Admissions Details

How To Apply

STEP 1: LOG ON.

If you are new to Putney Student Travel, visit our Online Application.  
If you are a Putney Student Travel alumni family, use your existing account information to Log In.

STEP 2: HOLD A SPACE IN THE PROGRAM.

You can hold a space in a program by completing the Online Application Form and providing the $700 Application Deposit by Mastercard, Visa, or Discover Card through our secure online system or by sending a check to our office. Our admissions staff is also available to take credit card information over the phone.  We will hold a space in a program for a reasonable time, pending completion of the full application process. See Step 3.

After March 15, to hold a space in a program an application must be accompanied by full payment made by check or wire transfer and the signed Agreement Form.

STEP 3: COMPLETE THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

Before we can make a final admissions decision, an application must be complete.  In addition to the Application Form and Application Deposit described above, a complete application includes:

• Applicant Statement
• Two Teacher Reference Forms
• Signed Agreement Form

These documents are available as part of our Online Application.  We review a completed application within a few days, and notify families of our admissions decision by e-mail.
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Eligibility:

Students completing 9^th through 12^th grade are eligible to participate in most Putney programs.  Students completing 8^th and 9^th grade are eligible for separate units of the Language Learning programs in Spain and France, and for our Community Service program in the Dominican Republic.  Putney Foundations is specifically designed for students completing 7^th and 8^th grade.

Group Composition:

Community Service, Global Action, Language Learning, and Cultural Exploration programs are generally limited to 16 to 18 participants and 2 leaders.  International Excel programs have from 40 to 80 participants and a staff of 8 to 15, and domestic Excel programs have 90 to 120 participant with a staff of 15 to 25.  Putney Foundations has 35 to 45 students, with a staff of 7 to 10.  The dynamics of our special programs and the unique experiences shared stimulate close, lasting friendships and a strong community spirit within each group.  About half of our students are relatives or close friends of alumni or alumni parents.

Application Process and Terms of Payment:

Applications must be submitted online at https://app.goputney.com.

There is no application deadline, but since each year we receive more applications than we are able to accept, early applicants have the best chance of being accepted into their first choice program and/or courses.  Applications are carefully reviewed by our Admissions Committee and students are selected on the basis of their maturity, enthusiasm, motivation, and willingness to live and participate constructively in a supportive community environment.

Putney will temporarily reserve space for an applicant in a particular program/course upon receipt of the Online Application Form and the $700 Application Deposit.  An applicant’s file is not complete and cannot be considered for admission until we have receive a completed application which consists of the Online Application Form, signed Agreement Form, Application Deposit, Applicant Statement, and two completed Teacher Reference Forms.  The required Applicant Statement is described within the online application. Applicants may e-mail their teacher references directly to their teachers through our online system. We make our best effort to act on each application within one to two days of the date when the application is complete.

Applicants are responsible for following up with teachers to ensure that they have sent completed reference forms to Putney.  The most common reason for a delay in processing an application is that we have not received the required references.

An application, which is initiated by sending Putney an Application Form and Application Deposit, must be completed within a reasonable time by submitting the additional required items or the application will be considered withdrawn and the applicant’s temporarily held space will be released.

The required $700 Application Deposit is credited to the total tuition fee for accepted students.  If an application is not accepted or if space is not available in the program listed as first choice, the full deposit is refunded.  If an applicant is withdrawn on or before March 15^th, $500 of the the Application Deposit is refunded.  If an application is withdrawn after March 15^th, the full Application Deposit is forfeited.  Withdrawals are effective on the date that Putney receives written notification.

Final payment of the full tuition and airfare is due on March 15^th.  All tuition payments (exclusive of the Application Deposit as set out above) received on or before March 15^th are fully refundable through that date.  Except as set out in the next paragraph, no refund will be made after March 15^th of any Application Deposit, tuition payment, or airfare payment.  After March 15^th, the deposit amount becomes the amount of the full tuition.

Wait-listed applications must include the $700 Application Deposit, which is fully refunded if space does not become available or if the application is withdrawn prior to acceptance.  A wait-listed application must be complete to be considered for acceptance.

Payment of the $700 Application Deposit may be made by check or credit card.  All other payments must be made by check or wire transfer.  Checks must be in U.S. Dollars and must be drawn on a U.S. bank.   Please make checks payable to Putney Student Travel and write the student’s name clearly on the check.  For payment by wire transfer, please consult our office for wiring information.

Putney reserves the right to revoke an applicant’s acceptance if timely payment is not received.  No refund of the Application Deposit or other payments to date is provided in this circumstance.  Applicants should consider purchasing the Putney Tuition Refund Plan (see below), or commercial travel insurance that matches their specific needs.

Changes in foreign currency valuations and other items can necessitate small change in our fees.  Putney fees, therefore, are subject to change.

Please note: Putney reserves the right to alter or cancel any of its program, and to alter or cancel courses of study and/or activities and/or excursions.  We are not responsible for costs incurred in preparing for a program that is canceled.

Tuition Refund Plan:

The vast majority of a Putney tuition is based upon the total cost of programming divided by the total number of participants rather than a per person, per day calculation.  Should a participant have to withdraw because of serious illness or injury prior to departure, the financial loss is substantial.  As a result, we offer the optional Putney Tuition Refund Plan which provides for a complete tuition refund if a participant is forced to cancel for these reasons.  Putney will forward you information about the Tuition Refund Plan with your final invoice.  Travel insurance policies with a wide variety of coverages are available from specialized insurance companies.

