Summer Springboard Middle School International Relations

Class runs from 9am to noon, Monday to Friday, which adds up to five three-hour sessions. The week starts with check-in on Sunday for residential and commuter students alike. After lunch at 12pm, the 1:30pm slot goes to academic excursions or a recreational activity, and Wednesday afternoon is set aside for extra academic time that may include a trip or guest speaker. At 3:30pm the Academic Skills Lab gives you time to work on your final project, which in this course leads up to the Model UN simulation. Everyone also joins a group trip to one of New York City's museums during the week.

Residential students get free time at 5pm, dinner at 6pm and an evening activity at 7pm. They're back in the dorm by 8:30pm and have a mentor check-in at 9:30pm. Commuters arrive at 9am and head home between 5pm and 6pm. On Friday the program ends with check-out at 2:30pm.

You need to have finished 6th grade by the start of your session and have a 3.0 GPA or your school's equivalent. The course is aimed at students up to those completing 8th grade. International students can show their English in a phone interview or with a minimum test score: 490 on the paper TOEFL or 60 on the iBT, PET-Distinction or FCE-C on a Cambridge exam, or 450 in SAT Reading/Writing.

The application includes short-answer essay questions and signed agreement forms. Summer Springboard checks every applicant against its Essential Eligibility Criteria, which expect students to manage their own self-care and medication and to follow instructions in English. Students with some health or behavioral conditions may be asked for medical documentation and proof of 12 months of stability. Courses are assigned first come, first served, so applying early gives you the best chance of the session you want.

Residential tuition is $3,198 and commuter tuition is $1,798, plus a non-refundable $99 application fee. Those are the prices Summer Springboard lists for applications made by 30 November 2026. It says tuition rises on 1 December 2026 but hasn't published the new figure. The application fee goes up to $149 after 21 February 2027 and to $199 after 18 April 2027. Some courses on the campus carry a $250 supplement, but this one doesn't.

Residential tuition covers housing, all meals, the course, excursions and evening activities. Commuter tuition covers lunch, the course, excursions and the daytime program, but not housing, breakfast, dinner or evening activities. Flights and health insurance are extra, and the optional airport shuttle costs $95 each way. A student aged 14 or younger who flies in must travel as an airline unaccompanied minor, which adds $50 each way from Summer Springboard on top of the shuttle and whatever the airline charges.

A $600 deposit holds the place. The rest is paid in installments, with the last one due by 10 May 2027 and a $150 late fee after that. Need-based scholarships cover up to 30% of residential tuition or up to 60% of commuter tuition, but they can't be used for the deposit or application fee.

If you cancel before 1 March 2027, you get all your tuition back except the application fee. After that Summer Springboard keeps the deposit too, the refund drops to 75% from 2 April and 25% after 1 May, and nothing is refunded after 1 June 2027. An optional Tuition Protection Plan, listed at $699 and not itself refundable, lets you cancel for any reason up to the day the program starts.

Summer Springboard staff directly supervise students during classes, lectures and excursions. The middle school program runs separately from the high school one, with its own staff and housing and a more structured routine. Classes are held in NYU's Kimmel Center, where entry is limited to people affiliated with NYU and the visitors they sponsor, and NYU's Campus Safety Department handles security. Students check in with the Summer Springboard team at the front desk every day.

At night, residential students must stay in their rooms once staff tell them to. Summer Springboard's rooms house two to four students, assigned by gender identity, with a shared bathroom. Campus directors hold bachelor's or master's degrees, and all staff go through background checks and training. If a student is sick or hurt, staff take them to the nearest medical facility and contact the parents, but the family pays the costs. Students also keep and take their own medication. Breaking the code of conduct can get a student sent home at the family's expense with no refund.

You leave with a completion certificate, a letter of recommendation from your instructor and the experience of representing a country in a Model UN simulation. You don't earn college credit, which Summer Springboard offers only on two of its other campuses. The certificate and letter aren't automatic either, since Summer Springboard can withhold them for poor participation or breaking the code of conduct. Neither one is a qualification, so think of them as a record of the week.

Applications go through Summer Springboard's enrollment page, and final general admission closes on 16 May 2027.

1. 1

   Check on Summer Springboard's availability page that your session still has space, then open an account with your contact details and confirm the verification email.

2. 2

   Create a new application, choose the NYU middle school campus, your session, this course and residential or commuter tuition, and set aside about 30 minutes with the student present.

3. 3

   Answer the short-answer questions, then pay the $600 deposit and the application fee to hold the place.

4. 4

   Expect a decision within 5 to 7 business days. Once you're accepted, more forms open up, and Summer Springboard won't start reviewing them until they're all submitted.

5. 5

   Pay the balance on the installment schedule, with the last payment due by 10 May 2027. If you enroll before 25 April 2027, the pre-departure documents are due by 1 May 2027, and if you enroll later, they're due within 7 days of acceptance.