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10 Free Summer Programs for High School Students in Georgia

Writer's picture: Stephen TurbanStephen Turban

If you’re a high school student looking for opportunities in Georgia to build your skills over the summer, you should consider enrolling in a summer program! 


These programs can help you build on your knowledge, learn from experts, and get some practical experience in your chosen field. Such experiences are also a great way of enhancing soft skills like creativity, innovation, leadership, and analytical thinking.


Many popular universities and research centers offer fully funded programs that can introduce you to concepts beyond your school curriculum and add a prestigious and professional touch to your college applications, helping you create a strong portfolio. What’s more, participating in a free program can showcase your talent and determination to college admissions officers. Note that the following information is based on the most recent program, with dates subject to change but generally similar from year to year.


To help you get started, here is a list of 10 free summer programs for high school students in Georgia!


Cost: The program is fully funded!

Location: Remote — you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!

Application Deadline: Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September) and Winter (November).

Program Dates: Vary based on yearly cohort. Multiple 12-week cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Eligibility:

  • You must be currently enrolled in high school or plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall.

  • Students must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement. (Note: accepted students have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4)

  • No previous knowledge of your field of interest is required!


The Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation stands as a non-profit research program tailored for gifted students from low-income backgrounds. Stemming from the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, renowned for its extensive one-on-one research opportunities for high school students, the foundation provides the same access to independent research experiences at zero cost.


The Lumiere Breakthrough Scholar Program is the equivalent of the Individual Research Scholar Program at Lumiere Education. In the flagship program, talented high-school students are paired with world-class Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll develop an independent research paper. You can choose topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can apply here! 


This program is a solid option if you are interested in interdisciplinary research and want to create an individual research paper. 


Location: Emory University’s Oxford College campus, Oxford, GA

Eligibility: Rising Newton County School System and Putnam County Charter School System sophomores and juniors can apply.

Application Deadline: TBA

Program Dates: June 3–June 7

Cost: Free for all accepted participants.


Emory University’s Oxford College offers high schoolers an opportunity to explore campus life and prepare themselves for a university education through its Summer Experience Program. During the program, you’ll get to attend classes at a top liberal arts university. You will study topics such as chemistry, political science, and English while attending college preparation workshops on college applications, financial aid, essay writing, and more. 


The program also includes field trips and recreational activities, ensuring that you get a well-rounded glimpse of what life at university will be like. You will also participate in college preparation workshops and develop teamwork and essay-writing skills. By the end of the program, you will have a better understanding of career opportunities available in various fields and the college application process.


3. Veritas AI 

Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students who are looking to get started with AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and get a chance to work on real-world projects. 


Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here. 


Location: Virtual

Cost: $2,290 for the 10-week AI Scholars program | $5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase | $6,900 for both. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars. You can apply here. 

Application deadline: On a rolling basis. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September) and Winter (November).

Program dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.

Application Requirements: Online application form, answers to a few questions about the student's background & coding experience, math courses, and areas of interest.


Location: Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA

Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Georgia can apply.

Application Deadline: March 15

Program Dates: June 9–June 14

Cost: Free for all accepted participants.


EarthCare: The Leadership Challenge for the 21st Century is a week-long STEM and environment-focused leadership development program for high school students. This residential program includes workshops on the environment, sustainability, energy, and more. 


During the program, you will get to participate in roundtable sessions with Georgia Power business leaders, team-building exercises, and other professional development experiences. There is a keen focus on leadership development through seminars, panel discussions, communication exercises, and interactive sessions with business professionals. Previous cohorts’ students have had the opportunity to visit a nuclear power plant. Only 100 students are selected each year, so the program can be fairly competitive. You can check out the agenda before applying.


Location: Microsoft office at either Redmond, Washington or Atlanta, Georgia

Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors who live in or around Atlanta, GA can apply. Check the detailed eligibility criteria here before applying.

Application Deadline: Applications usually become available in March for students in Redmond and Atlanta and are evaluated on a rolling basis.

Program Dates: July 8–August 2

Cost/Stipend: No cost; Interns receive a competitive salary that varies depending on the location.


Microsoft’s High School Discovery Program is designed for high schoolers interested in exploring careers in computer science and technology. This is a paid internship. If selected, you will get to be a part of the design phase of the product development cycle. This experience can help you see the real-world application of software engineering, computer science, and UX design fundamentals. 


A key part of the program is hands-on work on a project, for which you will be placed into a group. Along with your group members, you will learn to understand potential customer issues/requirements and accordingly, assist with product development and design. This experience will help you work on key professional skills like communication, collaboration, and problem-solving as well as technical skills for a tech career. You will also get to interact and work with Microsoft employees during the program, making this a solid networking opportunity.


Location: Emory Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA

Eligibility: Rising or graduating high school seniors who are at least 17 years old can apply. 

