Frequently Asked Questions

Applications & Admissions

Step 1: Start an Application.

If you are new to Putney Student Travel, visit our Online Application.

If you are a Putney alumni family, use your existing account information to Log In.
For an existing account Log In information, you can reset your password here.

Step 2: Hold Your Space.

In order to hold your space for a program, you must complete the Online Application Form, submit an e-signed Agreement Form, and provide a $700 payment, consisting of a $200 non-refundable Application Fee and a $500 Tuition Deposit. The $500 Tuition Deposit is applied toward your tuition. After March 15, we must receive full payment within five days of your initial $700 payment to hold a space in the program.

Step 3: Complete Your Application.

Before we can make a final admissions decision, you must submit your Applicant Statement and two Teacher Reference Forms. These documents are available as part of our Online Application.

Our Admissions Team will review your application within a few days of completion and notify you of the decision by email.

We have a rolling admissions process and will accept applicants until a program fills. Every year, however, we receive more applications than we are able to accept, so early applicants have the best chance of being accepted into their first choice program.

Applications are carefully reviewed by our Admissions Team 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 Student Travel encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds to apply. Putney staff and leaders work with our students and families to foster a safe and supportive experience for all students regardless of their race, national origin, religion, sex, gender, or sexual orientation.

You may pay by credit card (Mastercard, Visa, or Discover) through our secure online system, by personal check, or by wire transfer. Our admissions staff is also available to take credit card information over the phone. Personal checks must be in U.S. dollars and must be drawn on a U.S. bank. Checks should be made payable to Putney Student Travel with the student’s name written on the memo line. Please note that a 2.75% convenience fee is added to payments made by credit card, but is waived for the initial $700 payment. Please contact us for bank details if you prefer to pay by wire transfer.

If you withdraw an application for a summer program on or before March 15, your payment, less the $200 Application Fee, is refunded. If you withdraw an application after March 15, all payments are forfeited. Withdrawals are effective on the date that Putney Student Travel receives written notification.

Cost

Tuition for international Oxford Academia programs includes all accommodations and two meals each day. Tuition for domestic Oxford Academia programs includes all accommodations and three meals each day. For all Oxford Academia programs, both domestic and international, tuition also covers instruction, use of campus facilities, transportation during the program, entrance fees to museums and cultural sites, field excursions, guest lectures, social events, taxes, and tips. Tuition does not include the $200 Application Fee, transportation to and from the program destination, classroom supplies, art materials, laundry, communication home, health care, gifts, other personal expenses, or the optional supplemental activities, trips, and fees listed below under Program Specific Supplemental Fees.

Application Fee • $200

Transportation to/from campus:

  • Oxford: For any student who does not arrive directly to the program residence, Oxford Academia will arrange group transportation to and from London Heathrow Airport. This fee is $65 each way, and will appear as a separate line item on the final invoice.
  • Paris: For any student who does not arrive directly to the program residence, Paris Academia will arrange group transportation to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. This fee is $40 each way, and will appear as a separate line item on the final invoice.
  • Yale:For any student who does not arrive directly to campus, Oxford Academia will arrange group transportation to and from John F Kennedy International Airport (New York City) or Bradley International Airport (Hartford/Windsor Locks, Connecticut). This fee is $65 each way, and will appear as a separate line item on the final invoice.

Travel Coordination Fee • A minimum fee of $150 is assessed when students require special travel arrangements. Please see details below.

Arrival to or Departure from the Program Destination: If your arrival to or departure from the program destination falls outside of the designated window(s) requiring special coordination from our staff, you will be charged a minimum of $150.

Unaccompanied Minor Fee • $150 fee each way if your child flies as an Unaccompanied Minor to/from the U.S. Gateway Airport or program destination requiring a Putney representative as an escort. Many major airlines have policies that require students under a certain age who are flying independently to register as an “Unaccompanied Minor.” Please note that registering with the airline as an “Unaccompanied Minor” often incurs a fee in addition to your ticket cost, and requires you to be escorted at all times (between security, departure/arrival gates, and connecting flights) when you are not with your leader(s) and group.

Supplemental Seminar Fees • The following seminars have supplemental fees, which differ whether you are enrolled in the major or minor.

  • Fashion Design & Culture: $150 major / $100 minor
  • French Cuisine: $150 major / $100 minor
  • French Language: French Cuisine: $150 major / $100 minor
  • Medicine & Public Health (Yale): $150 major / $100 minor

Travel Logistics

The dates for all Oxford Academia programs reflect the date that students commence, and consequently complete, travel to and from their program. For Oxford and Paris, this assumes students will fly on an overnight flight to Europe.

  • Oxford and Paris

    • Session 1:
      • June 30–overnight travel to program
      • July 1–program officially begins
      • July 13–program ends, onward travel home
    • Session 2:
      • July 14–overnight travel to program
      • July 15–program officially begins
      • July 27–program ends, onward travel home
  • Yale

    • Session 1:
      • July 1–program begins
      • July 13–program ends, onward travel home
    • Session 2:
      • July 15–program begins
      • July 27–program ends, onward travel home

Students are responsible for arranging travel to and from the program. For students wishing to travel accompanied by an Academia staff member, families may choose to book a ticket on an identified Escorted Flight from New York (JFK). Alternatively, families may book a different flight and arrive using our arrival and departure window guidelines.

For any student who does not arrive independently to the program residence, Oxford Academia will arrange transportation to and from the designated airport. An airport transportation fee will appear as a separate line item on the final invoice. See “Cost” section above for more information about transportation fees.

Students are responsible for arranging travel to and from the program. For students arriving at and departing from John F. Kennedy International Airport or Bradley International Airport during the designated arrival window, Oxford Academia will arrange group transportation to/from the Yale University campus. An airport transportation fee will appear as a separate line item on the final invoice. See “Cost” section above for more information about transportation fees.

Scholarships

Health & Safety

Oxford Academia strongly encourages, but does not require, all students, leaders, and experts to be up to date with their vaccination against COVID-19 prior to their program, according to current recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additional information about the updated vaccine can be found on the CDC’s website. Those who reside outside of the U.S are strongly encouraged to have received the most updated vaccine available, in accordance with their respective countries’ public health protection agency’s recommendations.

We are able to accommodate many medical and dietary needs. Please contact our office to discuss your specific situation before applying.

At Oxford Academia we expect our students to maintain high standards of personal behavior. We impose very few rules other than those designed to ensure that students can live in a safe, friendly, and constructive environment. Instead, we support an open atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, and consideration. Since students 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. Any student whose attitude or behavior is in violation of our rules or is otherwise prejudicial to the maintenance of standards or to the successful operation of our program will be dismissed from the program at our sole discretion and travel home at their parents’ expense.