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Eligibility: (back to download application) Students completing 9th through 12th grade are eligible to participate in most Putney programs. Some Cultural Exploration and Language Learning programs are limited to students completing 10th through 12th grade. Students completing 8th or 9th grade are eligible for separate units of the Language Learning programs in Spain and France. Putney Foundations is specifically designed for students completing 7th and 8th 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 160 participants with a staff of 15 to 30. 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:  The application form for Putney Student Travel programs is located in our catalog or downloadable here. There is no application deadline, but since each year we receive more applications than we are able to accept, early applicants will have the best chance of being accepted for their first choice of 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. We make our best effort to act on each application within one to two days of the date when the application is complete.

Putney will temporarily reserve a space for an applicant in a particular program/course upon receipt of the Application Form and a $700 Application Deposit. An applicant’s file is not complete and cannot be considered for admission until we have received a completed application which consists of the signed Application Form, Application Deposit, Applicant Statement, and two completed Teacher Reference Forms. The required Applicant Statement is described on the Application Form. Applicants should download and print the Teacher Reference Forms available here, deliver them to two teachers, and ask the teachers to mail, e-mail, or fax them to Putney. 

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 space being temporarily held 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 application is withdrawn by March 17, $500 is refunded. If an application is withdrawn after March 17, the full Application Deposit is forfeited. Withdrawals are effective on the date that Putney receives written notification.

Final payment of the full tuition is due on March 17.

Applications submitted after March 17 must be accompanied by payment of the full tuition. This full payment will be refunded only if the application is not accepted or if space is not available in the program listed as first choice. Applications accompanied by full payments initiated after March 17 which are not completed in a timely manner will be considered to be withdrawn, and payments made will be refunded less a fee of $1500. Refunds are not provided under any other circumstances.

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 waitlisted application must be complete to be considered for acceptance.

Payment of the 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, airfares (including fuel surcharges), and other items can cause small changes in our fees. Putney fees, therefore, are subject to change. (back to top)

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 a 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. (back to top)

Please Note: Putney reserves the right to alter or cancel any of its programs, 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 cancelled.

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 fee 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 in this catalog 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 summer. (back to top)

Transportation To and From Programs:

Community Service, Language Learning, Cultural Exploration, and Putney Foundations: These programs begin and end at a meeting point at a U.S. airport – generally New York (JFK), Newark, Miami, Houston, or Los Angeles. Parents are responsible for making arrangements for participants to arrive at and return from these departure/ return points.

Global Action: These programs begin and end at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

Excel at Amherst College: Amherst is approximately a three-hour drive from New York City and two hours from Boston. There is 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 Bradley Airport the day each Excel at Amherst session begins, and return them to the airport for departing flights on the final day of the program.

Excel Oxford/Tuscany*: Excel staff will meet incoming students free of charge at London, England, airports (LHR or LGW) on the first day of the program, and will transport them to Bologna International Airport (BLQ), Italy, on the final day of the program.

Excel Paris/Provence*: Excel staff will meet incoming students free of charge at Marseille Airport (MRS) on the first day of the program, and will transport them to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) on the final day of the program. Excel

Madrid/Barcelona*: Excel staff will meet incoming students free of charge at Madrid's Barajas International Airport (MAD) on the first day of the program, and will transport them to Barcelona International Airport (BCN) on the final day of the program.

Excel China*: Excel staff will meet incoming students free of charge at Beijing International Airport (PEK) on the first day of the program, and will transport them to Beijing International Airport on the final day of the program.

*Group Flight Option: For each of its international programs, Excel makes available, at a group rate, a limited number of seats on a group flight accompanied by an adult roundtrip from a New York City airport. Until these seats are spoken for, we will reserve space for a participant once we have received the group flight payment specified in the acceptance packet. Because of airlines' group booking requirements, we can honor these requests only if we receive payment before May 1, 2008.

Special Information for Students Traveling to the U.S. 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: Excel staff will meet students traveling from abroad at JFK Airport (JFK), New York, or Logan Airport (BOS), 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. (back to top)

Note: There is a processing fee of U.S. $175 for students from abroad to cover wire transfer charges, international fax, postage and telephone costs, and airport transportation.