15 Best Writing Programs for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 2 hours ago
- 11 min read
Writing is one of those skills that improves fastest when you are given time, attention, and honest feedback. If you are a high school student who wants to write better, not just more, enrolling in a writing program can be a very smart choice. These programs help you focus on writing without the distractions of grades, tests, or packed schedules.
What will I do in a writing program? How will it help me?
Writing programs let you explore different styles and forms, learn how to shape ideas clearly, and spend time revising your work instead of rushing to finish it. You work with instructors who treat you like a developing writer and peers who take the process seriously. This kind of environment helps you understand what writing requires beyond inspiration.
How have we selected the “best” writing programs for high school students?
While there are many writing programs out there, we went ahead and shortlisted 15 programs that
Were highly selective and had a rigorous admissions process
Offered a rigorous curriculum in the field
Are hosted by top universities and government organizations in the country
Being admitted to one of these programs shows college admissions officers that your work stood out and that you were ready for a tougher challenge. The projects you work on as a participant can also strengthen your college applications and help you decide how writing fits into your plans.
With that, here’s a list of the 15 best writing programs for high school students!
Note: Looking to practice your writing skills in a competitive environment? You could consider participating in one of the top writing competitions hosted for high school students every year!
15 Best Writing Programs for High School Students
Location: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Cost: $10 reading fee to apply; a fee waiver is possible. The course fee is $2,500. Several full and partial tuition grants are available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive (10-15%); each course has about 10 students
Dates: June 14 – 27; July 12 – 25
Application Deadline: February 1
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 10, 11, or 12
Iowa Young Writers’ Studio’s Summer Residential Program is a two-week experience held on the University of Iowa campus, where writing shapes your entire day. You choose one core course, such as poetry, fiction, creative writing, TV writing, or playwriting, and work closely with instructors who are graduates of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop or the University of Iowa MFA programs. Your time is split between close reading seminars and workshop sessions. You study published work to understand craft, then bring in your own drafts for peer critique and revision. Writing exercises are tied directly to your chosen genre, so the work stays focused and practical.
Location: Remote , you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Location: Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
Cost: $2,575. Need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, 12-14 students in one group
Dates: June 21 – July 4; July 12 – 25
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students aged 16-18 at the time of the program
Kenyon College’s Young Writers Summer Residential Workshop is a selective two-week program where writing becomes your full day. You spend about five hours daily in a small workshop of 12 to 14 students, working closely with instructors who are practicing writers and deeply connected to the Kenyon Review. The focus stays on revision and craft. You share drafts, receive daily peer feedback, and meet with your instructor to talk through what is working and what needs attention. Alongside your main workshop, you choose a short genre session to focus on a specific form or craft element with a different instructor.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: The spring and fall cohorts run 15 weeks, while the summer cohort runs 10 weeks (June-September)
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year for the Spring, Summer, and Fall cohorts
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders!
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, and more! Horizon is one of the few research programs for high school students that offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research. Once you select a particular subject track, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student and detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects. Apply here!
Location: University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg campus, PA
Cost: $1,800. Scholarships and financial aid are available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: July 15 – 26
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students aged between 14 and 19 years
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg hosts the Alpha Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Workshop, a twelve-day residential program for high school students who are serious about writing speculative fiction. The group is small, capped at about twenty students, and admission is based entirely on your writing sample, so everyone arrives ready to work. During the program, you focus on a single short story in science fiction, fantasy, or horror, developing it from an early idea through multiple drafts and a polished revision. You spend time learning how critique works, how to revise with purpose, and how writers think about submitting work to professional, paying markets.
Location: Denison University, Granville, OH
Cost: $1,700 (on-campus workshop, including tuition, housing, and meals). Financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10% Highly competitive, 12 students per group
Dates: June 19-28
Application Deadline: March 3
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
Denison University’s Reynolds Young Writers Workshop is an eight-day residential program built for rising juniors and seniors who are serious about creative writing. The group stays small, usually around twelve students, so you work closely with faculty and get detailed attention on your writing. You spend most of the program in workshops where you share drafts, revise carefully, and talk through choices with practicing writers. There is dedicated writing time built into each day, along with one-on-one conversations with faculty and informal feedback from teaching assistants. You also meet visiting poets and authors who talk honestly about their work and careers.
Location: GrubStreet Center for Creative Writing, Boston, MA
Cost: No cost/Stipend of $800 upon completing the program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, only 20 students are selected
Dates: July 20 – August 7
Application Deadline: March 16
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9-12 in the fall and residents of Boston or the Greater Boston area
The YAWP’s Teen Summer Writing Fellowship is a rigorous, three-week, creative writing program for high school students. The program mirrors adult writing fellowships in both intensity and format, including a stipend upon completion. Throughout the program, you’ll be expected to work across all genres, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting. There are structured workshops, generative writing sessions, individual office hours with instructors, and opportunities to give and receive detailed feedback. Additionally, guest author visits, open mics, and a public showcase round out the experience. You can also stay an additional week to assist in editing and publishing the YAWP Anthology, which includes all the writings from the summer programme.
