How to Apply

Application Requirements

Students should be high school sophomores or juniors at the time of application. Applicants should be successfully pursuing a rigorous high school curriculum as demonstrated by their transcripts.

Application Procedures

We encourage students to submit their applications as soon after the applications are released in January as possible, as they are processed on a rolling basis. We expect to fill in early March. We will continue to accept applications after March 1st and will wait-list applicants who are accepted after we have reached capacity.

A complete application consists of submission of the Online Application and mailing a packet containing:

• 1. Application Cover Form
• 2. Essay (typed, single-space, 1" margins, 10-12pt font, no more than two pages). The essay helps us to get to know you better, please share with us:
  
  • your experience and interest in entrepreneurship, leadership, sustainability, and/or community service (you can emphasize one, two, three, or all four of these concepts; its not necessary to mention all of them, though you should keep in mind that the YELS summer program does integrate these four concepts in all that we do)
  • your future academic and career goals
  • what you hope to learn and gain from your experience (in other words - how participation in the YELS summer program will help you achieve your future goals)
  • what knowledge, talents, and skills you will contribute to the program
• 3. Current Official School Transcript with cumulative UNweighted GPA
  
  • Note: if your school transcript does not include either a weighted or unweighted cumulative GPA, please ask your guidance counselor or school administrator to include a note documenting an estimate of your GPA on a 4.0 un-weighted scale or a 5.0 weighted scale, or out of 100%.
• 4. 2 Letters of Recommendation (one must be from a teacher) – Letter of Recommendation forms are available in pdf format HERE
• 5. $50 Check made payable to the University of Florida, note "CEI - YELS" in the memo area

We prefer that you submit the Application Cover Form, Essay, Transcript, 2 Letters of Recommendation and the Application Fee all together in one packet. The letters of recommendation should be in sign-sealed envelopes within the packet, however it is also acceptable for letters of recommendation to be mailed separately.

After submitting the Online Application, mail a packet containing the 5 items listed above to:
Attn: YELS Summer Program
Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Warrington College of Business Administration
University of Florida
Bryan Hall room 133
P.O. Box 117168
Gainesville, FL 32611-7168

Applying For Scholarships & Financial Aid

If you are in need of financial assistance, due to the generosity of our Scholarship Sponsors, we have a limited number of full and partial scholarships available. Scholarships are allocated based on both merit and need. Unfortunately, because of our limited fund, we are unable to award Scholarships to those who do not demonstrate financial need. We encourage students to fund-raise on their own; in the past, we have had many students cover much of their program fee through fundraising, and some very motivated students have been able to raise the full Program Fee by asking people & businesses to sponsor them. Scholarship applications must be submitted within 7 days of submitting the YELS Application. We are unable to allocate Scholarship Awards to students who wait to submit their Scholarship applications until after they have been notified of their admission status, so, if you are in need, please apply for a Scholarship now!

Please direct all questions and inquires to:
Dr. Kristin Joys
info@ufyoungentrepreneurs.org
352-273-0355