Students must always be with a YSPA staff member, or travel in pairs or groups. The Yale police station is located close to both the dormitory and the Leitner Observatory, and campus police will always be advised when we are working late at the observatory and will provide additional supervision.
For parents
Yes. Students who have been admitted can apply for limited, need-based financial aid within two weeks of the admissions decision notification. A typical financial aid award is a 50% tuition remission, although discounts of up to 80% may be awarded, depending on the availability of funds and financial need of the student. Past participants have also had success in securing funding to attend YSPA through foundations and crowd-funding.
It is recommended that students bring $100 in cash to cover meals during field trips, and for the on-campus food carts that they visit once a week.
Sundays are the best days to communicate with students, and the morning or early afternoon would be the least disruptive time for them to have a visitor on campus (be sure to have your student inform the Program Manager if you plan to visit). If your student would like to be excused from the program at a specific time to attend religious services, please talk to the Program Manager, and they will make arrangements.
Yes, but it’s best to wait until your student is on campus to send any packages. We will communicate the address to where packages should be shipped in the Participant’s Handbook.
Details about the summer program, including an explanation of the YSPA Honor Code and program rules, will be covered in the YSPA Participants’ Handbook, which will be sent to the student after we receive the tuition deposit. You and your student should read this handbook carefully. We don’t have many program rules, but the ones we have are important and are strictly enforced, such as staying within the program boundary, respecting the program curfew, and following instructions from the staff.
No, students are expected to remain on campus and participate for the duration of the 4-week on campus program. Students who arrive late may lose their admissions offer without a tuition refund.