10 Free Summer Camps for High School Students in the USA
- Stephen Turban
- Mar 31
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 14
As a motivated high schooler, you have many options to explore your interests over the summer. With a little bit of effort, you don’t need to pay for it either! Free summer camps allow you to explore academic interests, develop practical skills, and gain exposure to potential career paths without incurring significant expenses. Plenty of programs simulate college-level academics and campus life while being fully funded or even offering stipends for your work.
How are camps different from other high school programs? Unlike traditional high school programs or pre-college courses offered by universities, summer camps are shorter, more focused sessions often hosted by independent organizations. There is much more emphasis on learning by doing, more focused mentorship, and insight-sharing by industry professionals. These camps are ideal for students looking to deepen their knowledge and experience in a particular area.
To help with your search, we've curated a list of 10 fully funded summer camps for high school students! These camps are either free or offer full financial aid.
This 5-week program is designed for students who wish to explore concepts beyond the standard math curriculum, from theoretical subjects such as abstract algebra, topology, or real analysis to applied mathematics, such as physics, linguistics, and quantum computation. At Mathcamp, you will spend a few hours every day in classes and participate in activities in the evenings. The camp includes problem-solving sessions and weekly competitions. You will work on projects, both independently and with fellow campers, and present your work at the end of camp. You can check out past projects here. Additionally, you can attend talks called Colloquia, which cover topics like string theory, the mathematics of origami, and cognitive science.
Location: University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA. This is a residential program.
Eligibility: Students between the ages of 13 and 18, including international students.
Application deadline: March 6 (Applications open on January 10).
Camp dates: June 30 - August 4
Cost: Base cost $5,500, which covers tuition, room and board, extracurricular activities, and local transportation to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Financial aid is available. Free for students whose families have a household income under $100,000.
Camp Business is a one-week program that aims to broaden your business understanding. It is structured to give you insight into collegiate and corporate business. The curriculum covers key business sectors, including accounting, marketing, finance, and management. During the program, you will work on a team business pitch competition conducted at the end. We’ve covered this camp and other business programs at Drexel in-depth here.
Application deadline: There is no information on this at the moment.
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, including international students.
Program dates: Commuter (July 9 - 14) | Residential (July 16 - July 21)
Location: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Cost: Commuter Session: $950 | Residential Session: $2,000. A small number of alumni-sponsored need-based scholarships are available.
This camp focuses on the use of mathematical models to analyze and solve real-world problems. Sessions could focus on the role of math in predicting the trends in population and disease, gauging the impact of climate on resources, and understanding the effects of traffic on a bridge. In past sessions, students have worked on a project to analyze potential routes for a light rail system. This is an in-person camp, but housing is not provided. Depending on the demand, the camp may offer a few applicants the option to participate remotely.
Location: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN
Eligibility: High school students who have completed a year-long course in single variable calculus.
Application deadline: Applications typically close in early June.
Camp dates: The program will be held over 1 week in mid-July
Cost: Free
The program is sponsored by the National Security Agency’s (NSA) GenCyber program and hosted by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The GenCyber Camp is a one-week cybersecurity summer camp for high school students. The program covers internet safety, cryptography, ethics, network scanning, and deepfakes. The curriculum blends theory and practice, helping you develop technical and critical-thinking skills. This camp is an excellent opportunity to explore cybersecurity in a structured environment.
Dates: Camp 1: July 22 – July 26; Camp 2: July 29 – August 2
Application Deadline: Not available
Eligibility: Rising 9th to 12th graders
Location: UMKC Campus, Kansas City, MO
Cost: Free
SUMaC is a summer program for rising high school juniors and seniors interested in mathematics. The program is highly selective, with an acceptance rate below 10%. There is a residential program for 40 students and an online program for 64. The curriculum includes tackling challenging problems as a group and gaining exposure to research in mathematics. The two main focus areas are Abstract Algebra & Number Theory and Algebraic Topology. You will explore concepts in Abstract Algebra, including limitations of compass-and-straightedge constructions and symmetry analysis in structures.
Location: Virtual, you can participate from anywhere in the world!
Cost: $3,550. Need-based financial aid is available
Program dates: Likely in June-July
Application deadline: February 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
HSMC is a 6-week residential camp for high school students looking to build a career in mathematics. The camp covers the fundamentals of mathematics, such as elementary number theory, combinatorics, abstract algebra, and analysis. It also teaches practical problem-solving using Mathematica software. HSMC is a multi-summer program. Applying for a second summer is worth considering, as returning campers get a chance to work on a math research project. This camp is fairly selective, with an acceptance rate of 15% for first-year applicants. The program accepts 72 students each year, which includes approximately 40 returning students.
Location: Texas State University campus, San Marcos, TX. This is a residential program.
Eligibility: All high school students are eligible to apply.
Application deadline: April 15
Camp dates: June 16 - July 27
Cost: $6,000, which includes housing, meals, and other supplies. Need-based financial aid is available.
This 14-day math camp offers classes, group activities, and lectures that cover creative problem-solving, an introduction to mathematical proof and its techniques, and accessible ideas in mathematics. The camp instructors are experienced in both competition and research math. The program encourages applicants who are underrepresented or under-served in the field of mathematics to apply.
Location: MIT campus, Cambridge, MA
Eligibility: U.S. high school students aged 14–18 (before the last year of high school) can apply. Take a look at all the eligibility criteria before you apply.
Cost: Free
Application deadline: March 1
Camp dates: June 28 - July 12
The 1-week workshop covers two math courses, group presentations, and lectures by Duke professors. Last year, the courses Representation of a Number as a Sum of Powers and Squeezing Shapes (covering topology) were offered. You can expect courses along similar lines this year. Students underrepresented in the field of math are encouraged to apply. Workshop dates and details are yet to be announced, so you can check for updates on the SWiM website in January or February.
Location: Duke University campus, Durham, NC. This is a residential program.
Eligibility: High school juniors who are U.S. citizens can apply.
Cost: Free
Application deadline: Applications typically close in March.
Camp dates: The camp is typically held over one week in mid-June.
The Ocean Engineering Summer Program at Florida Atlantic University is a four-day program exploring the intersection of engineering and marine science. You will learn about underwater robotics, ocean exploration, and sustainable marine technologies, applying engineering principles to marine challenges. Working alongside FAU faculty, you will design creative solutions and develop projects that apply ocean engineering concepts. With access to state-of-the-art facilities, you will gain technical skills and industry insights.
Dates: June 9 – 12
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students between the ages of 14 and 17
Location: Florida Atlantic University's SeaTech Campus, Dania Beach, FL
Cost: None
NYSC is a residential science education program for high school seniors. This exclusive opportunity is designed to challenge high schoolers through lectures, expert-directed studies, seminars, and outdoor activities. It also allows networking with noteworthy personalities, with past guests including Neil Armstrong, Nobel laureate John Nash, General Chuck Yeager, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. To learn more about this camp, check out our complete guide here.
Dates: Late June to mid-July.
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: March 7.
Eligibility: High school seniors with STEM interests.
Location: Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
Image Source - CMU Logo
