During the four-week on-campus program, mornings are normally spent in class in the Leitner Planetarium, learning about stellar physics, Calculus, observing techniques, etc.. Afternoon sessions are spent in the computer lab working on tutorials in data analysis and python programming in small groups with the faculty and student research teams. Students and staff get together for dinner every evening in the residential college, and then student teams observe about every other night in the observatory in four shifts from 8pm until 2am. There are also times when we work on side projects (such as the high-altitude helium balloon or a lab with the radio telescope), talk about science, philosophy, and life, and so on. There are also times when we take a break from science to have a dance, go for a hike, play a game, and enjoy other fun surprises.
Overall, we try to make the program extremely challenging and a lot of fun. We emphasize collegiality and personal responsibility. Students in the program can expect to get a lot of one-on-one time with faculty and to get to know their research teammates very well.
Past YSPA students have maintained a daily blog each year during YSPA which may give you a good overview of the program from the students’ perspective: https://yspablog.wordpress.com/