What SSTP Offers

The three academic components of the UF SSTP are laboratory research, a science lecture series, and an UF Honors seminar class. UF SSTP student's academic success is supported by residential and academic counselors who lead small group discussions, meet weekly with research faculty mentors, hold weekly individual meetings with students, assist with students understanding of scientific articles, and provide guidance and feedback on academic assignments.

The program’s academic requirements include participating fully in all program activities, submitting weekly lab notes, developing and writing a scientific research paper, presenting a research poster, and giving two oral presentations. Additional academic requirements include assignments given by instructors for the UF Honors Program seminar class. The assignments vary, however students can expect to be evaluated on class preparedness and participation in addition to graded assessments such as quizzes, presentations, reaction papers, and projects.

• Research Component
  • UF research faculty engage SSTP participants in university-level research as part of the lab team. Each SSTP participant will be assigned to a research lab which MAY be based upon his or her interests and experiences.
  • During the summer, SSTP participants will assist in the on-going research of his or her assigned lab.
  • Participants develop a working knowledge of the research conduct in his or her lab through reading scientific literature, learning lab procedures and how to use lab equipment, and then implementing a research plan as directed by the student’s faculty mentor.
  • The research experiences offered at SSTP vary and may include clinical research, bench research, engineering projects, computer-based projects, or field work. Participants are also mentored in best lab practices, scientific inquiry, and research careers.
  • SSTP participants write a research paper, give two research talks, and present a research poster based the work conducted in the research lab. SSTP participants from a Florida high school may earn dual enrollment credit for this competent of the program.

• Lectures
  • The interdisciplinary lecture series is presented by UF research faculty who highlight the concepts, experimental approaches, and applications of current research. All SSTP participants attend the lecture presented each day.
  • Lecture topics cover research in the biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, engineering, and medicine. Ethics, technical writing, laboratory safety, and the role of the humanities in science are also presented.
  • Lecture topics for previous years include: The Mathematics of Randomness, Ethical Controversies in Science, Micro Air Vehicles and Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems, The Art of Writing in the Sciences, The Challenges of Tropical Diseases in the Modern World, and Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies in the south.

• UF Honors Seminar 
  • All SSTP students participate in a UF Interdisciplinary Honors Seminar Course. These small group classes (limited to 12 students) emphasize cutting edge research in the specified topics.
  • The class curriculum incorporates lecture, library research, discussion, reaction papers, oral presentations, and quizzes. Active participation by the SSTP student creates a dynamic classroom setting.
  • Courses are taught by post-docs, PhD candidates, and medical school students who are currently conducting research on the topic presented during the course. Students indicate a preference for which seminar classes each is assigned.
  • Topics change yearly and have ranged from Cancer Biology and Therapeutics to Carbon Nanotube Technology for Energy Applications to Science in the News.

The UF SSTP creates an environment that promotes the academic and personal growth of students, helping each develop important interpersonal, organizational, professional communication, and leadership skills in an academically enriching setting. UF SSTP participants gain effective communication and leadership skills through small group discussions, oral presentations, workshops, and practical experiences. Peer support and feedback build critical thinking, interpersonal, and technical writing skills

Weekend events include social activities, service learning, and field trips. Participants attend all UF SSTP-sponsored social and weekend activities together. The UF SSTP schedule also includes unstructured time for students to network and build long-lasting friendships with their peers.

Overall, SSTP offers the motivated student a unique and intensive learning environment designed to provide challenging and inspiring experiences and to stimulate interest in science-related careers. A sample general schedule is available to explore the activities you would expect as a participant in SSTP.

Program Cost & Fees

*This program does NOT count towards tuition reimbursement programs like Florida Prepaid*

The program fee covers on-campus residential housing, staffing, insurance, program t-shirts, additional program branded materials, and most program-sponsored activity expenses such as entrance tickets, transportation, and meals for field trips, weekly social activities and events, a banquet, a student-faculty-parent research poster reception, closing ceremony, and a group picture. The cost to attend the UF SSTP does not include daily meals.

The amount of personal spending money required for the program varies. Participants should not bring large amounts of cash to the program.  Instead, families should arrange for students to have a debit, prepaid card, or credit card. Students should budget for the following:

• Grocery shopping for the number of meals he or she plans to eat out
• Non-program-sponsored social activities such as going to the movies
• Souvenirs from the UF bookstore and fieldtrips
• Some academic expenses such as printing in UF computer labs and printing of the Final research poster.
• Transportation: cost for travel to and from Gainesville are the responsibility of the students and their families.
• Dorm equipment: dishware, cookware, bedding, toiletries 

About Financial Aid/ Scholarships

Limited financial aid may be available for students attending a Florida high school. Financial Aid Applications will be sent if the student is accepted into the program. Students are encouraged to apply regardless of ability to pay.  

