SSP is an intense, 39-day research experience. That makes it expensive to operate. Some families can’t afford to pay the full fee, and others can’t afford to pay anything. Following SSP’s need-blind admission process, parents of admitted students may apply for additional aid. Each summer we grant full or partial aid to over a third of participants.
While the names of aid recipients are confidential, quotes from their application essays and our reviewer comments provide a glimpse of the terrific teenagers attending SSP at no charge:
"His application reminded me of why I work with SSP. He is a bright and thoughtful kid from a rough area who clearly has innate talent for math & science.”
"The more I read his app, the more I see things to admire. The kid has next to nothing--his whole family lives on $28K a year--and he's a passionate volunteer, teaching classes to help other children in his impoverished community learn to excel. Will he make it in the academic world without SSP? Yes. Can we help him get where he's going faster? Definitely, and he will certainly pay that forward.”
"This is a teen with the book knowledge to succeed, but has no exposure to the culture of science, with all its unspoken rules and conventions. Without that social knowledge, the cultural context, it doesn't matter how good you are with the books, you can't make it. I think that our program would offer her a fantastic first exposure about being a scientist.”
"He knows he's at a disadvantage relative to his classmates in many ways, but he doesn't use it as an excuse.”
"This is an applicant who could really benefit from what SSP has to offer. He's going to need something like SSP on his transcript to help him get into a good college (his SAT scores aren't great -- we all know that SAT scores are heavily influenced by socioeconomic status).”
"She has taken every academic opportunity available to her, and carved out opportunities not readily apparent, including outside courses and research. She is not only a top student on her own, but is sought out as a team member by others because of her leadership and willingness to teach others.”
It's the worst feeling for a parent to see all the potential and thirst for learning of one's child and not be able to see good things happening to him just because we can't afford it. "Please make sure to tell the Committee how much we appreciate this help. My son will finally be surrounded by peers with his same drive and interest. I know that this program will push him to see how much more there is to learn, but I also can assure you that the rest of the group will also benefit after getting to know him, not just because he's so smart, but because he's an amazing human being."
SSP International is a nonprofit offering inspiring science immersion experiences. Founded in 1959, its mission is to provide opportunities to accelerate learning, doing and belonging in science. SSP International’s flagship program is Summer Science Program, a leading education experience for exceptional high school students in astrophysics, biochemistry, genomics and more.
