How to Apply

The application period for YSPA 2024 is now closed.

  • YSPA does not give any priority to early applications nor do any kind of rolling admissions. No applications will be considered after the application deadline, which 11:59pm EST on March 8, 2024. To convert your time to Eastern Standard Time, please use the Time Zone Converter
  • You must include a current school transcript (including your grades through the current Fall semester) with your application.  If your school will not give you a copy of your transcript directly, you can ask them to mail the transcript directly to us via the address given on the application form.
  • You must have two teachers write letters of recommendation for you, submitted via SmarterSelect. Letters of recommendation will be accepted up until 11:59 EDT on March 18, 2024. Your teachers will automatically receive their link after you apply.  Be sure to give your teachers plenty of time to fill out the form (we recommend asking your teachers at least two weeks before the deadline). 
  • Do not submit standardized test scores (SAT, ACT, etc.) with your application… these will not be considered. 
  • Students must be rising seniors in order to attend, and you must apply when you are a high school junior or equivalent. Students must be 15.5 years or older by July 7, 2024 in order to attend. 
  • Students must be available for the two week online directed self-study program starting June 24, 2024.  This online study program will require about 2-4 hours per day of study time through July 5, and you will need internet access most of these days in order to participate in online discussion sections. Failure to participate in the online program may result in an admissions offer into the residential program being withdrawn. 
  • The on-campus program will run from July 7 through August 4, 2024. Students should plan to arrive on July 7 by 4pm and leave campus on the morning of August 4, 2024.
  • International students must check the Yale COVID-19 Travel Policy before making any travel arrangements, and also check their own country’s COVID-19 travel restrictions. International students are welcome to apply, but applicants must be proficient in English. 
  • Full tuition for the 2024 program is $7,500 USD (this includes academic tuition, room and board, field trips, project costs, instructional materials, computer fees, etc., but does not include travel to and from the program, health insurance, or incidental expenses).
  • Financial Aid on a “needs-first” basis is available for successfully admitted students who apply (up to a 75% tuition remission).
  • Admissions decisions (of “Awarded”, “Alternate”, or “Declined”) are expected to go out around the second week in April by e-mail and via the SmarterSelect application management tool.  Applicants who have received an offer of admission will have one week to accept or reject this offer.
  • Admission to YSPA is very competitive. We appreciate being notified if you intend to withdraw your application so that we can remove it from consideration as soon as possible. 
  • If you are admitted, a deposit of $1500 is required by April 28, 2024 to secure your spot. The balance of the tuition is due by June 1, 2024. Your offer of admission may be withdrawn and you may forfeit your deposit or your full tuition if it is found that you falsified any aspect of your application. If we must shift the program to fully online, you will received a tution refund for the difference between the cost of the in-person program and the online program. If we must completely cancel the program after you have submitted your tuition payment, you will receive a full tuition refund.