| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): $885–$12,135; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): $5,518; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Need-based Arts & Sciences scholarship: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Available to domestic and international students; amount varies and excludes travel, books/supplies, personal costs, computer, and Wi-Fi.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | 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 |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Selective Arts & Sciences program application fee: $50. Nonrefundable; waivable for listed financial-hardship criteria. Registration-only programs may not charge it.; Post-admission enrollment deposit: $500. Nonrefundable for Summer Launch, Institutes, and Summer Scholars and deducted from total cost.; Optional 2026 commuter lunch plan for Summer Scholars: $375. Residential Scholars pricing includes room and meals.; Need-based Arts & Sciences scholarship: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Available to domestic and international students; amount varies and excludes travel, books/supplies, personal costs, computer, and Wi-Fi.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | 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 |
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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 11–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 10–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grades 9–12 (provider uses rising grades) |
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| Additional eligibility | Citizenship: United States citizen; Residency: Permanent residence within 50 miles of the NIST Gaithersburg or Boulder host campus; Requirement: Be a high-school junior or senior at application, or a recent high-school graduate who has not started college; Requirement: Have at least a 3.0 unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale; Requirement: Demonstrate strong interest in scientific research; Requirement: Commit to the entire seven-week in-person program; Requirement: Provide own local housing and transportation; Requirement: Complete federal security, fingerprinting, badging, health, volunteer, and work-permit requirements if selected; Exclusion: Non-U.S. citizens are ineligible under the current rule; Exclusion: Students outside the 50-mile permanent-residence radius are ineligible; NIST states no exceptions; Exclusion: The internship is unpaid and does not guarantee a stipend, publication, award, recommendation, college credit, federal job, or college-admissions outcome | Citizenship: Domestic and international eligibility varies by program; Arts & Sciences accepts international applicants subject to English and immigration requirements; Residency: National/international for many academic programs; Residency: St. Louis-area residency required for several paid research and environmental programs; Residency: Rural eligibility required for Rural Scholars Academy; Requirement: Select a specific WashU program and meet its grade, academic, course, location, and schedule requirements; Requirement: Summer Scholars applicants are current juniors/rising seniors; Requirement: Summer Institute and Launch applicants generally enter grades 10-12 depending on program; Requirement: Course prerequisites apply to some credit-bearing offerings; Requirement: International applicants may need English-proficiency and visa documentation; Exclusion: No single grade, residence, price, or application rule covers the whole umbrella; Exclusion: Local internships and field programs may exclude non-St. Louis-area applicants; Exclusion: Participation does not guarantee WashU undergraduate admission or admissions advantage; Exclusion: Credit transfer and high-school-credit recognition are controlled by the receiving school | 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 |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 7 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 1–8 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person / Online / Hybrid | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Non-residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Gaithersburg, Maryland, Boulder, Colorado, NIST Gaithersburg and NIST Boulder campuses; permanent residence required within 50 miles | St. Louis, Missouri, Program-specific local field sites | 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 |
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| Selection and application | Selection: NIST describes SHIP as competitive, and laboratory mentors review complete applications and may interview candidates. The official pages do not publish the current applicant count, placement count, acceptance rate, lab quotas, or scoring rubric. Application materials: One-page personal statement covering research interest, preferred NIST laboratory, post-high-school plans, and housing/transportation plan; One STEM-teacher online recommendation and one teacher or professional recommendation; Possible phone or in-person mentor interview | Selection: Selectivity ranges from registration-based online courses to holistic selective residential programs and competitive paid research. WashU does not publish one umbrella application count, acceptance rate, capacity, waitlist, or rubric; each linked unit controls its process. Application materials: For selective Arts & Sciences programs: short essays, $50 fee or qualifying waiver, transcript, and one teacher recommendation; Separate local-residency, research, portfolio, financial, rural, or employment materials for other WashU programs | 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 |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-09Source 2 · checked 2026-10-09Source 3 · checked 2026-10-09Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22Source 5 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-22 | 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 |
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