| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Unconfirmed — check official site | $5,793 (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Need-based financial assistance for application and program costs: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Based on family income, family size and available COSMOS resources. (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Unconfirmed — check official site | Application fee: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Non-refundable; fee waivers can be requested.; Need-based financial assistance for application and program costs: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Based on family income, family size and available COSMOS resources. (2027 cycle) | 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 9–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 9–12 (provider uses rising grades) | Grades 9–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Requirement: Apply according to grade entering in the fall; Requirement: Meet the selected course's Emerald, Magenta, or Indigo tier; Requirement: Provide qualifying recent test scores, prior CTD course history, or an admission portfolio; Requirement: Complete any course-specific academic prerequisites; Requirement: Demonstrate English proficiency through approved testing when required; Exclusion: Course eligibility varies and admission is not universally open; Exclusion: Grade-acceleration requests are rarely approved; Exclusion: International students may face separate language, visa, travel, and residential requirements | Residency: California high school students only; Requirement: Open to rising grades 9–12; Requirement: Demonstrated academic excellence (a typical COSMOS student has a GPA of 3.5 or above) | Ages 14–18; Requirement: On-campus description: rising junior, rising senior, or current senior with journalism experience; Requirement: Learn-from-home description: high-school student age 14-18; prior journalism experience useful but not required; Requirement: Be able to complete intensive reporting, interviews, research, writing, editing, and deadlines; Requirement: Obtain parent or guardian consent and satisfy any current residential, health, travel, and technology rules; Exclusion: The FAQ says students turning 18 before a session are ineligible, conflicting with the overview's current-senior and 14-18 language; confirm directly; Exclusion: Rising ninth graders were described as remote-only in the stale FAQ; Exclusion: No 2026 or 2027 cohort, eligibility boundary, capacity, or application is confirmed; Exclusion: Participation does not confer college credit |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 1–3 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 2–3 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person | In person / Online |
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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 | Evanston, Illinois | Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, San Diego, Santa Cruz, CA | Boston, Massachusetts, Greater Boston |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Course-dependent academic admission using CTD eligibility tiers; applicants qualify through test scores, prior CTD coursework, or portfolio review, and courses may fill. Application materials: Teacher recommendation for portfolio applicants | 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: Online application with one personal statement; One teacher recommendation (two recommended) | Selection: The stale FAQ describes review and a decision within one week, but no current acceptance criteria, rate, capacity, or operating cycle is verified. Application materials: Teacher recommendation for on-campus applicants and international learn-from-home applicants under the stale FAQ |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-24Source 2 · checked 2026-10-24Source 3 · checked 2026-10-24Source 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 2026-08-21Source 4 · checked 2026-08-21 |
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