Summer Springboard Middle School Business & Entrepreneurship

Class runs from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday, which adds up to five three-hour sessions, or 15 hours, across the week. Each session runs Sunday to Friday, with residential students checking in on Sunday afternoon and everyone leaving at 2:30pm on Friday. Wednesday afternoon is set aside for extra academic time, which may bring an excursion or a guest speaker.

Other afternoons go to guest speakers and visits to local businesses, large and small. Summer Springboard's examples from past summers include a Wall Street tour and a visit to the NBA for the NYU group. In Michigan, students went to 1 Million Cups, where local entrepreneurs present their businesses to the community, and the founder of Molly's Cupcakes gave them a behind-the-scenes tour. In San Diego, students made their own candles at a small soap and candle shop. Residential students have social activities in the evenings.

Commuter students are on campus from 9am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and until 2:30pm on Friday, with lunch included but no evening program.

Each campus has its own instructor, so who teaches your week depends on where you go. Summer Springboard says it recruits faculty from local colleges, universities and professional fields, and several of the people it names for 2027 run companies or work with startups.

• Berkeley

  André van der Bergh spent more than 25 years in retail in South Africa and the Middle East, has run Team Business programs since 2002 and judges DECA business competitions up to the international level.

• UC San Diego

  Dr. Nicole Johnson is CEO of TetraCore Consulting, a small business in Los Angeles, and has more than 23 years in education and business.

• Seattle

  Amelia Marckworth teaches undergraduate entrepreneurship at Seattle University and has reviewed more than 500 business plans.

• Nashville

  Katy Schmitt, a former classroom teacher, founded the Nashville education company Thrive Education Partners in 2018 and still runs it.

• New York

  Emily Palmer is a former New York Times and People journalist who founded a literacy nonprofit, so her background is storytelling and building an organization rather than running a company.

• Georgetown and Michigan

  Dr. Carletta S. Hurt, an entrepreneur and former president of the National Black MBA Association's DC chapter, taught the Georgetown course in 2026. Summer Springboard hasn't clearly confirmed Georgetown's 2027 instructor and hasn't named Michigan's, so ask who will teach your week if it matters to you.

Middle schoolers are kept apart from Summer Springboard's high school students, with their own staff, housing and schedule, and Summer Springboard says those staff are trained for this age group and supervise more closely. Residential students share a gender-segregated dorm room with roommates, with an extra-long twin bed and linens provided, and eat in the university dining hall.

For students flying in, an optional airport transfer has staff meet them at the airport and take them to the residence hall, and there's a separate unaccompanied minor service. The Code of Conduct is strict. Summer Springboard says most violations lead to immediate expulsion, with the student sent home at the family's expense and no refund. We couldn't find a staff-to-student ratio, so it's worth asking before you book.

You need to have finished sixth grade by the time the program starts, and the course takes students up to those finishing eighth grade. Summer Springboard also asks for a 3.0 GPA or the local equivalent, and international students show their English either in a phone interview or with a minimum test score.

Beyond grades, every applicant is screened against Summer Springboard's Essential Eligibility Criteria. Students need to manage their own personal care and medication, follow instructions in English, walk more than a mile around campus and cope with shared rooms and long, structured days. Summer Springboard stresses that its programs aren't therapeutic, and a student with a condition that needs specific support may be asked for medical documentation and at least 12 months of stability. Admission is rolling and places in each course and session go first come, first served, so applying early matters as much as meeting the criteria.

Tuition for the week is $2,798 to $3,198 if you live on campus and $1,398 to $1,798 if you commute, depending on the campus, with NYU the most expensive. Living on campus covers all meals, your room, excursions, the course and evening activities. The commuter price covers the course, lunch and excursions but not breakfast, dinner or the evening program. These prices apply to applications made by 30 November 2026. Summer Springboard raises tuition on 1 December 2026, and the new figures haven't been published.

On top of tuition there's a non-refundable application fee, which starts at $99 and rises to $149 after 21 February 2027 and to $199 after 18 April 2027. Flights and health insurance aren't included. The optional group airport transfer costs $95 each way, and the unaccompanied minor service costs $145 each way. A $600 deposit holds the place, and the balance is paid in installments, with the last due by 10 May 2027. Need-based scholarships can cover up to 30% of residential tuition or 60% of commuter tuition.

An optional Tuition Protection Plan lets you cancel for any reason up to the day the program starts and get back the fees you've paid, though not the cost of the plan itself, which was $699 under its 2026 terms. You have to buy it when you apply.

Without the plan, the refund rules tighten through the spring, so be sure of your summer plans before 1 March 2027:

• Before 1 March 2027

  All tuition comes back, and only the application fee is kept.

• 2 March to 1 April 2027

  All tuition comes back except the deposit and application fee, or you can roll everything you paid over to a future year.

• 2 April to 1 May 2027

  You get back 75% of tuition, minus the deposit and application fee, or you can roll everything you paid over to a future year.

• After 1 May 2027

  25% of tuition comes back, minus the deposit and application fee, or 75% of what you paid can be rolled over.

• After 1 June 2027

  Nothing is refunded or carried over.

Every campus and course uses Summer Springboard's single enrollment page.

1. 1

   Check that your campus and week still have space on Summer Springboard's program availability page, since full sessions move to a waitlist.

2. 2

   Create an account on the application portal and confirm your email address.

3. 3

   Fill in the application, choosing campus, session and residential or commuter tuition. It takes about 30 minutes, needs the student present and includes short-answer essay questions.

4. 4

   Pay the $600 deposit and the application fee to hold the place, and expect a decision within 5 to 7 business days.

5. 5

   Once accepted, complete the remaining forms, including a code of conduct, waiver and medical consent signed by student and parent. Pre-departure documents are due by 1 May 2027 if you enroll before 25 April, or within 7 days of acceptance if you enroll later.

6. 6

   Apply by 21 February 2027 before the first round of closures, or by 18 April 2027 before the second, because some sessions fill and close after each. Enrollment ends on 16 May 2027.