| Application deadline | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): $1,950; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Scholarships and need-based financial aid: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Available to accepted students; amount and award count are not stated on the official page.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 residential camp tuition, housing, and meals: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Varied by campus and week; 2026 residential pricing included six nights, program meals, activities, and supervision under the selected product.; Optional two-session virtual tutoring add-on: $149. Historical 2026 price for two one-hour sessions; not required and not confirmed for 2027.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): 2026 application fee: $0. No fee to apply.; Scholarships and need-based financial aid: Amount: Unconfirmed — check official site. Available to accepted students; amount and award count are not stated on the official page.; Loaner laptop: $0. Loaner laptops were available for accepted students who needed one.; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Stipend or pay | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Eligibility | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Ages 9–18; Requirement: Choose a product whose age band matches the student's age at camp; Requirement: Choose the correct beginner, intermediate, advanced, or tournament track for current experience; Requirement: For online camp, have technology and availability for the live daily schedule; Requirement: For day or residential camp, meet travel, pickup, housing, supervision, health, consent, and conduct requirements; Requirement: Complete payment and registration before the selected cohort sells out; Exclusion: Treating every program as grades 7-12 or using one age range across tracks; Exclusion: Registering an 18-year-old for an in-person product that caps participation at 17; Exclusion: Assuming the same prerequisite, price, housing, meals, schedule, refund, certificate, or aid terms across products; Exclusion: Treating Georgetown, Columbia, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Boston University, Rutgers, or SMU venue use as university admission, enrollment, academic credit, endorsement, or guaranteed campus access; Exclusion: Assuming a certificate guarantees a conference award or college outcome | Ages 14–19; Requirement: Be age 14 through 19 inclusive on the first day of the workshop; Requirement: Submit one original 2,000-6,000-word science-fiction, fantasy, or horror short story; Requirement: Submit a short story rather than an excerpt and do not use fan-fiction characters or worlds; Requirement: Remove the applicant's name from the story file for anonymous judging; Requirement: If under 18, obtain parent or guardian confirmation and consent within seven days; Exclusion: Applicants outside ages 14-19 on the first program day; Exclusion: Applicants who have already attended Alpha twice, subject to the organization's digital-workshop exceptions; Exclusion: Fan fiction, excerpts, named manuscripts, or stories outside the required length and speculative genres; Exclusion: Admission and aid are separate; neither past publication nor ability to pay guarantees admission |
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| Session dates or duration | Catalog terms: 1 week; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site | Last year's cycle (2026): Starts July 15, 2026; Ends July 26, 2026; 1.7 weeks; 2027: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person / Online | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Unconfirmed — check official site | Residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Washington, District of Columbia, New York, New York, Los Angeles, California, Berkeley, California, Boston, Massachusetts, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Dallas, Texas, Separate U.S. campus day and residential camps plus live online cohorts accessible by time zone | Greensburg, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Pennsylvania |
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| Selection and application | Selection: Most camps are paid, capacity-limited enrollment products rather than merit-selected institutes. Sessions can sell out; exact class size, prerequisites, and advanced-track screening vary by product. | Selection: Twenty students are admitted based solely on anonymized application stories; no current applicant count or acceptance rate is published. |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-20Source 2 · checked 2026-08-20Source 3 · checked 2026-08-20Source 4 · checked 2026-08-20 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-21Source 2 · checked 2026-08-21Source 3 · checked 2026-08-21 |
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