| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): $635–$15,987; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Local SAME Post sponsorship: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Posts may pay half or more, but award amounts and availability vary and are not guaranteed.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 residential media scholarship: $15,987. One Session C award covered tuition and room and board in exchange for documenting the experience; the 2026 scholarship is closed and 2027 availability is unknown.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Catalog terms: Residential university housing: $0. Scholars live in campus dormitories as part of the 100%-free residential program.; Residential-session meals: $0. The organizer describes scholars eating in the dining hall within the 100%-free experience.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Reservation payment after selection: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Selected campers paid half the applicable registration fee to hold a place.; Local SAME Post sponsorship: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Posts may pay half or more, but award amounts and availability vary and are not guaranteed.; Travel to the camp region: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Participant responsibility; pickup from the camp's designated closest airport was available under the published travel process.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 commuter or virtual application fee: $25. Residential pages refer to an application fee in refund terms but do not state its amount on the official page.; 2026 commuter or virtual registration and document fees: $658. $585 registration plus $73 document-management fee.; 2026 international visitor service fee: $500. Applies to international visitors under the published fee table; track and immigration restrictions still control eligibility.; 2026 residential media scholarship: $15,987. One Session C award covered tuition and room and board in exchange for documenting the experience; the 2026 scholarship is closed and 2027 availability is unknown.; 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 10–11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher | Grades 10–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 10–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Residency: Preference for students at target schools or living within the published radius of Atlanta, Boston, Detroit/Ann Arbor, or Bay Area sites; Requirement: Minimum 3.0 GPA or equivalent; Requirement: Be in grade 10 or 11 when applying; Requirement: Demonstrate strong grade-level mathematics skills through state-standardized scores; Requirement: Attend a public high school or a private high school through scholarship; Requirement: Show strong interest in a computer-science degree or certification and a CS career; Requirement: Meet site-specific gender eligibility: male for Morehouse and female for Spelman; Exclusion: Applicants who do not meet every published requirement; SMASH states that there are no eligibility exceptions | Minimum age 15; Citizenship: United States citizenship required; Requirement: Be enrolled in high school and at least 15 years old on arrival; Requirement: Have completed freshman year for most camps; have completed sophomore year for the Army camp; Requirement: Plan to pursue engineering, architecture or a related STEM degree or career; Requirement: Demonstrate leadership, teamwork, good character and physical ability to participate; Requirement: Provide proof of medical insurance and required health information; Requirement: Confirm the selected camp's GPA rule; official pages variously describe 3.2 as a minimum or highly recommended; Exclusion: The 2026 application and camps are closed; Exclusion: Non-U.S. citizens are not eligible under the published criteria; Exclusion: The Army camp does not accept students who have not completed sophomore year; Exclusion: A student may attend only one SAME camp; Exclusion: Camp placement, top-choice placement and SAME Post sponsorship are not guaranteed; Exclusion: Full-week attendance is required | Ages 16–18; Residency: Residential and virtual tracks accepted qualifying domestic and international students in 2026; Residency: Commuter applicants generally had to reside in California, commute locally, and stay with an adult relative in the Bay Area; Residency: International applicants had track-specific English-language, insurance, and visa requirements; Requirement: Have completed grade 10 or 11 by the start of summer classes under 2026 rules; Requirement: Hold at least a B average or 3.0 GPA; Requirement: Be age 16 by the applicable 2026 start date; Requirement: Meet course prerequisites and select courses available to high-school students; Requirement: Meet English-language requirements when applicable; Requirement: Meet housing, health-insurance, immigration, and track-specific location rules; Exclusion: Students under 16 by the applicable start date were not eligible in 2026; Exclusion: Students over 18 before summer classes were directed to the visiting-student application rather than Pre-College Scholars; Exclusion: Residential students could not take online courses and had to live in assigned housing; Exclusion: Commuter students could not use non-family homestays, co-ops, Airbnb, or program housing; Exclusion: Course availability and prerequisites are controlled by academic departments |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 3 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 1 week; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 6–8 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 | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Atlanta, Berkeley, Boston, Ann Arbor, Georgia, California, Massachusetts, Michigan | Honolulu, Vicksburg, Jacksonville, Colorado Springs, Camp Lejeune, Port Hueneme, Hawaii, Mississippi, Florida, Colorado, North Carolina, California | Berkeley, California |
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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: Each camp generally serves 40-80 students. SAME Posts review applicants and nominate or sponsor candidates, but SAME publishes no overall applicant count or acceptance rate. | Selection: Complete applications were reviewed on a rolling basis, with course enrollment subject to capacity, prerequisites, and academic-department discretion. The program does not publish a current acceptance rate. |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-21 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-21Source 4 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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