The ability to pay is not considered in the program selection process, but students may have the non-refundable deposit waived if the request for financial aid is submitted with the application.

The number of need-based scholarships vary year-to-year, and we cannot predict how many awards will be granted each year; however, we try very hard to help students with a strong financial need attend our program.  Students are encouraged to also secure their own funding.  Students have had success in receiving fully funded scholarships from local businesses, corporations, service and community organizations, and personal donations. Fundraising Suggestions

At times, non-need-based scholarships are available to students meeting donor criteria.  After an applicant is selected to attend the UF SSTP and our office receives a student’s Response to Invitation and non-refundable deposit, we will individually notify qualified students of such opportunities if/when they arise. The scholarships and financial aid awards available for UF SSTP often have very specific requirements for distribution outlined by the donor. The information you provide on your financial aid application will be cross-referenced with any possible scholarships available and you will be notified as soon as possible as to the outcome.

About Applying

Applicants must create an account in our online application portal in order to apply for any student programs offered by UF CPET. The online application portal is www.ufcpet.smapply.us.  All components are submitted using the online application process unless noted.  After all the below components of the application are completed, student must log into their account and SUBMIT their application. We strongly warn against last-minute submissions due to frequent technical hurdles that can easily make an application late, leading to rejection.

Students currently in the 11th grade and who will be 16 years old or older by the start of the program are eligible for UF SSTP.  There are no exceptions to the age or grade policy.  There is no minimum GPA to apply, however this is an academically rigorous program, and applicants’ transcripts should reflect high academic standards both in grades and coursework. Standardized tests are not required to apply, however should be reported if taken.

Non-Florida and international students may apply for UF SSTP.  A limited number of spots are designated for students from non-Florida high schools.  If accepted, students and their families are responsible for all travel arrangements and/or travel requirements such as passports/Visa, etc.

The UF SSTP Application consists of:

• User Information: Provide applicant and parent/guardian contact information.
• Application Form: Provide additional information such as student involvement and responding to two prompts. One is a 300–500-word response and another is a video submission. 
• Teacher Endorsement Form 1 and 2:  Two Online Teacher Endorsement Forms from a high-school or college-level math, science, research, or computer science teacher or mentor are recommended. 
  • Endorsers are asked to evaluate the student’s maturity, collaborative learning capacity, and ability to work in a university-level research lab. Applicants should think carefully about which teachers know the student the best and will be able to evaluate according to the criteria.
  • Endorsers will receive an automated request from noreply@smapply.io once a student has requested an endorsement in their online application. However, we recommend that students contact their teacher prior to filling out the online request.
• Academic Record Form: The Academic Record Form is to be completed by a Guidance Counselor or similar administrator. Students are not required to have taken pre-college entrance exams, such as the PSAT, SAT, or ACT. However, if previously taken, they should be reported. The Academic Record Form is available for download from the application portal. The Academic Record Form must be uploaded to the application portal. 
• High School Transcript:  Submit your unofficial transcript with grades till this past fall semester via the application portal (Either as a .PDF, .JPG, or .PNG). An official transcript may be asked of you to submit at a later point in time once accepted. 
• Application Fee:  The link to pay the Application Fee is available on the application in the fee payment step.  Students attending a Florida High School who qualify may request an Application Fee Waiver. 
• *Task Approval Process: In the application portal, students are required to acknowledge the requirement of each of these “offline” portions by clicking “submit for approval”. The CPET office will log receipt of each requirement.  After the requirement is logged, students will need to complete the section by clicking “complete” in the on-line portal.  After all portions are complete, students can then submit their full application.

Notifications

UF SSTP has a rolling admission process which means applications will continue to be reviewed until the program is filled. We start reviewing applications in March. 

Students will receive automated emails from noreply@smapply.io to the “Student’s E-mail Address” provided on the application confirming his or her application in complete. It is the student’s responsibility to provide a working email address and check that email address regularly for communication from the UF SSTP program. 

Participant Selection: Notification of Selection will be made via email to the student email address provided on the application.  It is the student’s responsibility to provide a working email address and check that email address regularly for communication from the UF SSTP program.  Failure to respond to email in a timely manner may result in the student being placed on the wait list.

• Students invited to participate are required to respond to the invitation within 14 days of the email being sent.  Students accepting their invitation are required to make a $500 non-refundable deposit to hold his or her spot in the UF SSTP. 
• The non-refundable deposit may be waived for students applying for a need-based scholarship until scholarship decisions are made. 
• Students invited to attend, but not ready to commit to may defer his or her invitation.
  • No deposit is required; however, the student’s spot will not be held.  At the time the student is ready to commit, he or she will need to call the office to inquire if a spot is still available.

