Our 2026 application will open December 15th.

2026 Application Deadlines:

  • Round 1: February 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm CST
  • Round 2: March 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm CST (Final 3-week Deadline)
  • Round 3: March 16, 2026 at 11:59 pm CST (for 1-week programs only)

Who can apply?

3-Week for-credit Pre-College Programs are only for current high school sophomores and juniors. Read the 3-week course descriptions before applying. 3-week programs for 2026 include:

  • Computer Science
  • Humanities
  • Field Science
  • Movements that Matter
  • Thinking about Feelings
  • Between Worlds

1-Week Pre-College programs are designed for current high school first year and sophomore students. Read the 1-week course descriptions before applying. There are two different sessions in 2026:

Session 1

  • Scoring the Screen: Exploring Music’s Role in Film
  • Gender Matters: A Global Perspective
  • Eat! The Anthropology of Food

Session 2

  • Stitching Resistance: Remembrance and Repair
  • Sports Analytics: How Data Informs Preparation and Play
  • Music: Love & Theft

To be eligible for Summer 2026, you may not be 19 years old before August 1, 2026.

What does it cost?

There is a $75 application fee for all full pay and international students. You can find our program tuition rates for 2026 of the Tuition page.

How do I apply?

Students who wish to attend SLAI must complete the SLAI application, and submit all materials by the final deadline. Do not use a mobile device while applying; applications are best completed using a laptop or desktop computer.

What is required in the application?

Students applying to 3 or 1-week pre-college program with SLAI must submit:

1. Your completed online application form.

  1. Background information
  2. Short essay answers (500 words or less)
  3. Completed certification and review of your application

2. $75 application fee

  1. Payment must be submitted via your application dashboard after you complete and submit this application.
  2. If you apply to both a 3-week and a 1-week program, you only need to pay one application fee.
  3. Students applying for a scholarship qualify for an application fee waiver.For the waiver to be applied, you must answer yes to the question ‘Are you applying for a SLAI scholarship?,’ and complete the scholarship section of the application.

Students applying to 3-week programs must also submit:

1. A copy of your most recent high school transcripts.

  1. Your transcripts can be either official (emailed directly to our office (summer@carleton.edu) from your school counselor) or unofficial (uploaded to your application dashboard after you submit your application or mailed to our office from you).
  2. Transcripts must begin with grade 9 (first year), include Fall 2025 term grades, and include a list of courses you are currently taking.
  3. Transcripts must include course titles and grades earned.
  4. Please do not submit printouts or screenshots from online grade viewers.

2. One teacher’s recommendation

  1. In your application you will be prompted to provide contact information for one teacher recommender. Once you complete this section, your recommender will receive an email from our application system. This email will request that they complete our recommendation form or upload their own letter. It is your responsibility to verify that they have received this email and it wasn’t blocked or placed in a junk mail folder.  
  2. Your recommender must be a teacher in a discipline related to the course you are applying for. (Example: a Math or science teacher if you’re applying to STEM or CS, an English or  Social Studies teacher if you’re applying to Humanities or Social Science programs.)
  3. You can submit your online application before your recommender submits their letter, but your application will not be considered complete without the recommendation letter. Recommenders have one week after the application deadline to submit their letter.

3. Program-specific documents

This could include a writing sample, and not all programs have specific document requirements. Check your application dashboard and program web page for more details.

Enrollment in our Pre-College programs is dependent on application and admission. Students who want to participate in any of our programs must apply for admission; completed applications are submitted to the Admissions Committee for review. Incomplete and/or ineligible applications will not be reviewed.

Students applying for need-based scholarships and international students have additional application requirements. Learn about these requirements, depending on what type of applicant you may be, by following the tabs below:

Need-Based Scholarship Applicants

SLAI works hard to support motivated students with demonstrated financial need. Need-based scholarship applicants may be from either low or middle-income families. The Scholarship Committee awards scholarships as generously and equitably as possible; however, funding for scholarships is limited. In determining need, the committee considers a number of variables including family finances, family size, and geographic differences in the cost of living. In most cases, financial aid does not cover all expenses; students must contribute to the cost of attending a program. If you question your eligibility for a need-based scholarship, please email summer@carleton.edu.


International students, unfortunately, do not qualify for financial scholarships to attend our programs.

All students applying for scholarship admission to the Carleton Summer Liberal Arts Institute MUST submit: 

1. Scholarship Request section in Application.

A section of your application will ask if you are applying for a scholarship. You must complete this section of the application to apply for a scholarship. Please have the following information available to you when completing the form:

  1. The number of people in your household 
  2. The amount you are able to contribute to tuition 
  3. Your household average adjusted gross income 
  4. The scholarship amount you are requesting from SLAI

2. Financial Documents

To be considered for scholarship or tuition aid, your parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s) must submit financial documents to our office. The easiest way to do this is by uploading them via your application dashboard, which is available once your online application has been submitted.

You have the option to submit one of the numbered options below:

  1. 1040 Federal Income Tax Statement Forms from the previous 2 years for your parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s) (2024 and 2023).
    • If your parents are divorced, please try to include statements for both parents. If that is not possible, please include the statements for the parent(s) with whom you live.
    • Remember to black out all social security numbers.
  2. Free/Reduced Price School Meal documentation
  3. Social Security benefit documentation
  4. If you have questions about other qualifying factors not listed here that may make you eligible for a full or partical scholarship, email summer@carleton.edu.

Attendance and enrollment in our Pre-College programs is dependent on application and admission. Students who want to participate in any of our programs must apply for admission; completed applications are submitted to the Admissions Committee for review. Incomplete and/or ineligible applications will not be reviewed.