| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | 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): $3,900; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | 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 | Last year's cycle (2026): Stone Lab scholarship assistance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Requirements and awards vary. The 2026 non-OSU/high-school deadline was March 31 and has passed; non-degree admission and the application fee or approved waiver were required by the deadline.; 2027: 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 | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Ohio State non-degree admission application fee for a new non-OSU/high-school credit student: $60. Ordinarily applies if the accepted student has never enrolled at Ohio State and is required for scholarship consideration; confirm waiver and applicant-specific billing.; Stone Lab laboratory or course fees: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. The 2026-27 registrar table lists an $80 Stone Lab lab fee for specified courses, but fee applicability and other course charges vary.; Stone Lab room charges: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Course- and stay-specific; billed separately where applicable.; Stone Lab meal charges: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Course- and stay-specific; billed separately where applicable.; Stone Lab scholarship assistance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Requirements and awards vary. The 2026 non-OSU/high-school deadline was March 31 and has passed; non-degree admission and the application fee or approved waiver were required by the deadline.; 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 9–12 (provider uses rising grades) | Grades 9–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Up to grade 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 | Minimum age 14; Residency: Currently studying and residing in the United States; Requirement: Be at least 14 by program start; Requirement: Be a current high-school student; Requirement: Demonstrate good programming ability in Python, Java, C/C++, or another language; Requirement: Understand computer-science fundamentals; Requirement: Commit to the full-time six-week commuter or virtual schedule; Requirement: Provide one science, mathematics, or computer-science teacher reference; Exclusion: Applicants under 14 at program start; Exclusion: Applicants not currently studying and residing in the United States; Exclusion: Applicants unable to commit to the complete schedule; Exclusion: Applicants whose skills do not match available mentor projects | Requirement: Apply through the undergraduate-credit-for-high-school-student path, not a college, graduate, REU, job, or workshop path unless separately eligible; Requirement: Select a current course that explicitly permits high-school applicants and meet every course prerequisite; Requirement: Submit the course/path-specific application, required PDF documents, standardized-test fields, and recommendation forms; Requirement: If accepted and new to Ohio State, complete non-degree undergraduate admission, account activation, fee or waiver, acceptance, and registration steps; Requirement: Complete the Financial Responsibility Statement and all billed tuition and fees by the applicant-specific deadlines; Requirement: If age 16 or older, submit Ohio State vaccination documentation; Requirement: Arrange ferry travel, arrival, housing and meals as applicable, books and supplies, weather-appropriate field clothing, and all course-specific safety items; Requirement: Attend the full course and complete its lectures, labs, fieldwork, assignments, exams, projects, conduct, and academic-integrity requirements; Exclusion: Assuming every Stone Lab course or workshop accepts high-school students; Exclusion: Using REU, graduate, educator, noncredit-workshop, employment, or current-OSU application instructions for the high-school credit path; Exclusion: Treating the umbrella applications-open statement as confirmation that a selected course has seats; Exclusion: Relying on stale 2023 dates in the FAQ or assuming 2026 scholarship dates recur; Exclusion: Assuming one tuition, fee, duration, prerequisite, credit count, housing plan, meal plan, or arrival schedule applies to all courses; Exclusion: Arriving without required books, supplies, ferry planning, vaccination documentation when applicable, or enrollment completion; Exclusion: Assuming Ohio State credit automatically transfers to a high school or another college, or guarantees a grade, scholarship, recommendation, research placement, publication, admission, or job |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 4 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 6 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person / Online | 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 | 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 | Stony Brook, New York (commuter track), United States residency and study required; virtual track for students unable to commute | Put-in-Bay, Ohio, Most courses meet at Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island/South Bass Island in Lake Erie; exact arrival and field locations vary |
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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: Mentors evaluate application strength and fit to limited project capacity; each accepted student receives a mentor assignment with the offer. Application materials: Essay of no more than two pages on a computing or data-analytics interest, motivation, programming skills, and past projects; One science, mathematics, or computer-science teacher recommendation submitted separately | Selection: Approval is course- and applicant-specific. Stone Lab does not publish one umbrella capacity, acceptance rate, high-school quota, or guaranteed enrollment timeline. Application materials: Recommendation forms submitted separately by the required recommenders using business email addresses; Financial Responsibility Statement, vaccination documentation for age 16 or older, billing, housing, meals, health, emergency, accessibility, travel, ferry, conduct, media, safety, and course forms as applicable |
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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 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20Source 4 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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