| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Last year's cycle (2026): $5,518; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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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 |
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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 | Last year's cycle (2026): Core-program lunch and snacks: $0. Provided during the 2026 core program; dietary coverage and future availability should be confirmed.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 successful completion stipend: $800; 2027: 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 |
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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 | Residency: For 2026, both live and attend school in Suffolk, Norfolk, Middlesex, Essex, or Plymouth County, Massachusetts; Boston residents prioritized; Requirement: Enter grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 in the fall after the fellowship; Requirement: Show an active creative-writing practice in any eligible genre and willingness to experiment across genres; Requirement: Attend the full weekday three-week core, daily writing and workshop sessions, Friday open mics, and culminating showcase; Requirement: Give and receive constructive peer feedback and complete the fellowship's writing, performance, conduct, and community requirements; Requirement: Observe the every-other-year limit and maximum of one participation in each grade band; Exclusion: Applicants outside the controlling local residence-and-school counties; Exclusion: Academic essays in place of the required creative-writing sample; Exclusion: Repeat attendance in consecutive years or more than once in the same incoming grade band; Exclusion: Acceptance does not guarantee the stipend without successful completion; Exclusion: The optional anthology week is not a substitute for the core fellowship |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts July 20, 2026; Ends August 7, 2026; 3–4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | 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 |
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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 | Boston, Massachusetts, GrubStreet Center for Creative Writing, 50 Liberty Drive, Suite 500, Boston Seaport |
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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: Twenty fellows and a short alternate list were selected in 2026. GrubStreet publishes no applicant count, acceptance rate, scoring rubric, or guaranteed future cohort size. Application materials: Personal statement of no more than 600 words about what the applicant would gain and contribute; Teacher or mentor name and contact information, but no recommendation letter was listed |
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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 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-21 |
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