Congratulations on your admission to COSMOS! This page answers common questions about what to expect, how to prepare, and what life will be like during the program.
I've been acceopted, now what do I do?
All accepted students need to complete the following confirmation steps below. If these steps aren’t completed by the deadline in your acceptance email, your spot will be given to someone else (If you were accepted March 26, confirm your attendance by April 8, 2026).
1. Accept our offer in the student portal
2. Pay 1/3 of tuition through the parent portal
Complete the following by tuition deadline (For example, if accepted March 26, complete the following by April 24):
1. Request school to send official transcripts
2. Pay remaining tuition (spot will be given away if this step isn’t acted on in portal)
3. Complete the Docusign packet sent directly to you by UCM COSMOS
How do I work out at COSMOS?
While the UCM Gym facilities are off limits for COSMOS students, we do have access to and ample opportunities for time on the field (which has a 800m track around it). There are multiple opportunities for getting in some runs (some mornings, weekends, evenings), and we often have other athletic rec activities to partake in as well. We travel throughout campus in groups, but there are always folks looking for some exercise. Additionally, there’s a great apparatus next to the field that allows for more gym-like activities (i.e. pull-ups etc.).
What and how will I eat?
We eat at one of the dining halls on campus, and it’s buffet style. Check out a dining hall video tour and dining hall meal reviews from former COSMOS students. There’s a lot of food options, and endless amounts of food. There are set times for our meals dictated by the campus conference services group we work with. Other than that, there are some cafes open on campus, but COSMOS students only have limited access to them (based on our own schedule, when the cafes are open, and their locations on campus). Aside from your food from the dining hall, you can bring snacks along to store in your dorm room (and/or ask your folks to mail some to you mid-program). We also provide a lot of snacks at our evening and weekend activities. We do not allow students to go off campus during the program, unless on a program-sponsored field trip. No food delivery services to dorms (i.e. DoorDash) are permitted. It is dangerous for all of the teenagers in the residential building to have a stranger delivering food and knowing where to find a building full of minors.
Can students leave and come back to the program?
Full participation in COSMOS is required of all students in order for the students to receive a Certificate of Completion. In addition, COSMOS is not able to accommodate the individual schedules of close to 300 active teenagers. The majority of COSMOS students are active in sports, church, band, clubs, and academic review courses and we do not have the staff to safely monitor arrival and departure schedules. Students benefit most by full involvement in the COSMOS program.
**Students may leave on weekends (excluding opening and closing weekends) in accordance with our weekend sign-out procedure:
Students have the option of being signed out of the program by a parent or guardian on Friday evening from 4-6:30pm. If signed out, students have two options for returning: 1. Friday night in the 9-10pm time frame or 2. Sunday evening in the 5-6:30pm time frame.