The UF SSTP does not fill all available spots during the first rounds of application reviews.  Therefore, students may be placed on a waitlist if not invited during the first time his or her application is reviewed.

• This is an active waitlist, and applications will continue to be reviewed until the program is filled.  Students must confirm their place on the waitlist to continue being considered.  The waitlist is not ranked.

If you are not selected or waitlisted for the program, we wish you luck on your future endeavors. We do not provide or give comments or feedback on applications

The UF SSTP program and CPET staff abide by FERPA and University application standards and therefore do not discuss applications, applicant data (individual or aggregated), nor selection with students or parents.  Once an application is submitted, students may view and download, but not edit, their application through the online portal.

If Accepted

If you are accepted, we would like to wish you a large number of congratulations as you are one of few students selected for an application pool of hundreds. The information below may change depending on yearly circumstances. Please be sure to review your program handbook for more the most updated and detailed information. 

• In your application portal, you will need to send in the Students Response to Invitation within 14 calendar days of your acceptance.
  • If you plan to attend UF SSTP, you will need to pay your $500 deposit along with your Response to Invitation to guarantee your spot for the upcoming program unless you have been notified otherwise.
  • Deferring your invitation means that you are unable to committee to UF SSTP at this time. If you are able to commit at a later date, you will need to call our office to inquire if there are any spaces still available.
  • If you decline your invitation, you are no longer able to attend our program.
• When are the program forms due?
  • The Application portal will be updated with new tasks for you to complete. Follow the instructions on the portal and E-Mail communication sent out. The application portal includes due dates. 
• Can I miss part of the program for an event?
  • Due to the program’s rigorous scheduling, departures from the program are discouraged.  It is difficult for students to keep up with expected assignments and research if they miss any part of the program. Should a one-time family event (such as a wedding) require a student’s departure from the program, requests must be made in advance to sstp@cpet.ufl.edu
• When will I receive the program handbook and academic manual?
  • The program handbook and academic manual for the upcoming UF SSTP will be made available at the Middle of May. It will be in the Application portal for students to view. 
    
• What are transportation options to and from Gainesville?
  • Gainesville has a local regional airport. American Eagle Airlines, Delta Connection/ASA and US Airways Express/PSA are the airlines that provide service to Gainesville Regional Airport (GNV). Silver Airways offers direct flights to/from Gainesville and major Florida cities.
  • There are bus companies that provide round trip transportation from campus to South Florida and there is also a Greyhound & Red Coach bus station in Gainesville. 
  • The office provides students with a shuttle to campus from the Gainesville airport and bus stations for the beginning, mis summers break, and end of the program.  No shuttle service is offered by UF SSTP to any other airports.
• What is the housing situation like?
  • SSTP participants and residential staff live in a residence hall on the UF campus for the residential component of SSTP. The UF residence hall has suite-style rooms where each suite has two double-occupancy bedrooms, a kitchen, living area and a bathroom. Additionally, students will have internet and Wi-Fi access both in the residence halls and on the UF campus.
  • SSTP residential counselors facilitate campus living through community building and help participants adjust to living away from home. Students get to know one-another through floor activities, shared meals, student socials, and small group get-togethers. Counselors engage students in activities such pick-up basketball games, running/walking groups, playing guitar/musical instruments, and other share interests. Cooking help, laundry how-to lessons, and other practical advice is provided by counselors.
  • Rooming:
    • One focus of SSTP is to create a multicultural community in which students are encouraged to live and learn with students from varied backgrounds and experiences. Towards this goal, SSTP does not accept roommate requests and students from the same high school are not roomed together. 
    • The program does take into consideration such factors as a student’s study preferences, house-keeping preferences, sleep preferences, and general interests when making roommate assignments. Students selected to attend SSTP complete a Roommate Matching/Personal Interest Sheet on which he or she may indicate such preferences.
• What about Meals and Dining?
  • UF residence halls come equipped with small kitchens, shared by the roommates and include a fridge, stovetop and microwave.  We provide weekly grocery runs. Additionally, there are many local restaurants on campus and in the immediate area. 
• Social Activities & Weekends
  • While the SSTP schedule is fairly full, some down time is provided.  Students have access to campus facilities for recreation.  Each Saturday is booked with a full day field trip or volunteering activity.  Sundays are given for down-time, grocery shopping, and working on projects.
  • More specifics on daily life and what to expect are provided once a student is accepted into the SSTP Program. 
• What if I applied for Financial Aid/Scholarships?
  • You will receive E-Mail communication regarding scholarships or financial aid. Students may receive partial or full scholarships for the program fees. In some cases, special payment plans can also be made based on need.