| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | February 12, 2027 (2027 cycle) |
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| Cost | Last year's cycle (2026): $5,518; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | $600 (2027 cycle) |
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| Financial aid | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 need-based application and program assistance: Up to $5,564. Could assist with the $46 application fee and $5,518 program cost based on family income, family size and available funds; actual award not guaranteed.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | 2027 need-based scholar-fee waiver: $0–$600. Limited waivers may be requested by students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch who do not have a sponsor. (2027 cycle) |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 COSMOS application fee: $46. Nonrefundable; pending fee-waiver review could change when or whether payment was required.; Credit-card transaction fee on program payments: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Approximately 2.5% when paying program costs by credit card; application fee exempt.; 2026 need-based application and program assistance: Up to $5,564. Could assist with the $46 application fee and $5,518 program cost based on family income, family size and available funds; actual award not guaranteed.; Full-financial-aid attendance deposit: $200. Required only for admitted students offered full aid and refunded to the legal guardian after successful completion.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | 2027 need-based scholar-fee waiver: $0–$600. Limited waivers may be requested by students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch who do not have a sponsor. (2027 cycle) |
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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 9–12 (provider uses rising grades) | Grades 9–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grade 10; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Residency: Attend high school in person in California; Requirement: Be rising into grade 9, 10, 11 or 12 for the program fall year; Requirement: Attend high school in person in California; Requirement: Demonstrate academic excellence and preparation for the selected STEM cluster; Requirement: Complete cluster-specific course prerequisites; Requirement: Live on the host UC campus for the full program; Requirement: Be a first-time COSMOS participant; Exclusion: Students not attending a California high school in person; Exclusion: Students who previously attended any COSMOS program; Exclusion: Applicants outside the rising-grade 9-12 range; Exclusion: Applicants unable to live on campus for the full program; Exclusion: Late application, supporting, payment or admission materials; Exclusion: Assuming a 3.5 GPA is an absolute statewide minimum rather than the published typical profile | Ages 14–18; Requirement: Be a high-school student age 14-18; Requirement: Submit the program and scholarship interest form for the applicable cycle; Requirement: Complete registration, payment, residential, health, consent, and credit-eligibility steps if offered a place; Requirement: Participate in the full residential academy; Exclusion: College credit has restrictions and is not available to every participant; Exclusion: Interest-form submission does not guarantee admission, scholarship, waitlist movement, college credit, credit transfer, prize, startup funding, company formation, sales, University admission, or admissions advantage | Residency: Missouri resident attending high school in Missouri or homeschooled in Missouri; Requirement: Be a current tenth grader during nomination for summer participation as a rising junior; Requirement: Receive a nomination from a counselor, teacher, principal, or other school official, except eligible homeschool self/family nomination; Requirement: Fit within the school's MSA nomination allotment; Requirement: Provide three-semester unweighted GPA and an accepted standardized aptitude or IQ score; Requirement: Demonstrate leadership, creativity, intellectual curiosity, problem solving, initiative, and likely benefit; Requirement: Commit to the full three-week residential Academy without planned absence; Exclusion: Students and families may not self-nominate outside homeschool settings; Exclusion: Incomplete nominations are not considered; Exclusion: Parents and guardians cannot write recommendation letters; Exclusion: MSA provides neither grades nor academic credit; Exclusion: Nomination does not guarantee selection, course choice, roommate choice, fee waiver, college scholarship, or admission advantage |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Starts June 13, 2027; Ends July 3, 2027; 3 weeks (2027 cycle) |
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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 | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Davis, California, Irvine, California, Los Angeles, California, Merced, California, San Diego, California, Santa Cruz, California, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Merced, UC San Diego, UC Santa Cruz | Salt Lake City, Utah, University of Utah, Lassonde Studios | Columbia |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Each of six campuses accommodates roughly 160-200 students, and clusters typically enroll 20-25 with a commonly reported 5:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Admissions are competitive and based on academic merit relative to the selected topic, but applicant count and statewide acceptance rate were not published. Application materials: One personal statement; One required teacher recommendation, with two recommended | Selection: The 2026 cohort reached capacity and accepted waitlist interest. Scholarships were limited and considered merit and need. Current cohort size, applicant count, acceptance rate, selection rubric, and waitlist movement are not published. | Selection: School nomination allotments limit the pool, a statewide committee evaluates academic and qualitative criteria, and about 330 scholars are expected in 2027. MSA does not publish a current nomination count or acceptance rate. Application materials: Two PDF recommendation letters, at least one from a teacher and none from parents or guardians; Two named PDF essays of 300-350 words responding to the current character-identification and social-issue prompts |
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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 2026-08-22Source 7 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-12Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-12Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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