Location: Yale College, New Haven, CT
Cost: With housing - $3,085; Without housing - $2,660
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; you need to submit a writing sample specific to the genre of the workshop to which you are applying
Dates: June 21 - 26
Application Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: Students who are between the ages of 16 and 18 and are rising high school seniors
Yale University’s Young Writers’ Workshop is a selective program where you spend your time doing the real work of writing and revision. You attend five intensive workshop sessions and generate new fiction, poetry, and essays, with an emphasis on shaping drafts rather than just producing pages. The heart of the program is the small workshop setting. You share work regularly, listen carefully to peer feedback, and learn how to give a critique that is specific and useful. You complete assigned readings ahead of time, including a book by a visiting writer you will meet and talk with during the program. The program also offers an online option; check here.
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $525
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective, maximum 20 students in one class
Dates: Multiple one-week sessions available for high schoolers from June 9 to July 25
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: All high school students, multiple sessions offered based on grade
Rice University’s Creative Writing Camp introduces you to different genres through short, focused courses designed for high school students at different stages. You choose a track that fits your level, from fiction and fantasy workshops for younger students to essay-driven courses for older high schoolers. Each class is taught by a teacher and a working writer, and the structure follows a workshop model. You read closely, write in response to specific prompts, and share drafts with peers for feedback. The focus stays practical, on things like character, voice, and understanding genre. Depending on the course, you finish the camp with a small portfolio of revised pieces that reflect the work you did over the session.
Location: Tuscaloosa, AL
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, 10 to 15 students
Application Deadline: Applications open January 1
Program Dates: Not specified
Eligibility: Students entering 9th grade through their freshman year of college from all backgrounds and locations
University of Alabama’s Multimedia Journalism Workshop is a six-day residential program where you learn journalism by doing it. From the first day, you are given real assignments and expected to report, write, edit, and design stories under tight deadlines. The program runs like a working newsroom. You move quickly, revise often, and learn how stories come together when time is limited. Some days include reporting trips around Tuscaloosa, where you gather information outside the classroom and learn how to work in the field. You also spend time talking with media professionals about their work and career paths.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,200+$65 Application Fee. Financial aid is available. Deadline to apply for aid is March 20
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 15 - 26; July 6 - 17
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: High school students in grades 8-11 at the time of application
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies’s Creative Writing course in nonfiction, fiction, and poetry is a virtual class where you spend your time reading closely and writing deliberately. You work through poems, essays, and short stories by well-known authors, paying attention to how each piece sets its own rules, structure, and voice. Classes meet online for two hours each weekday, with additional office hours where you can talk through your work and questions. You write regularly, complete focused homework, and take part in discussions and workshops that push you to read like a writer and revise with intention.
Location: University of the South, Sewanee, TN
Cost: Tuition, including room and board, is $2,600. Financial aid is offered. Deadline for aid is April 18
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly Selective (<2%), no more than 12 students per workshop; total 85 students
Dates: June 28 - July 11
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Any student who is, at the time of application, in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade
The Sewanee Young Writers’ Conference is a two-week, residential experience for high school students in creative writing. You can choose a primary genre from fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, playwriting, or songwriting. You will attend the workshops in a group of 12 students. You’ll be taught by experienced writers as you engage in enrichment activities, including craft classes and Q&A rounds with guest authors. You might tour Sewanee Review and observe real literary publications, and attend evening readings by authors.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $575. Financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 8%
Dates: June 16 – July 28 (based on previous years)
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 9-12 can apply to the program (including graduating seniors and gap year students)
The Adroit Journal’s Summer Mentorship Program pairs you with an established writer for a focused, one-on-one writing experience conducted entirely online. You work through email-style correspondence, sharing drafts, receiving detailed feedback, and learning how revision actually works over time rather than in a single workshop session. The structure depends on your genre. If you are working in poetry, you share new work weekly with your mentor and a small peer group. If you are writing fiction or creative nonfiction, you submit pieces every two weeks and spend time revising between rounds of feedback. Along the way, you learn how editors think, how decisions are made about drafts, and how to manage your own writing schedule.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,200+$65 Application Fee. Financial aid is available. Deadline to apply for aid is March 20
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6 - 17
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: High school students in grades 8-11 at the time of application
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies’ Journalism 101 course gives you a clear, practical introduction to how journalism works, especially in a time when misinformation is everywhere. You learn how reporters research ideas, verify facts, and decide what makes a story credible before anything gets written. The course moves through reporting basics, feature writing, interviewing, media ethics, and digital storytelling using discussions, short lectures, and mock interviews. You practice asking better questions and checking information carefully. By the end of the program, you will have produced a fully researched feature article.
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $6,310 per session. Need-based scholarships are offered. The deadline for the same is March 2
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 29 – July 17; July 21 – August 7
Application Deadline: April 2
Eligibility: High school students
Columbia University’s Creative Writing Workshop introduces you to creative writing the way it is taught at the graduate level, adapted from Columbia’s MFA curriculum. You spend class time reading published work closely and putting your own writing on the table, learning how workshops actually function and how feedback shapes revision. You focus on specific craft elements like voice, imagery, character, dialogue, rhythm, and narration through short readings and targeted writing exercises. Over time, you learn how to read like a writer, revise with intention, and understand the technical choices behind creative work.
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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