Expectations:

We expect Putney participants to maintain high standards of personal behavior. Since they are encouraged, within the context of our programs, to take leadership roles and to make some of their own discoveries, students whose parents require them to be under constant surveillance or who are likely to act irresponsibly, use drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, or behave in a disruptive manner, should not apply. Students who violate our few rules are subject to dismissal at our sole discretion. Parents are responsible for making arrangements for, bearing the cost of, and providing supervision for dismissed students’ immediate travel home, even in situations that require extended international travel, and no refund of the program tuition is given. Students dismissed from programs will not receive credit for community service hours completed prior to their dismissal.

At Putney we take pride in our reputation for careful, thorough planning and attention to detail. The descriptions of our programs are based on our experiences in previous summers and our plans for this summer. It is inevitable that some things described here will not happen exactly as presented. To get the most out of the Putney experience, participants need to be flexible in responding to unforeseen situations, and creative in taking advantage of unexpected opportunities. We expect Putney participants to share responsibility for the success of their experience.

What’s included in the tuition?

Tuition for Community Service, Global Action, Language Learning, Cultural Exploration, and Putney Foundations programs covers all day-to-day expenses including three meals each day, lodging, entertainment, excursions, theatre and concert tickets, entry fees, bike and boat rentals, ski passes and equipment rental, taxes, and tips.  All transportation during the program is covered by the tuition, including trains, buses, and most in-country flights (see program descriptions for details).  The cost of international flights is not included in the tuition.  For more information, please refer to additional transportation information below.  The cost of laundry, communication home, health care, gifts, and other personal expenses, is not included in the tuition.

Tuition for Excel Oxford/Tuscany, Madrid/Barcelona, China, and Amherst College includes all accommodations, two meals each day (three meals at Amherst and in China), instruction, use of campus facilities, travel to and from the international arrival/departure airport (except Amherst), transportation in-country, entrance fees to museums and cultural sites, field excursions, guest lectures, social events, taxes, and tips.  Tuition does not include transportation to and from Europe/China/Amherst (see additional transportation information below), lunches (except in Amherst and China), classroom supplies, art materials, some optional afternoon and evening activities, laundry, communication home, health care, gifts, other personal expenses, or the optional supplemental activities, trips, and fees listed in the SUPPLEMENTAL FEES table below.

All participants are required to have their own medical insurance.

 

Transportation To and From Community Service, Global Action, Language Learning, Cultural Exploration, and Putney Foundations Programs:

International airfares are not included in program tuitions.  We have arranged for an escorted round-trip group flight for each of our international programs.  Each flight departs from and returns to a U.S. airport.  Note that all Global Action programs end in New Haven, Connecticut.  When you are accepted to a program you will receive an invoice for the cost of the relevant flight.

Participants may make separate travel arrangements from the U.S. to their program’s international starting point and from the program’s ending point back to the U.S.  Before booking separate travel arrangements, please contact us to insure that the timing of arrival/departure is feasible given the program’s itinerary.

Airlines require that we reserve space far in advance, but do not set a final price until shortly before departure when tickets are issued in each traveler’s name.  Until the time individual tickets are issued, airlines reserve the right to increase fees (e.g. fuel surcharges) and additional government fees may be assessed.  The airfares we quote to you represent the figure that the airline has given us when we booked in the fall, and is subject to an increase (which we will pass along to you) if the airline or a government agency assesses additional fees prior to final ticketing.

On all programs, parents are responsible for their children’s travel to and from the U.S. gateway airports.

Transportation To and From International Excel Programs:

For each of its international Excel programs, Putney makes available, at a group rate, a limited number of seats on an escorted international round-trip flight from a New York area airport.  The cost of this flight is not included in the program tuition.  Until these seats are spoken for, we will reserve space for a participant once we have received the group flight payment.  Due to the airlines’ group booking requirements, we can honor these requests only if we receive payment by May 3, 2012.  Families are responsible for making arrangements for participants to travel from home to New York and return.  For those students who do not wish to travel on the group flight, Excel staff from each international campus will transport incoming/departing students free of charge to/from the airport serving each program’s international arrival/departure city.

Transportation To and From Excel at Amherst College:

Amherst is approximately a three-hour drive from New York City and two hours from Boston.  There is a public bus service to Amherst from both New York and Boston.  Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, Connecticut, is the nearest airport and is served by most major airlines.  Excel staff will meet incoming students free of charge at the Amherst bus station, Amherst train station, and Bradley Airport the day each Excel at Amherst College session begins, and return them to the airport for departing flights on the final day of the program.

Special Information for Students Traveling to the Excel at Amherst College Program From Abroad:

Participants traveling to the U.S. from abroad are responsible for obtaining any required visas.  Due to the brief period of the program, international students should obtain a tourist visa, not a student visa, from the American Embassy or Consulate in their home country as required.  Please consult us to see if there are other students traveling from your city, so that you may make plans to travel together.  Excel at Amherst College staff will meet students traveling from abroad at JFK Airport (JFK) in New York or Logan Airport (BOS) in Boston, and transfer them to campus on the day the program begins, and transfer them back to those airports on the day the program ends.

Note: There is a processing fee of U.S. $195 for student from abroad to cover wire transfer charges, international fax, postage, and telephone costs, and airport transportation.