University of Wisconsin-Madison Precollege The Entrepreneur in You: Marketing and Managing a Business

You don't need any business experience, but admission to the Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) isn't automatic, because a committee makes the decisions and can turn applicants down. Badger Precollege says its students typically take advanced classes, have done well in courses related to their first-choice course, earn a 3.2 or higher unweighted GPA (or the equivalent) and show a clear interest in the subject.

You'll send two essays, written or as a video, plus an unofficial transcript covering all your high school grades so far, including the current semester. Ninth graders without a transcript can send report cards instead, and homeschooled students can send samples of their work or a recommendation from an adult who knows them well. Test scores, an optional third essay or recommendation letters are welcome but not required.

The first essay asks why you chose this course and which specific idea in it grabs you, so it pays to name something concrete from the course description, such as pricing, branding or customer research, and explain why. The second asks about an experience that changed how you see yourself or others.

• International applicants

  Badger Precollege asks for a TOEFL score of at least 80 or an IELTS score of 6.5. Without a score, you can self-assess your English, and if you'd like help judging your readiness, you can request a phone or video interview with staff, which has to happen before a decision is made.

• What the course expects

  Be ready for team projects, market research, business planning and public speaking.

You apply through Badger Precollege's Accelerated Learning Program page, which handles applications for every ALP course.

1. 1

   Applications open on 12 January 2027, and because courses fill first-come, first-served, applying early gives you the best chance at this course before the 1 May 2027 deadline.

2. 2

   Complete the online application with this course as your first choice, upload your transcript and pay the $100 application fee. Your essays go in through the separate ALP essay form.

3. 3

   If you're applying for a scholarship, send the supporting documents with your application or within two weeks of it.

4. 4

   A committee releases decisions on the second and fourth Monday of each month, so depending on when you apply, you may wait 2 to 5 weeks.

5. 5

   If you're admitted, you have three weeks to submit all the acceptance forms that secure your place.

6. 6

   Pay the first half of tuition by 15 May 2027 and the second half by 1 June 2027.

On weekdays you have a morning class, an afternoon class and a required study session to close the academic day. In this course, each day mixes short lessons with hands-on work such as customer research, pricing games, branding boards, prototypes and pitch practice.

Residential students have organized activities every evening, from games and sports in campus gyms to stargazing on Observatory Hill and art projects. Most are optional, but a few "Mandatory Fun" events are part of ALP tradition. Weekends start with time to sleep in and include staff-led outings around Madison, such as kayaking or shopping, plus an optional day trip at extra cost to places like the Wisconsin Dells or Chicago. Commuters take part in all the daytime course activities and go home at the end of the day.

Living on campus costs $4,500 for a U.S. student and $4,800 for an international student, which covers the course, a shared dorm room and meals at Four Lakes Dining Hall. Commuting costs $2,650. Every applicant also pays a $100 application fee that isn't refunded, although you can ask in writing for a waiver before you apply. The optional weekend day trip costs extra, and international families should budget for travel to Madison and the U.S. visitor visa fee.

Wisconsin residents who get free or reduced-price school meals can apply for a full scholarship, and other U.S. families can apply for a partial one covering up to 50% of tuition by sending the first page of their latest tax return. Funds are limited and handed out first-come, first-served, and for summer 2026 the scholarship deadline was 1 April 2026. Badger Precollege offers no scholarships to international students taking an individual ALP course.

If you cancel, Badger Precollege keeps a share of what you've paid depending on how close to the start you are:

Each residential student is assigned a Residential Assistant, usually a college student or young professional, who looks after about 12 to 14 students and lives in their section of the residence hall. Badger Precollege says students are supervised by trained staff at all times, and UW–Madison runs criminal background checks on staff working with minors every two years and trains them in CPR, first aid and youth mental health first aid. University policy also bans one-on-one contact between an adult and a minor, and the details are on Badger Precollege's safety commitment page.

Medical care, including medication, goes through University Health Services Camp Health, and you'll fill in an online health form before you arrive. If a residential student falls ill, a parent or guardian must collect them within 24 hours of being told. A student who catches a contagious illness in the first week may be allowed back, depending on the case, but one who catches it after the first week is withdrawn. Badger Precollege's refund schedule gives no refund for leaving after the first day, even because of illness, although it also says it will work with families on refunds when a student is ill or injured.

Not automatically. ALP courses are non-credit, but each one gives about 68 hours of instruction, which Badger Precollege calls comparable to half a high school credit, and only your own school or district decides whether to award it. So check with your school before you enroll.

At the end you receive a grade report with the course description, your overall grade and comments from your instructor, which you can share with your school. International students may be able to earn U.S. high school credit through Forward International Academy, a Wisconsin-based high school, by filling in its interest form.