| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | January 25, 2027 (2027 cycle) |
|---|
| Cost | Last year's cycle (2026): Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Free attendance; check separate expenses; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Financial aid | Last year's cycle (2026): Limited travel and food aid: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Available to some students who demonstrated financial need; award amounts and counts were not published.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Expenses and aid conditions | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 application fee: $30. Nonrefundable; applicants with financial need could request a waiver.; 2026 triple-occupancy hotel housing: $0. Included for full-time participants; not provided to local piano or percussion participants in the limited track.; Food during the institute: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Not included; students prepared food in the hotel kitchenette or purchased meals. Limited need-based aid could help.; Round-trip transportation to Washington, D.C.: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Not included; limited need-based aid could help. Local program transportation was covered.; Limited travel and food aid: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Available to some students who demonstrated financial need; award amounts and counts were not published.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Required residential transportation: $0. PSJP coordinates and pays necessary public transportation, airfare/train, and shuttles.; Princeton housing: $0. Covered for the residential intensive.; Residential meals: $0. Covered during the residential intensive.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Eligibility | Unconfirmed — check official site | Grade 11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher |
|---|
| Additional eligibility | Ages 15–20; Requirement: Be at least 15 by June 7, 2026 and no older than 20 on June 29, 2026 for the completed cycle; Requirement: Be seriously considering music as a career and able to commit to the full program; Requirement: Audition on an eligible orchestral instrument with the required excerpts and solo; Requirement: Participate in all scheduled institute activities if accepted; Exclusion: Full-time fellowships were not listed for percussion or piano in 2026; locally based percussionists and pianists could apply for specified limited, non-residential components; Exclusion: Housing was not provided for the local piano and percussion tracks; Exclusion: The 2027 age cutoff and instrument roster are not yet verified | Citizenship: Citizenship is not itself required, but B/F/J/M visa holders and students living abroad are ineligible; Residency: Permanent address in the United States or Puerto Rico and intent to attend college in the U.S.; Requirement: Be continuously enrolled full-time as a high-school junior when applying; Requirement: Ordinarily have at least a 3.5 unweighted GPA or explain contextual circumstances; Requirement: Have serious interest in journalism/current events; Requirement: Meet a limited-income condition: household income plus child support at or below $65,000, free/reduced lunch eligibility, or SAT/ACT fee-waiver eligibility; Requirement: Commit to all summer and senior-year components; Exclusion: No sophomores, seniors, students abroad, boarding international students, or B/F/J/M visa holders; Exclusion: Program is not purchasable by families outside the income mission; Exclusion: Participation does not guarantee Princeton admission or provide a college scholarship |
|---|
| Session dates or duration | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts June 7, 2026; Ends June 29, 2026; 3.1 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 48–60 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Format | In person | Online / In person |
|---|
| Housing and supervision | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
|---|
| Location | Washington, District of Columbia; Kennedy Center and the D.C. metropolitan area | Princeton, New York City, U.S. and Puerto Rico permanent-address applicants; online plus Princeton residential |
|---|
| Selection and application | Selection: Competitive recorded audition with musical proficiency as the primary standard; essays and one recommendation inform the review, and instrument balance affects selection. No current acceptance rate is published. Application materials: Two essay responses; One recommendation letter | Selection: Three-round national selection for academically strong, limited-income juniors; acceptance rate is not published. Application materials: One core academic teacher recommendation; Finalist video interview; Optional journalistic writing sample and optional second recommendation |
|---|
| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-09Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-20 |
|---|
