The Princeton Summer Journalism Program is a free college preparatory program for high-achieving (current) high school juniors from low-income backgrounds who are interested in journalism. 

Over a 10-day period, students will live on campus at Princeton University and learn reporting skills from professional journalists. They also will attend lectures on liberal arts topics led by Princeton professors. 

Participants hold a press conference, produce a short documentary, report on a professional sporting event from a press box, attend a play or theatrical production, visit three to four major news outlets, and interview subjects for their feature stories in the Princeton Summer Journal. 

After the program, students are paired with a volunteer college adviser, a professional journalist, to help them through their application process.

Program dates: Friday, July 31 – Monday, Aug. 10, 2020

Cost: None. All program expenses, including meals, housing, airfare or train tickets to and from campus, are covered by the program.

Applicants must be:

Current high school juniors (Class of 2021) living in the United States with an unweighted GPA of 3.5 to a 4.0 who have an interest in journalism (no experience required) and meet one of the financial eligibility requirements listed below:

• The custodial parent(s)/guardian(s)’ combined income (including child support received) must not exceed $60,000 annually
• The student must be eligible for Free/Reduced-Priced Lunch. 
• The student is eligible for a SAT or ACT fee waiver.

 The online application is available on their website and due no later than Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. 

Please note that students must submit an unofficial transcript to be considered. You may read about the full application process here.