Challenge 2021 will be held from June 26 – July 30. The Challenge program fee is $500. Challenge covers several programmatic costs such as dorm rooms, classrooms, labs, professors, corporate visits, workshops, field trips, social events, and much more. The Challenge program fee has been $500 for nearly 15 years. This year, we reviewed the cost and decided to keep the fee at $500 despite an increase in actual program costs to over $4,000 per student. A major consideration in our decision making was the high correlation between Challenge participation and Fall semester performance. Here at Georgia Tech, the OMED office is committed to student success and we do not want anyone to miss out on this opportunity due to cost. Take the first step towards your college success and apply to Challenge today!
Payments for Challenge 2021 will be requested on a rolling basis upon acceptance. Students have until May to pay the program fee. Although we encourage payment early to secure your spot. Accepted students must first confirm that they will attend Challenge. Once student's confirmation form is received they will be added to the Challenge roster and able to pay the Challenge fee. * a few sponsorships are available for participants expressing significant financial hardship.
The included costs of the Challenge program are:
- Housing
- Classroom, Labs, and Professors
- Campus Recreation Fees
- Health Fees
- Workshops
- Transportation for All Group Events
- Opening and Closing Events
There are a few program fee sponsorships available for students that demonstrate sufficient significant financial need. Participants that had difficulty affording the fee, in the past, were encouraged to ask for local scholarships at their relatives’ jobs, places of worship, local businesses, etc. One participant asked around his home town and in one week he came up with a scholarship of $1,500. He used this money to pay for Challenge, a meal plan, books, and had plenty leftover. Scholarships have to be “free” checks that can be used for a program like Challenge since summer program participants are not officially college students yet. There are some scholarships that are just “free” checks and others are directly sent to the university’s financial aid office and counted as academic aid which will not help you with Challenge fees.
Cost not included in program fee:
- Books and Supplies.The courses for Challenge require that students obtain a math book, calculator, etc. These books and supplies will be the same as the required materials for the fall semester; therefore students will not have to make additional purchases in the fall. The costs for these supplies has not been released yet. Once we have the official book and supply list, we will update the website. Once the list is obtained, you can go to the Georgia Tech Bookstore website to gain an idea of the actual price. However, you are not required to purchase these items from the GT Bookstore. For more details refer to the logistics email sent to confirmed participants.
- Also, FASET fees are not covered by Challenge. Students and parents attending FASET will pay that cost directly to FASET.
- Additionally, Georgia Tech meal plans are not included in the Challenge program fee.
