Eligibility | Placement Schools | How to Apply | FAQ
The New Jersey SEEDS Scholars Program is a tuition-free enrichment program designed to prepare eligible 7th-grade students for 9th-grade placement at an academically rigorous day or boarding school. Over a 14-month period, students take classes on Saturdays and participate in residential programs over the course of two summers.
The Scholars Program nurtures a student’s critical thinking skills, love of learning, and self-confidence. In addition, the Scholars Program seeks to ensure that each child is admitted to an independent school.
Scholars Program Curriculum Components:
Summer Challenge Program (SCP), open to approximately 120 New Jersey students each year, is a three-week residential program held on the campus of The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The program consists of daily classes in core subjects and electives.
Leadership Week follows SCP and is held at the Princeton-Blairstown Center in Blairstown, New Jersey. Students engage in outdoor activities designed to promote teamwork, group cooperation, and communication skills. Activities include hiking, camping, rope courses, dam rappelling, and canoeing.
Scholars Academy Saturdays (SAS) is the second phase of the SEEDS Scholars Program. Approximately 95 students, who have successfully completed SCP, are admitted into SAS. These students attend Saturday classes throughout the academic year and participate in retreats, workshops and other activities. Students also prepare for the Secondary School Admissions Test (the placement exam for private high schools), visit independent schools and complete their applications.
The Boarding Experience (TBE), held the summer after 8th grade, is another three-week residential program held on the campus of The Hill School. Scholars take academic classes and participate in leadership development workshops. This second residential experience helps to prepare our students for their transition to independent school life.
We are grateful to our corporate and foundation supporters for the Scholars Program, which include: an anonymous donor; Barclays; The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation; Coach; F.M. Kirby Foundation; J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Charitable Trust; the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund; Lucy and Eleanor S. Upton Charitable Foundation; Norman & Bettina Roberts Foundation; Provident Bank Foundation; and Victoria Foundation.
"New Jersey SEEDS has had a tremendous impact on many aspects of my life. SEEDS not only helped open up opportunities for my education and career, but most importantly, helped shape my way of thinking and set a foundation for my desire to learn and to achieve. By attending the program with other young, diverse students, I learned to be open to others' perspectives, which has helped build my intellectual curiosity. When I think about all the achievements in my life, the opportunities that I have taken advantage of, and the interests and curiosities that I’ve developed, I always think about how this all stems from the learning and growth experience that I had with the SEEDS program at a very young age. New Jersey SEEDS set the foundation for me to explore my intellectual curiosities and to achieve my goals, and I am very thankful for that opportunity."