March 31 and has passed; non-degree admission and the application fee or approved waiver were required by the deadline.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 student-account deposit: $500. Returned to the family if unused; separate enrollment deposit details were not quantified on the official pages.; Travel to and from Colorado: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Flights were not included in tuition, although the largest need-based aid packages could cover them.; Need-based financial aid: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. About 40% received aid in the published cycle; average award was 70% of tuition, and aid included discounted or free gear rental, with top packages potentially covering flights.; Clarity financial-aid application fee: $65. Applies to the aid application; automatic or inquiry-based fee waivers are available for eligible families.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Ohio State non-degree admission application fee for a new non-OSU/high-school credit student: $60. Ordinarily applies if the accepted student has never enrolled at Ohio State and is required for scholarship consideration; confirm waiver and applicant-specific billing.; Stone Lab laboratory or course fees: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. The 2026-27 registrar table lists an $80 Stone Lab lab fee for specified courses, but fee applicability and other course charges vary.; Stone Lab room charges: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Course- and stay-specific; billed separately where applicable.; Stone Lab meal charges: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Course- and stay-specific; billed separately where applicable.; Stone Lab scholarship assistance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Requirements and awards vary. The 2026 non-OSU/high-school deadline was March 31 and has passed; non-degree admission and the application fee or approved waiver were required by the deadline.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Eligibility | Grades 10–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 10–11; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Up to grade 12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Ages 14–18; Requirement: Be a rising 10th, 11th, or 12th grader and age 14-18 for the applicable cycle; Requirement: Be prepared for a residential program at 10,000 feet and extended backpacking expeditions; Requirement: Complete the required application, recommendations, transcript, and interview; Requirement: If accepted, complete health, physical, risk, release, enrollment, and payment requirements; Exclusion: Prior outdoor experience is not required; Exclusion: The official pages do not state a citizenship or Colorado-residency restriction; Exclusion: Program mental-health services are limited, and backcountry groups may lack timely outside support; families must evaluate fit with HMI | Requirement: Be completing grade 10 or 11 before the summer session.; Requirement: Earlier 2026 instructions required one year of chemistry or physics and a counselor/teacher recommendation plus transcript or grade card; confirm the operative 2027 prerequisites.; Exclusion: Two elective credits apply only after later enrollment at Rose-Hulman; Exclusion: Earlier 2026 instructions required outside financial assistance; 2027 aid availability is unverified. | Requirement: Apply through the undergraduate-credit-for-high-school-student path, not a college, graduate, REU, job, or workshop path unless separately eligible; Requirement: Select a current course that explicitly permits high-school applicants and meet every course prerequisite; Requirement: Submit the course/path-specific application, required PDF documents, standardized-test fields, and recommendation forms; Requirement: If accepted and new to Ohio State, complete non-degree undergraduate admission, account activation, fee or waiver, acceptance, and registration steps; Requirement: Complete the Financial Responsibility Statement and all billed tuition and fees by the applicant-specific deadlines; Requirement: If age 16 or older, submit Ohio State vaccination documentation; Requirement: Arrange ferry travel, arrival, housing and meals as applicable, books and supplies, weather-appropriate field clothing, and all course-specific safety items; Requirement: Attend the full course and complete its lectures, labs, fieldwork, assignments, exams, projects, conduct, and academic-integrity requirements; Exclusion: Assuming every Stone Lab course or workshop accepts high-school students; Exclusion: Using REU, graduate, educator, noncredit-workshop, employment, or current-OSU application instructions for the high-school credit path; Exclusion: Treating the umbrella applications-open statement as confirmation that a selected course has seats; Exclusion: Relying on stale 2023 dates in the FAQ or assuming 2026 scholarship dates recur; Exclusion: Assuming one tuition, fee, duration, prerequisite, credit count, housing plan, meal plan, or arrival schedule applies to all courses; Exclusion: Arriving without required books, supplies, ferry planning, vaccination documentation when applicable, or enrollment completion; Exclusion: Assuming Ohio State credit automatically transfers to a high school or another college, or guarantees a grade, scholarship, recommendation, research placement, publication, admission, or job |
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| Session dates or duration | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts June 28, 2026; Ends July 25, 2026; 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Leadville, High Mountain Institute campus and Colorado/Utah backcountry | Terre Haute, Indiana | Put-in-Bay, Ohio, Most courses meet at Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island/South Bass Island in Lake Erie; exact arrival and field locations vary |
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| Selection and application | Selection: HMI describes a typical cohort of 12-20 students; it does not publish a current applicant count or acceptance rate. Application materials: Two approximately 250-word essays; Two teacher recommendations, including at least one from a core academic teacher, under the current central admissions page; Required 15-30 minute admissions interview | Selection: Earlier 2026 instructions described selective application followed by first-come session placement after approval. Confirm the current 2027 review and placement process; no acceptance rate is published. Application materials: Earlier 2026 instructions required an online application, a transcript or grade card, and one counselor or teacher recommendation. | Selection: Approval is course- and applicant-specific. Stone Lab does not publish one umbrella capacity, acceptance rate, high-school quota, or guaranteed enrollment timeline. Application materials: Recommendation forms submitted separately by the required recommenders using business email addresses; Financial Responsibility Statement, vaccination documentation for age 16 or older, billing, housing, meals, health, emergency, accessibility, travel, ferry, conduct, media, safety, and course forms as applicable |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-22Source 6 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-12Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20Source 4 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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