| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | February 1, 2027 (2027 cycle) |
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| Cost | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: $7,465; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Need-based scholarship: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Limited; only where family financial need can be reliably verified, including through partner schools and non-profit organizations.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Need-based scholarship: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Limited; only where family financial need can be reliably verified, including through partner schools and non-profit organizations.; Full-scholarship deposit (refunded after completing the program): Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | 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 10–11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher | Grades 9–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 9–11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher |
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| Additional eligibility | Requirement: Open to students currently in grades 10–11 when applying; Requirement: Minimum 3.0 GPA or equivalent; Requirement: Strong grade-level math skills, as shown by state-standardized math test scores; Requirement: Attend a public high school, or a private high school on scholarship; Requirement: Strong interest in earning a computer science degree or certification and pursuing a CS career; Requirement: SMASH Morehouse applicants must be male; SMASH Spelman applicants must be female | Requirement: Open to grades 9–12; Requirement: Must demonstrate academic excellence and proficiency in English | Residency: Kentucky student; Requirement: Be in grade 9, 10, or 11 at application under current published scope; Requirement: Show entrepreneurial curiosity, creativity, drive, resilience, collaboration, flexibility, and comfort with risk/failure; Requirement: Commit to live on campus and participate every day for all three weeks; Requirement: Obtain parent/guardian permission and two eligible recommendations; Exclusion: GPA and standardized-test scores are not considered; Exclusion: Applicants do not apply with a fixed team or need a pre-existing business idea; Exclusion: Absence is allowed only for emergency, illness, or overriding personal reason under program decisions; Exclusion: Completion does not guarantee college admission, scholarship funding, business launch, patent, prize, or investment |
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| Session dates or duration | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts July 11, 2026; Ends July 31, 2026; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 10 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Starts June 20, 2027; Ends July 11, 2027; 3 weeks (2027 cycle) |
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| Format | In person | Online | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Non-residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Atlanta, Boston, Ann Arbor, Berkeley, GA, MA, MI, CA | Online and available to high-school students worldwide | Lexington, KY |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Applicants must satisfy all published requirements, and geographic preferences apply; the current pages do not publish applicant counts or an acceptance rate. | Selection: Pioneer uses holistic review of academic history, essays, interests, school materials, a video interview, and proctored timed writing. Decisions generally take six to eight weeks and may be admit, conditional, waitlist, or deny. The official pages publish no acceptance rate or automatic GPA/test threshold, and placement capacity varies by discipline. Application materials: Short essays on each interest area; Long essay; Video interview and proctored timed writing test (if selected to advance) | Selection: Holistic statewide selection without GPA/test-score review; no current acceptance rate is published. Application materials: Two recommendations (recommenders receive a link after you submit) |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-24Source 2 · checked 2026-10-24Source 3 · checked 2026-10-24Source 4 · checked 2026-08-21 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-24Source 2 · checked 2026-10-24Source 3 · checked 2026-10-24Source 4 · checked 2026-08-20Source 5 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-24Source 2 · checked 2026-10-24Source 3 · checked 2026-10-24Source 4 · checked 2026-10-24Source 5 · checked 2026-08-22 |
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