University of Chicago Summer Session New Horizons

Days start at 9:00 a.m. with lectures, discussion sections or workshops, although UChicago notes that each Enrichment course sets its own timetable. Afternoons usually bring a campus tour, a trip to another part of the city or a hands-on activity tied to the subject, while evenings are filled with events planned by residential and program staff or open social time.

For New Horizons, that has meant House activities, a river boat cruise through downtown Chicago and the Scav Hunt, one of the campus's best-known traditions. Arrival day includes a mandatory orientation that only students attend, so parents say goodbye at the residence hall.

New Horizons takes students in 10th or 11th grade at high schools inside or outside the U.S., and UChicago requires all Enrichment participants to be at least 14. Classes are taught in English, and UChicago expects you to show strong English through the application itself, so TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo scores are optional, as are the SAT, ACT and AP scores.

You can list up to four program choices in ranked order, but you'll be admitted to one at most. A counselor or teacher can also send an optional nomination through a form linked on the course page, on top of your required recommendation. UChicago doesn't publish how many students New Horizons takes or how many apply, though the 2026 course filled and moved to a waitlist.

Everything goes through the UChicago Summer Session application portal.

1. 1

   Start your application once the portal opens in December, and rank New Horizons among your program choices.

2. 2

   Upload an unofficial transcript covering all your high school years so far, plus a current grade report if your latest courses aren't on it.

3. 3

   Write the two essays, one of up to 500 words on why you chose the program and how it fits your plans, and one of up to 300 words on what your perspective adds to UChicago's culture of inquiry.

4. 4

   Submit a typed essay or research paper in English with your teacher's grade and comments as your writing sample, since lab notes and math sets aren't accepted, and write a new paper for a teacher to review if you have nothing suitable.

5. 5

   Enter one teacher recommender, ideally from a related subject, who gets a secure link to submit the letter.

6. 6

   Pay the $75 application fee, which is waived automatically if you request financial aid in the application.

7. 7

   Make sure a parent or guardian answers the confirmation email, because UChicago won't review the application until they do.

8. 8

   Submit everything by 3 March 2027, the final deadline for Enrichment programs, with decisions due in mid-April.

At full price, New Horizons cost $3,000 in 2026, which covered the program with campus housing and dining-hall meals, so travel to Chicago was the main extra. The aid is the standout: if your household income is $125,000 or less, UChicago waives the program fee as funds allow, and at $60,000 or less it also pays domestic roundtrip travel. You have to request aid in the application before you submit it, but if you apply only to Enrichment programs you don't need to upload tax documents. Travel from outside the U.S. isn't covered, and because UChicago's aid page describes the Enrichment waiver in terms of domestic students, international families should confirm with the program whether the fee waiver applies to them.

Beyond the fee, budget for the $75 application fee, pocket money for outings and your own valid U.S. health insurance, which one-week residential students must arrange themselves. If you're admitted, a non-refundable $1,000 deposit within a week holds your place and the balance is due within four weeks. In 2026 the rest of the fee could be refunded only until 4 May, and nothing came back after that.

You leave with a certificate, provided you attend every single day, but no college credit or transcript. While you're enrolled, you can also join Admissions Academy, a series of workshops from UChicago's Office of College Admissions on application essays and how admissions committees review files.

For 11th graders, there's one more route. Students who complete a UChicago pre-college program and are in their final year of high school can apply to UChicago through its binding Summer Student Early Notification option under Early Decision I, between 1 September and 15 October. That's a way to apply, and UChicago doesn't say it improves your chances of admission.

Several residential assistants, mostly UChicago undergraduates or recent alumni, live on the same floor as students in each House, and the residential director and assistant directors are reachable 24 hours a day. Curfew runs from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., with a 15-minute sign-in window with your RA from 9:45 p.m., and repeated violations can end in dismissal. A student can miss curfew only when a parent files a Curfew Release Form in advance and an adult collects them.

In 2025 all minors lived in Woodlawn Residential Commons in single or double rooms, and the halls have a 24-hour front desk, secured entrances and ID checks. Staff meet Enrichment students at the airport and take them to the shuttle, the UChicago Medical Center is on campus, and any alcohol or drug use means immediate dismissal.