100% of paid tuition is refunded to any students not accepted to a camp they applied for. This includes the initial deposit paid at the time of initial application.

Refund Policy:
Cancellations must be submitted in writing, via email or typed letter. Deposit fees for camp(s) applications are fully refundable until the applicant is officially accepted for admission. Prior to admission, the deposit is fully refundable in the case of cancellation submitted in writing. Denial of application acceptance will result in a full refund of the deposit payment for each camp the applicant was not accepted to. Following application acceptance, the deposit is no longer fully refundable, and each camp registration is held to a minimum 10-percent cancellation fee. For cancellations 30 to 10 days prior to the start of a camp, half of the total fee is refundable. For cancellations made 9 or fewer days prior to the start of the program, no amount of the fee is refundable. Registration fees are non-transferable between applicants or to accepted participants. Funds provided Sternberg Science Camps in the form of any financial scholarship to the participant will be withheld in any case where a scholarship awardee or their parent(s)/guardian(s) cancels an accepted application.

Cancellation Policy:
In the event of a trip being cancelled, either due to insufficient enrollment, sudden onset of extensively unsafe travel conditions, or other unforeseeable impairments, the Sternberg Science Camps will provide a refund of all tuition and/or deposit fees paid up to the point of cancellation. Any scholarship funds awarded to the applicant to aid in attendance will be retained by the Sternberg Science Camps program. We are unable to reimburse the cost of any travel expenses paid to transport successful applicants to and/or from their camp(s). We strongly recommend attendees insure their travel to and from their respective camp(s) being attended.  

We require all students on our international programs to have a personal travel insurance policy, which we will bring hard copies of on our trip. You can learn more about travel insurance policies at http://www.travelinsurancereview.net/In the past, our students have used the companies listed below. CampDoc also offers a protection policy option as part of the application. 

insuremytrip.com
geobluetravelinsurance.com
uhcglobal.com

It depends on which camp you are applying to.

1) Camps that start in Hays, Kansas: Students can fly in to the Hays Airport. This is a small regional airport with flights going to Denver, CO and Salina, KS. If a student needs to arrive a day or two early in order to make flights work, no problem! We can make sure they are set up in the dorms for a small facilities usage fee, which would be applied to your CampDoc account. Our staff can pick them up at the beginning of camp, and make sure they get to the airport for their departure at the end.

2) Camps that start in Eugene, Oregon:  Students can fly in to the Eugene Airport, which has regular flights to and from many major airports in the US. Our staff will be arriving in Eugene a day early to finish getting set up, and we can make sure students who need to arrive early will get picked up a the airport. These students would just stick with Camps staff until departing with respective instructors on when camp starts. This includes sleeping accommodations, which would likely be a hotel, or campground in or around Eugene. 

3) Camps that start in Morrison, Colorado: Students can fly in to the Denver Airport, to be picked up by our camps staff, who will be arriving in the Denver/Morrison area the day before camp starts. Students flying in by themselves should arrive the day before camp starts. They will be able to stay with staff and other early-arrival students the night before, and travel to the start location at Dinosaur Ridge with staff. 

4) Camps with international destinations: Arrival airports are specific to each program. Students will be met by staff at the designated airport on the first day of the program, and transported to a nearby hotel where all staff and students will stay prior to departure. (Early arrivals are acceptable, but no more than 24 hours early.) Students and staff will then depart together from this same airport to the destination country. When going back home, students will need to plan for departing flights that work with the logistical conditions of the respective camp. For questions about scheduling arrival and departure flights for international camps, please contact us directly at SternbergCamps@FHSU.edu.

Ecuador Wildlife Biology Camp  –   Denver International Airport
Field Paleontology: Australia  –  Los Angeles International Airport

It is absolutely not a problem for the Camps staff to have students fly in alone. Keep in mind that students under 18 flying without a parent may be subject to an unaccompanied minor fee by the airline. Be sure to check with the airline you are using prior to your student’s departure, and plan accordingly.

We are happy to arrange for pickup of students traveling solo for one of our camps programs. The student will be picked up by a member of our staff at the airport. Any students under the age of 18 are required to fill out and return an unaccompanied minor form from the FHSU dormitories in advance of their arrival, if they are arriving early for a camp starting in Hays, Kansas. We can provide this form to you in the process of making arrangements for your student’s arrival. We also cannot have students arrive more than 48 hours before a camp starts, for logistics reasons. In some cases, we will not be able to have students arrive more than 24 hours ahead of time. Please communicate with us if you have questions.

Yes, this is absolutely not a problem. This can be requested through the CampDoc system once a student has been accepted to their camps. Some additional paperwork will be required, and will be transmitted as needed.

Unfortunately no, this is not an area of education our staff has training in. There are a number of other camp programs out there that offer programs with robustly trained staff to help special-needs students have the best experience possible at camp!

Yes, absolutely. There are plenty of hotels in Hays, Eugene, and all of our international departure airports to choose from if you arrive the day before the camp program starts. You are also more than welcome to explore the Sternberg Museum after dropping your student off for a Hays, KS camp. The instructor or TA can get you cleared by the front desk staff.

Domestic Camps: This is typically not a problem, though it is very case-by-case. We can provide transport to the airport for their flight, or make sure your student is ready with their gear at the pre-arranged early pickup time and location. Early departure capability depends mostly on which camp the student is in, and respective travel requirements. Please communicate in advance with us regarding any early departure arrangements that need to be made.

International Camps: All flight logistics should be coordinated with us on an individual basis. Our international programs have set group return dates, and having a student fly back early would likely be prohibitively difficult.