10 Summer Programs in Alaska for High Schoolers in 2025
What’s Covered:
Summer weather doesn’t stick around in Alaska very long, but luckily the days are long in America’s last frontier. The city of Fairbanks—which is only about 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle—sees 72 straight days of light in the summertime! One way that college-bound students can take advantage of Alaska’s extra-long days is to participate in a summer program for high schoolers—learning something new, bolstering their extracurricular profile, and improving their college readiness.
10 Summer Programs in Alaska for High Schoolers
1. Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI)
Dates: May 27 – July 11
Location: Fairbanks
Application Deadline: March 1
Cost: Free
RAHI provides rural Alaskan high schoolers with a crash course in college success. Participants spend six action-packed weeks sampling college life—from living in a dorm to earning up to 11 college credits—all while building friendships that will last a lifetime.
2. Summer Engineering Academies
Dates: Eight sessions available, from June 2 -6 to July 28 – August 1
Location: University of Alaska – Anchorage
Application Deadline: March 1
Cost: $250
The University of Alaska Anchorage Summer Engineering Academies are a series of week-long camps for students in grades 3-12. Topics include everything from 3D Printing and Design to Text-Based Coding and ATV Safety. With six camps to choose from, there’s something for everyone.
3. Upward Bound | Your Future Role in Alaska
Dates: June 17 – July 1
Location: Fairbanks
Application Deadline: March 1
Cost: Free
This two week course at University of Alaska, Fairbanks offers students a chance to explore career paths and college life through academics and service projects. The focus is on showing students how they can positively impact their communities. This programs are targeted at Upward Bound and T3 Alaska high school students.
4. Upward Bound | Drafting Dreams
Dates: June 13 – July 17
Location: Fairbanks or online
Application Deadline: March 1
Cost: Free
This summer program is offered both in-person and online, and gives students a chance to hone their writing skills, with the goal of preparing campers for higher education and potential careers in academia. This academy offers talented instruction, one-on-one focus, critical reading, and reasoning skills.
In-person enrollment is limited to North Pole Alaska Upward Bound qualifying high school students or T3 Alaska students. Online enrollment extends to any Alaska Upward Bound qualifying high school students or T3 students.
5. Upward Bound | Tech Meets Nature
Dates: May 27 – June 14
Location: Wrangell
Application Deadline: March 1
Cost: Free
This adventurous summer program packs in technical experience with life-changing adventure, as students learn about solar energy, remote monitoring, and electrical safety as they participate in setting up remote bear cameras. The program will also feature drone and mapping work as students explore the efficacy of salmon restoration efforts, as well as fun field trips around the awe-inspiring Tongass National Forest.
Enrollment is open to Upward Bound qualifying high school students and T3 Alaska high school students.
6. Alaska Geographic | Teen Expeditions
Dates: Various
Location: Various
Application Deadline: March 3
Cost: Free
The intent of this program is to create a more diverse and welcoming outdoor community for Alaskans. Numerous trips are available—from hiking to backpacking to kayaking—and all essential outdoor gear is provided. In fact, participants don’t even need to have outdoor or camping experience to attend, however, they should have a good level of physical fitness and be prepared for Alaska’s unpredictable weather.
7. Performing Arts Academies | Technical Academy
Dates: June 24 – July 20
Location: Anchorage
Application Deadline: N/A
Cost: $590
Students who love the theater but eschew the spotlight will love this three-week summer program that allows them to gain firsthand experience working backstage. Participants will work under the guidance of a professional stage manager and train in every area of technical theater, including running lights and sound.
8. Performing Arts Academies | Advanced Actors Academy
Dates: June 18 – July 12
Location: Anchorage
Application Deadline: N/A
Cost: $590
Experienced and serious student actors will love this intensive performance program that allows them to find their artistic voices and develop their creative talents. Participants in this three-week-long program are cast in a staged public performance.
9. Brown Environmental Leadership Lab: Alaska
Dates: July 6 to July 16
Location: Anchorage
Application Deadline: March 1
Cost: $5,534
While Brown’s travel summer programs are not specifically aimed at Alaskans, you may still enjoy the opportunity to engage with Alaska’s incredible natural beauty alongside Brown’s top-notch environmental educators. Topics include climate change and its impact on culture, economics, and environment, with a focus on how students can become socially responsible leaders.
10. Alaska Business Week
Dates: May 27 – 3o (Anchorage) or June 2 – 6 (MatSu)
Location: Anchorage or MatSu Central
Application Deadline: N/A
Cost: Free
Business-minded Alaskan high schoolers will want to check out this intensive entrepreneurship experience. Participants learn the basics of business, leadership, and entrepreneurship while networking with like-minded peers, business leaders, company founders, and CEOs. During the week-long course, students will work as teams and participate in gamified business simulations.
How do Summer Programs Impact Your College Chances?
The influence a summer program will have on your college chances depends on a variety of factors, such as the prestige of the course and the weight a particular college places on extracurricular activities like summer programs. While the impact of participation in a summer program varies, in general, it can only help your odds of college admission.
The four tiers of extracurricular activities are a good guide for understanding how colleges view extracurriculars like summer programs. Tiers one and two are where the most selective and distinguished summer programs are placed. Participation in these programs is attention-grabbing—they’re impressive and it’s rare for college admissions officers to see them on an application—consequently, they have the most impact on admissions odds.
Tier three and four extracurriculars are more common and don’t have the same value as higher-tier activities. While participation in lower-tier summer programs might not have a direct effect on your college odds, it does improve your college profile by demonstrating intellectual curiosity and a desire to learn about the world outside of the classroom. The curriculum of many summer programs also includes building college readiness—from vital soft skills to study habits to simply getting accustomed to living on campus.
CollegeVine can help you determine the weight your participation in a summer program has on your odds of college admission. Our free chancing calculator uses a variety of factors including grades, standardized test scores, and extracurriculars—like summer programs—to estimate your chances of getting into hundreds of colleges and universities while also providing insight into how to improve your profile.
