| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Last year's cycle (2026): $2,500; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Last year's cycle (2026): Need-based scholarship after acceptance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. First come until funds exhausted; next-cycle terms unknown.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Historical 2026 need-based grant aid after admission: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. The published 2026 financial-aid guidance promised to meet demonstrated need for admitted students, including possible travel aid and international participants. Confirm operative 2027 terms.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Current AMBITION26 tuition support code: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Advertised as 20% tuition support. Eligibility, expiration, stacking rules, and session coverage are not stated; verify before payment.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Last year's cycle (2026): Residence hall, meals, linens, laundry, and local program transport: $0. Included in 2026 attendance fee.; Travel to and from West Lafayette: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Participant responsibility, including optional airport shuttles.; Need-based scholarship after acceptance: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. First come until funds exhausted; next-cycle terms unknown.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Application fee: $0. SSP states that applying is completely free.; Historical 2026 need-based grant aid after admission: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. The published 2026 financial-aid guidance promised to meet demonstrated need for admitted students, including possible travel aid and international participants. Confirm operative 2027 terms.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: Current AMBITION26 tuition support code: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Advertised as 20% tuition support. Eligibility, expiration, stacking rules, and session coverage are not stated; verify before payment.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Historical 2026 limited lost-wages stipend: $3,000; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Eligibility | Grade 12 (provider uses rising grades) | Grade 11 when applying; summer rising grade is one higher | Grades 6–12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Requirement: Be a rising senior in the announced cohort; Requirement: Complete the future application with transcript and accepted standardized scores if still required; Requirement: Recommended for 2026: three high-school math years and one chemistry or physics year; Requirement: Be available for the full residential week; Requirement: Follow Purdue housing, supervision, health, safety, conduct, accessibility, team, media, and travel rules; Exclusion: Assuming 2026 terms recur; Exclusion: Treating recommended coursework as a guaranteed admission threshold; Exclusion: Missing the full session or required application documents; Exclusion: Assuming STEP guarantees Purdue, Engineering Honors, scholarship, credit, recommendation, award, or admission advantage | Ages 15–18; Requirement: Be a current high-school junior graduating in 2028 for the Summer 2027 cycle; Requirement: Be at least 15 but not yet 19 while the program operates; Requirement: Complete the credited coursework required by the chosen project by June; Requirement: Astrophysics: high-school physics plus precalculus, or calculus when physics is unavailable; Requirement: Bacterial Genomics or Cell Biology: biology plus Algebra II; Requirement: Biochemistry: biology, chemistry and strong algebra skills; Requirement: Be able to live and work intensively on an assigned campus for five weeks; Exclusion: Current freshmen, sophomores and seniors are not eligible; Exclusion: Self-study does not substitute for credited prerequisite courses; Exclusion: A project or campus preference is not a guaranteed assignment; Exclusion: The program is not a drop-in camp or individually arranged lab placement | Ages 10–17; Requirement: Be entering U.S. grade 6-12 or the international equivalent for the session's school year; Requirement: Be age 10-17 and not age 18 at attendance; Requirement: Have a parent or legal guardian complete registration and required health forms; Requirement: Be able to participate safely in a structured, technology-free residential group environment; Requirement: Disclose medical, dietary, disability, and medication needs through the registration process; Exclusion: Students who have graduated high school are ineligible; Exclusion: Students age 18 at attendance are ineligible; Exclusion: Students cannot register themselves; Exclusion: Current marketing copy says ages 11-17 in one location, while the 2026 handbook and FAQ say 10-17; verify the next session's age floor |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 1 week; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 5 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Catalog terms: 1 week; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person | In person |
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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 | West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue University campus | Assigned university campus; 2027 sites not announced | Pensacola, Florida |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Rolling review until limited sessions fill; waitlist afterward. No acceptance rate is published. | Selection: SSP describes a holistic, contextual and need-blind admission process with limited capacity. It does not promise admission based on grades, prestige, test scores or ability to pay. Application materials: Student essays and contextual information requested by the portal | Selection: The program is session- and capacity-based rather than presented as a judged competition. Current capacity, applicant volume, wait-list rules, and acceptance rate are not published. |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20 | 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 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-21Source 4 · checked 2026-08-21Source 5 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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