Four career-exploration programs designed for middle schoolers at locations across the country.
About our Middle School programsFour career-exploration programs designed for middle schoolers at locations across the country.
About our Middle School programsGrades 9-12
Grades 6-8
Cancellation requests may be submitted through the Manage Registration section of your online student portal.
NSLC’s cancellation grace period begins when a new Summer 2027 application is submitted.
Enrollments submitted before April 1, 2027 have 30 days to cancel for a full refund.
Enrollments submitted on or after April 1, 2027 have 48 hours to cancel for a full refund.
After this grace period, the schedule below applies.
| Cancel Date | Cancellation FeeNon-refundable | |
|---|---|---|
| By April 1, 2027 | $500 | |
| April 2 – May 1, 2027 | $1,500 | |
| May 2, 2027 or after | 100% of tuition paid* | |
*The NSLC will not charge additional payments. Payment plans will automatically end at the time of cancellation.
Spread your tuition into equal monthly payments at no additional fee.
Enrollments submitted prior to May 1, 2027 are automatically placed on a convenient monthly payment plan. Here’s how it works:
Applications are completed online and require a deposit (applied to the cost of tuition) by credit or debit card.
Any remaining tuition is divided into equal payments, automatically charged to the card you used to enroll.
Your last payment is due no later than 30 days before your session begins.
Want to remove autopay or adjust your payment dates? Contact us to make the changes that work best for you.
If you cancel, no additional payments are charged – your payment plan ends automatically. See our cancellation and refund policy.
Protect your tuition payments against unexpected circumstances.
A Student Protection Plan protects your investment in case of emergency.
Trip cancellation and interruption – up to 100% of tuition and trip cost, for covered reasons such as unexpected illness or injury
Emergency medical expenses and medical evacuation
Trip delays and lost, stolen or delayed baggage
24/7 worldwide emergency assistance
Subject to the plan’s terms, limitations and exclusions, including pre-existing medical conditions.
Add a Student Protection Plan when you enroll, or later in your Enrolled Student portal any time before your program begins.
Tuition includes course materials, academic expenses, trips, tours, activities, and off-campus event transportation. Housing and meal accommodations vary by enrollment option, as detailed below. Travel costs to and from the program itself are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs, laundry, and off-campus meals.
Residential students stay in supervised campus dormitories, with room assignments based on availability and accommodations ranging from singles to quads, dependent on location. Roommates are assigned by program, gender, and age. Residential tuition includes housing and an on-campus dining plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Commuter students participate in the same programming as residential students but do not stay overnight on campus. Commuter tuition does not include housing or breakfast but includes lunch and dinner when the program is on campus. Students follow daily arrival and departure times designated by their chosen campus, typically arriving by 8:30 a.m. and departing by 9:00 p.m. More information about specific logistics will be available closer to the start date of the program.
Tuition covers housing (if applicable) and on-campus meals, plus course materials, academic expenses, trips, tours, activities, and off-campus event transportation. Travel costs to and from the program itself are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs, laundry, and off-campus meals.
Residential Option: Residential students live in a campus dormitory supervised by NSLC staff. Students are housed with one or two roommates on a floor with students in their age range. The front desk of the dormitory is monitored 24 hours a day.
Commuter Option: After Registration Day, Commuter students will check in each morning from 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM and check out each evening from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Commuter tuition includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, but does not include housing accommodations. During the active program hours between check-in and check-out each day, we kindly ask that students only be signed out from activities for medical or family emergencies.
Tuition covers housing (if applicable) and on-campus meals, plus course materials, academic expenses, trips, tours, activities, and off-campus event transportation. Travel costs to and from the program itself are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs, laundry, and off-campus meals.
Middle school students choose a Residential or Commuter option when enrolling:
Residential Option: Residential students live in a campus dormitory supervised by NSLC staff. Students are housed with one or two roommates on a floor with students in their age range. The front desk of the dormitory is monitored 24 hours a day.
Commuter Option: After Registration Day, Commuter students will check in each morning from 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM and check out each evening from 8:00 PM to 8:30 PM. Commuter tuition includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day, but does not include housing accommodations. During the active program hours between check-in and check-out each day, we kindly ask that students only be signed out from activities for medical or family emergencies.
NSLC’s International Diplomacy students divide their time between two campuses, spending 6 days at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and 3 days at Columbia University in New York, NY.
All sessions arrive at Georgetown University and depart from Columbia University. Transportation between the two campuses is included in program tuition.
Additional travel details will be made available in your student account closer to the start of the program. Please review this information before finalizing your travel arrangements.
The National Student Leadership Conference provides an immersive pre-college experience that prepares students for life beyond middle and high school, allowing them to study in university classrooms, learn to navigate a campus, and experience living with roommates. Students are able to explore a career concentration they are interested in before going into college and declaring a major. Each NSLC program also contains a leadership curriculum designed to teach skills that can apply to all areas of life.
We encourage all 6th-12th grade students who demonstrate academic excellence and leadership ability to apply to our summer programs.
For high school programs, students must be between the ages of 14-18 and have completed at least one year of high school. Students may attend NSLC through the summer following high school graduation.
For middle school programs, students must be at least 11 years of age and currently enrolled in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade.
Click here to get started! NSLC applications are completed online and require a deposit with a credit or debit card. If you would like to place your deposit with a check, please email info@nslcleaders.org.
While we have suggested seasonal deadlines, NSLC will continue to accept applications if space is available in a program or on a program’s waitlist. The online enrollment application will display all current availability.