Application Deadline: TBA, but applications for the summer program typically open in the fall of the previous year. 

Program Dates: June 10–July 19

Stipend: $2,400  


The Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University offers high school seniors the opportunity to work one-on-one with a physician or researcher and conduct cancer research in a lab or clinic setting. As an intern, you will work on a research project and attend lectures on cancer research conducted by Winship oncologists and research faculty. By working on the research project under the guidance of a mentor, you will be able to develop your laboratory, data collection, analysis, and presentation skills. 


You will get to go on field trips to places like the CDC David J. Sencer Museum and the Georgia Institute of Technology. You will also get to explore oncology-related careers through the program. This experience concludes with a final symposium, where you will present your project to Winship doctors, researchers, and graduate students. This is a fairly competitive program as only 10–12 students are accepted into the cohort each year.


Location: 4C Academy for the Albany program and Georgia Tech main campus for the Atlanta program

Eligibility: Georgia high school students who are at least 16 years old can apply.

Application Deadline:  March 31, for the Albany program and March 22, for the Atlanta program

Program Dates: June 3–June 14, for the Albany program and July 8–July 19, for the Atlanta program

Cost: Free for all accepted participants.


Organized by the Georgia Tech Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, STEP is a hands-on engineering program for high school students. During the program, you will be given an open-ended engineering challenge problem. You will then work in teams to design and prototype a solution and present it at the end of the program during a poster session. 


You will contribute to real research problems and come up with your solution to an engineering problem, so the experience will help you hone your problem-solving and analytical skills. At the end of the program, you will share your results with parents, faculty, and industry representatives at a poster session. Previously, students have worked on designing an autonomous rover that can navigate a course, modifying a baseline model rover with tech that would aid future missions to Mars, and creating an ultra-light rover that can complete a course in the least amount of time.


Location: David J. Sencer CDC Museum, CDC headquarters, Atlanta, GA

Eligibility: Current sophomores or juniors at least 16 years old on the first day of the camp can apply.

Application Deadline: March 22  

Program Dates: June 24–June 28 | July 22–July 26

Cost: Free for all accepted participants.


Hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Disease Detective Camp aims to teach high school students the foundations of public health and epidemiology. Some of the topics covered are environmental health, global health, emergency preparedness, public health law, data analysis, disease surveillance, scientific communication, and more. During the camp, you will get to participate in activities like re-created outbreaks, environmental and global health activities, mock press conferences, short lectures from leading CDC scientists, and laboratory sessions.


Each session hosts only 27 students with the program’s acceptance rate between 7–8%, making it extremely selective. Before applying to this camp, please keep in mind that while this program does touch upon careers in medicine and health, the focus is more on public health than medical treatments.



Location: UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, Athens, GA

Eligibility: Students aged 15–17 years who belong to underrepresented and underserved backgrounds can apply.

Application Deadline: The deadline is generally at the end of March

Program Dates: June 3–June 7

Cost:  Free for all accepted participants.


The University of Georgia hosts several summer academy camps for high school students, one of which is the B.L.A.C.K. Engineering camp. The week-long, residential program offers an immersive experience in the field of engineering, with plenty of hands-on design work as well as data analysis. 


During the program, you will work on a hands-on project, through which you will learn about the engineering design process. You will also come up with a creative, ethical solution for a given engineering problem. Through this experience, you will be able to work on your analytical and critical thinking skills as well as oral and written communication skills. This camp will also help you enhance your existing math, physics, and science knowledge and connect it to the field of engineering. 


Location: This is a residential program which takes place on a college or university campus in Georgia

Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors in Georgia can apply. You can check the detailed eligibility criteria here before applying.  

Application Deadline: Schools are supposed to submit nominations on November 15, and online applications for candidates close on January 10.

Program Dates: June 15–July 12

Cost: Free for all accepted participants; Students only need to cover the costs of travel and basic supplies.


The Georgia Governor's Honors Program (GHP) is a summer residential program designed for talented high school students. To enter the four-week program, you must be nominated by your school in one of the nomination areas — a range of topics including engineering, math, music, science, visual arts, and more. If accepted into the program after multiple rounds of selections, you will choose your electives and then attend classes in the mornings and afternoons in your chosen areas of study. 


You will stay on a college or university campus and participate in seminars on diverse topics, typically conducted outside the usual periods of instruction. You also get to attend concerts and performances performed by other students in the program, allowing you to see what the other program participants have learned in four weeks. This experience can help you find like-minded peers and explore academic, co-curricular, or extra-curricular subjects in detail.


The application process is extremely rigorous, including two rounds of selection. Additionally, approximately 4,000 students are nominated per year and the program’s acceptance rate is about 20%, making it quite difficult to get accepted.

 


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.



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