Choose from 12 prestigious college campuses across the United States and England.
American University
Washington, D.C.
Columbia University
New York City, NY
Duke University
Durham, NC
Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
Rice University
Houston, TX
University of California, Berkeley
San Francisco, CA
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI
University of Oxford
Oxford, England
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
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Cancellation requests may be submitted through the Manage Registration section of your online student portal.
| 30-Day Grace Period | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
|
Enrollments submitted before April 1, 2026, have 30 days to cancel without penalty. After 30 days, or if enrolling after April 1, please see the table below. |
$0 (full refund) |
| Cancel Date | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| By April 1, 2026 |
$150 (5 day programs) $350 (6 and 9 day programs) $500 (12 day programs) |
| April 2 – May 1, 2026 |
$350 (5 day programs) $1000 (6 and 9 day programs) $1500 (12 day programs) |
| May 2, 2026 or after | 100% of tuition paid* |
*The NSLC will not charge additional payments. Payment plans will automatically end at the time of cancellation.
All enrollments submitted prior to May 1, 2026 will be automatically placed on a convenient monthly payment schedule. After your program deposit, any remaining tuition costs will be divided into equal payments automatically charged to the credit card on file.
Want to remove autopay or adjust your payment dates? Contact us to easily make the changes that work best for you. Final payments are due no later than 30 days before the session begins.
Protect your tuition payments against unexpected circumstances by adding a Student Protection Plan. Affordable insurance can be attached to your enrollment during the application process or in your student account any time before your program begins.
Review full plan details here.
Tuition covers housing 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.
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.
International Diplomacy students will 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 will arrive at Georgetown University and depart from Columbia University.
After you’ve been accepted into the program, please visit your student account before planning travel for more detailed information.
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! Students demonstrating financial need, academic merit, and school or community involvement are encouraged to apply for a Summer Program Scholarship to offset their summer tuition costs. Click here to learn about the process.
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.
Cancellation requests may be submitted through the Manage Registration section of your online student portal.
| 30-Day Grace Period | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
|
Enrollments submitted before April 1, 2026, have 30 days to cancel without penalty. After 30 days, or if enrolling after April 1, please see the table below. |
$0 (full refund) |
| Cancel Date | Cancellation Fee |
|---|---|
| By April 1, 2026 |
$150 (5 day programs) $350 (6 and 9 day programs) $500 (12 day programs) |
| April 2 – May 1, 2026 |
$350 (5 day programs) $1000 (6 and 9 day programs) $1500 (12 day programs) |
| May 2, 2026 or after | 100% of tuition paid* |
*The NSLC will not charge additional payments. Payment plans will automatically end at the time of cancellation.
Yes! All enrollments submitted prior to May 1, 2026, will be automatically placed on a convenient monthly payment schedule. After your program deposit, any remaining tuition costs will be divided into equal payments automatically charged to the credit card you used to sign up.
Want to remove autopay or adjust your payment dates? Contact us to easily make the changes that work best for you. Final payments are due no later than 30 days before the session begins.
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.
Click here to learn about the process.
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.