National Student Leadership Conference Computer Science & Engineering Summer Program

You can enroll if you're currently in 9th to 12th grade, are 14 to 18 and have finished at least one year of high school, and you can still go the summer after you graduate. A student finishing 8th grade in spring 2027 can't join, because NSLC counts them as a middle schooler. You don't need any coding or engineering background either, since NSLC introduces the foundations before moving on to the hands-on challenges.

NSLC encourages students who show academic excellence and leadership ability to apply, and it asks teachers to nominate students with at least a B average. Teachers, counselors and alumni nominate students, and some are invited based on standardized test results, but you can also enroll directly through NSLC's online application with a deposit, and NSLC lists no essay or test for it. Places are filled while space lasts. Once a session is full, you can join its waitlist with a deposit that's refunded if no place opens up or you take your name off. International students generally need a B-2 visitor visa unless they can use the Visa Waiver Program, and NSLC provides an invitation letter for the visa application.

NSLC doesn't name the instructors who lead the computer science workshops, so ask before you enroll if that matters to you. What it does describe is the group structure: you're placed with about 15 students and a dedicated Team Advisor who stays with the group through its activities.

Guest speakers and site visits bring in people who work in the field. Past speakers for this program include people from Google, MITRE, the National Science Foundation, the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute, Salesforce/Tableau and Amazon. NSLC also names IEEE and its TryEngineering Summer Institute as the program's official partner, although it doesn't say what part they play in the workshops. Which trips you take depends on the campus.

• Johns Hopkins trips may include

  The Defense Intelligence Agency, the FBI, an Amazon Fulfillment Center tour and the NSA National Cryptologic Museum, plus Capitol Hill, the Smithsonian and Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

• UC Berkeley trips may include

  The Intel Museum, Cloudflare, the Berkeley School of Engineering, the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Pier 39.

Living on campus costs $4,495 and commuting costs $3,745, and the prices are the same at Johns Hopkins and UC Berkeley. Both prices cover course materials, trips, tours, activities and transport to off-campus events. The residential price adds a dorm room and three meals a day, while commuters get lunch and dinner on campus but no breakfast. Travel to and from campus is extra, and so are the airport shuttle, laundry, spending money and off-campus meals. NSLC tuition can't be paid from a 529 plan. Tuition doesn't include medical insurance, and NSLC strongly recommends that students from outside the U.S. carry coverage, at minimum through its optional Student Protection Plan, which is mainly trip insurance and costs extra.

Enrollments made before 1 May 2027 go on a monthly payment plan at no extra fee, with the last payment due 30 days before your session. Need-based scholarships are mostly $500 to $1,000, so they cover only part of the fee. You can apply only after you've enrolled with a deposit, and the deadline is 1 April 2027. If you're turned down or the award isn't enough, you can cancel and get back everything you've paid. Otherwise, once your grace period ends, NSLC keeps a cancellation fee that rises as the session gets closer.

NSLC doesn't describe a certificate, grade or finished portfolio piece from the nine days. What you take away is hands-on experience across several areas of computing and, ideally, a clearer idea of which one you'd want to study.

College credit is a separate option. It's a one-credit online course taught by American University faculty and matched to this program, which you take on your own schedule in July and August 2027 and pay for separately. NSLC hasn't published the 2027 price, and the 2026 course cost $1,044. You enroll through your NSLC student profile by 24 June 2027, but the credit fee is refundable only through 1 June 2027. The course starts on 29 June, and all work is due by 7 August 2027. You're not expected to do coursework during your session. NSLC notes that each college sets its own policy on accepting outside credit, as it does with AP, so check with the colleges you're aiming for.

Team Advisors, who lead the groups of about 15 by day, double as resident advisors at night, living on the same floors as students and doing evening room checks. An NSLC administrative team lives on site at every campus, and staff are available around the clock. Residential students get key or card access to their dorm, with roommates assigned by program, gender and age. Everyone wears a program lanyard, and students are expected to stay within the campus boundaries set on arrival. NSLC holds the MESH(+) Seal from the Alliance for Camp Health for how it handles mental, emotional and social well-being, and its safety and support page sets out the full arrangements.

Commuters typically arrive by 8:30 a.m. and leave by 9:00 p.m., which gives a sense of how full the days are. Dining services can accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions. Students flying in can book NSLC's airport shuttle for an extra fee, and staff wait for them in baggage claim on arrival day.