SCHOLARSHIPS AND Support for students
Scholarships
We do not want finances to be a barrier for anyone wishing to participate in Discover. We offer both partial and full scholarships to all who need help covering the participation fee. Last year, 94% of scholarship applications were successful!
Scholarships are awarded based on your financial situation and personal circumstances. We will not ask you for any official documents. However, we do require you to submit an honest statement with details about your (and/or your family’s) financial situation.
We will want to know:
- about your family situation (e.g., whether you live with only one parent or if other relatives live with you and your parents/siblings)
- about your parent(s) or legal guardian’s employment status (without mentioning their income) and whether you work alongside school
- if you have faced any unexpected expenses (what kind?)
- why are you requesting the specified amount (e.g. if your part-time job can only cover 50% of the fee)
We understand that sharing this information might be uncomfortable, but we want to assure you that only the scholarship committee will see it. All data remains confidential and will not be shared further. This information helps us fairly distribute scholarships among as many applicants as possible.
How to apply for a scholarship?
At the end of the application, there is an option to apply for a scholarship via a form. You can apply for the Summer Academy here.
You can apply for a scholarship in each admission round. If you would like to apply for a scholarship after the last admission round closes (May 15th), please contact us at scholarships@discover.sk.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD CRITERIA
In awarding scholarships, the evaluation committee considers:
- your demonstrated need for a scholarship to participate in Discover
- your motivation to participate in Discover
- where do you come from, and which school do you attend
- the highest level of education attained by your parent(s) or legal guardian
The committee does NOT base its decisions on:
- your gender or gender identity
- your nationality
- the overall quality of your application
- your extracurricular activities
We cannot guarantee that your scholarship application will be successful, but we will do everything in our power to ensure that no one has to forego participation in Discover due to financial reasons.
We generally provide scholarships only for participation in the Academy. However, if you are in a situation where you need a financial support also for the trip to and from the session, contact us at scholarships@discover.sk.
Support for neurodivergent students
Students on the spectrum are welcome! Whether you have been diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, or you are dealing with another mental health issue and you’re worried that it could influence your experience at Discover negatively, we want to assure you that our community already counts several neurodivergent students and tutorgs.
Mental health and creating a safe space for all matters to us greatly. Many activities are organised at Discover, but none of them are mandatory or graded – you can feel free to take part in an activity in your own way, or to spend some time alone instead.
Every session is attended by at least one therapist (who is either trained in psychology or social work), whom you can turn to with whatever concern. There is also a medic, who can definitely help you if you need to take medication, at every session.
Of course, neurodivergent students are entitled to full and partial scholarships on the basis of financial need.
If you need more support and hesitate to apply to Discover Summer Academy as a result, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at discover@discover.sk so that we can find a way to help you together.
Support for LGBTQ+ students
Discover supports the rights of all students’ to affirm their own gender and sexual identity. Our community of former students, tutors and organisers already counts many LGBTQ+ members, and you can always count on one of us should you require support, guidance or a listening ear.
We know that LGBTQ+ children and young people experience particularly high rates of poor mental health. Mental Health and wellbeing is an important topic at Discover, and we make sure that every session has at least one therapist in attendance, on top of one medic.
Some of the other measures we take to make Discover more inclusive:
- normalise sharing pronouns for tutorgs and students;
- arrange for at least one gender-neutral bathroom at venues;
- always make sure that activities related to health or relationships include and don’t marginalise LGBTQ+ experiences;
- make special accommodation arrangements for trans and non-binary students who need it;
- have all members of Discover sign our code of conduct, which includes zero tolerance on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying and language;
- collect feedback from our students on their experiences at Discover Summer Academy.
If you have any suggestions on how to make Discover more inclusive of LGBTQ+ members, please email ondrej.moucka@discover.sk.
LGBTQ+ students are entitled to full and partial scholarships on the basis of financial need.
Support with your application
It isn’t always about money.
If you’ve never been to Discover, or even to any other summer camp, filling out the application can be confusing, or even scary. We’re here to help you! We will schedule time with someone to help you fill out the application step-by-step.
If you have any questions, need someone to help you apply, or require any other kind of assistance, please contact us at discover@discover.sk.
Contact us
If you have any questions about submitting a scholarship application or the outcome of your scholarship application, please contact us at scholarships@discover.sk.
If you have any questions about our diversity and inclusion effort or how you can help, please contact ondrej.moucka@discover.sk.
If you have had a negative experience with another Discover member, and would like to talk to someone about it, please don’t hesitate to contact our community ombud Matej Lorko.
If you require support with submitting an application or have questions about attending, please reach out to us at discover@discover.sk.