Students are selected for NSLC in a variety of ways. Teachers, counselors, and alumni nominate students from across the United States and around the world each year. Students may also be invited based on individual results of standardized testing or selected from one of several national talent identification surveys.
Yes! We understand that family circumstances may not enable all qualified students to attend our programs without financial assistance.
Students demonstrating financial need, academic merit, and school or community involvement are encouraged to apply for a scholarship to offset their summer tuition costs.
The majority of scholarships are granted in the range of $500-$1,000.
The scholarship application is completed entirely online. You can save your work and return to finish it at a later time.
You must be enrolled in a program with your deposit in place before you begin a scholarship application.
Monthly payments are paused once you start your scholarship application and remain paused until after scholarship decisions are announced.
If you’re not awarded a scholarship, or the award isn’t enough, your deposit is fully refundable upon cancellation.
Tuition includes course materials, academic expenses, trips, tours, activities, and off-campus event transportation. Housing and meal accommodations vary by enrollment option, as detailed below. Travel costs to and from the program itself are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs, laundry, and off-campus meals.
Residential students stay in supervised campus dormitories, with room assignments based on availability and accommodations ranging from singles to quads, dependent on location. Roommates are assigned by program, gender, and age. Residential tuition includes housing and an on-campus dining plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Commuter students participate in the same programming as residential students but do not stay overnight on campus. Commuter tuition does not include housing or breakfast but includes lunch and dinner when the program is on campus. Students follow daily arrival and departure times designated by their chosen campus, typically arriving by 8:30 a.m. and departing by 9:00 p.m. More information about specific logistics will be available closer to the start date of the program.
Cancellation requests may be submitted through the Manage Registration section of your online student portal.
NSLC’s cancellation grace period begins when a new Summer 2027 application is submitted.
Enrollments submitted before April 1, 2027 have 30 days to cancel for a full refund.
Enrollments submitted on or after April 1, 2027 have 48 hours to cancel for a full refund.
After this grace period, the schedule below applies.
| Cancel Date | Cancellation FeeNon-refundable | |
|---|---|---|
| By April 1, 2027 | $500 | |
| April 2 – May 1, 2027 | $1,500 | |
| May 2, 2027 or after | 100% of tuition paid* | |
*The NSLC will not charge additional payments. Payment plans will automatically end at the time of cancellation.
Yes! Enrollments submitted prior to May 1, 2027 are automatically placed on a convenient monthly payment plan at no additional fee. Here’s how it works:
Applications are completed online and require a deposit (applied to the cost of tuition) by credit or debit card.
Any remaining tuition is divided into equal payments, automatically charged to the card you used to enroll.
Your last payment is due no later than 30 days before your session begins.
Want to remove autopay or adjust your payment dates? Contact us to make the changes that work best for you.
If you cancel, no additional payments are charged – your payment plan ends automatically. See our cancellation and refund policy.
Once a program has reached capacity, you will see a Waitlisted status appear next to the dates on our application. If you would like to join the waitlist, please complete the enrollment process and place a deposit like normal to add your name. Once a cancellation is received, we will offer the newly opened space to the next student on the list. Your deposit is fully refundable if you do not move into the program or choose to remove your name.
Keep reading our Waitlist FAQs for more information.
We understand that family circumstances may not enable all qualified students to attend our programs without financial assistance.
Students demonstrating financial need, academic merit, and school or community involvement are encouraged to apply for a scholarship to offset their summer tuition costs.
The majority of scholarships are granted in the range of $500-$1,000.
The scholarship application is completed entirely online. You can save your work and return to finish it at a later time.
You must be enrolled in a program with your deposit in place before you begin a scholarship application.
Monthly payments are paused once you start your scholarship application and remain paused until after scholarship decisions are announced.
If you’re not awarded a scholarship, or the award isn’t enough, your deposit is fully refundable upon cancellation.
Film Intensive students will divide their time between two campuses, spending 9 days at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA, and 9 days at University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.
All sessions will arrive at UCLA and depart from UBC.
After you’ve been accepted into the program, please visit your student account before planning travel for more detailed information.
Tuition for our Day Programs covers course materials, academic expenses, activities, and any off-campus trip transportation. Travel costs to and from the program itself, including parking fees, are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs.
Students attending both an AM and PM program will have the option of adding a pre-paid lunch option on their myNSLC page.
Marine Biology students will divide their time between Duke University and the North Carolina coast, spending 6 nights on Duke’s main campus in Durham and 3 nights in Beaufort, NC. Coastal activities will take place at the Duke University Marine Lab (DUML) and other facilities on the Outer Banks. Hotel accommodations and chartered transportation for in-program activities are included in tuition.
NSLC programs at the University of Oxford are residential only. Tuition includes supervised housing, on-campus meals, course materials, academic expenses, trips, tours, activities, and off-campus event transportation. Travel costs to and from the program itself are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs, laundry, and off-campus meals.
NSLC’s International Diplomacy program is residential only. Students divide their time between two campuses, spending 6 days at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and 3 days at Columbia University in New York, NY. Program tuition includes supervised dormitory housing and on-campus meals, plus course materials, academic expenses, trips, tours, activities, and off-campus event transportation.
All sessions arrive at Georgetown University and depart from Columbia University. Transportation between the two university locations is included in program tuition.
Travel costs to and from the program itself are not included, and students are individually responsible for expenses such as spending money for souvenirs, laundry, and off-campus meals.
Additional travel details will be made available in your student account closer to the start of the program. Please review this information before finalizing your travel arrangements.