| Application deadline | February 1, 2027 (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Cost | Free attendance; check separate expenses (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Financial aid | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Expenses and aid conditions | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site | 2027 application fee: $25. Nonrefundable.; 2027 Great Debate deposit: $150. Nonrefundable deposit after acceptance. (2027 cycle) |
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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 10–11; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Up to grade 12; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site | Grade 9; Grade timing: Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Additional eligibility | Requirement: Current Texas high-school sophomores/juniors, rising juniors/seniors; full attendance, no concurrent summer school. First-generation/hardship backgrounds encouraged, not exclusive admissions requirement. | Ages 13–17; Requirement: Be age 13-17 for the ZooTeen program; Requirement: Be able to support summer Zoo Camp participants in person; Requirement: Have interest in animals, environment, conservation and working with people; Requirement: Complete any application and training requirements published for the active cycle; Exclusion: Applicants age 18 or older, who use the separate Zoo Ambassador pathway; Exclusion: Animal handling, animal-care, zookeeping or direct behind-the-scenes animal-contact expectations; Exclusion: Applicants unable to attend required training or assigned camp-support shifts | Residency: Participating cities and surrounding areas; Requirement: GPA of at least 3.0 or 85 and a college-bound curriculum; Requirement: Spring regional training applies to specified four-day programmes |
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| Session dates or duration | Starts June 6, 2027; Ends June 11, 2027 (2027 cycle) | Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Format | In person | In person | In person |
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| Housing and supervision | Unconfirmed — check official site | Non-residential. Supervision and housing details: Unconfirmed — check official site | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Location | Unconfirmed — check official site | Apple Valley, Minnesota Zoo, Minnesota | Unconfirmed — check official site |
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| Selection and application | Application materials: Online application, transcript, activities/leadership, essays, recommendation and resume. Decisions by mid-April; supplemental deadline does not extend initial entry. | Selection: The zoo closes applications when the summer cohort is filled, but it does not publish applicant counts, cohort size, interview process or selection rate. | Selection: Confirm the current programme’s selection, capacity and operative participation conditions. |
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| Official sources | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-10 | Source 1 · checked 2026-08-22 | Source 1 · checked 2026-10-12Source 2 · checked 2026-08-22Source 3 · checked 2026-08-22Source 4 · checked 2026-08-20 |
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