Payment & Tuition
The Launch program includes skills training and placement into paid summer internships.
Make an investment in your future
The Launch program will open doors for you far beyond one summer internship. All Launch internships are paid and you will not owe any tuition until you've started earning money from your internship. Best of all, we guarantee that you will earn at least $3,660 after paying tuition.*
*Does not account for taxes. Taxes vary by individual, we encourage you to use a tax calculator to determine how much you will pay in taxes.
We built Launch this way because we think the traditional payment model for higher education is broken. Students often take on enormous amounts of debt to learn skills that frequently don't line up with what most companies look for in potential candidates. Most schools have little to no incentive to make sure their graduates are prepared for awesome, high-paid jobs. We created Launch to challenge this traditional model and to purposefully align our incentives with yours. We want to be transparent about the cost of the Launch program and how payment & tuition work - this page has all the details.
*Does not account for taxes. Taxes vary by individual, we encourage you to use a tax calculator to determine how much you will pay in taxes.
We built Launch this way because we think the traditional payment model for higher education is broken. Students often take on enormous amounts of debt to learn skills that frequently don't line up with what most companies look for in potential candidates. Most schools have little to no incentive to make sure their graduates are prepared for awesome, high-paid jobs. We created Launch to challenge this traditional model and to purposefully align our incentives with yours. We want to be transparent about the cost of the Launch program and how payment & tuition work - this page has all the details.
How payment and tuition works
1
Pay a deposit to secure your spot
When you accept your offer to join the program, you'll pay a $400 deposit to secure your spot. This deposit will go towards your total tuition. If you decide not to continue in the program before you are matched with an internship you will be refunded, less an operational fee.
2
Receive internship payment from your company
All Launch internships are paid. Launch internships pay between $21-29/hour, or about $7,560-$10,440 total before taxes and tuition. Pay rates vary by company, location, and skill track. You'll always know payment information up-front for each opportunity, before interviewing with a company.
In 2023, the median pay is $24/hour and median take home pay after paying tuition is $4,840. All internships pay a minimum of $21/hour. Internships are nine weeks long, full-time (expect about 40 hours/week).
In 2023, the median pay is $24/hour and median take home pay after paying tuition is $4,840. All internships pay a minimum of $21/hour. Internships are nine weeks long, full-time (expect about 40 hours/week).
3
Pay program tuition to Forge
Launch program tuition is $3,900. After submitting your initial deposit, you will pay the remaining $3,500 over the summer after you start your internship and begin getting paid. We designed the program this way because we think the traditional payment models for higher education and skills training bootcamps put undue burden on students.
We built Launch to challenge this traditional model and to purposefully align our incentives to better serve students. Transparency is important to us, so we will tell you what your tuition goes towards so that you can understand the investment that you are making.
We built Launch to challenge this traditional model and to purposefully align our incentives to better serve students. Transparency is important to us, so we will tell you what your tuition goes towards so that you can understand the investment that you are making.
What Tuition Includes
- One-on-one resume support.
- One-on-one and group interview practice.
- Training on key professional skills like creating clear and engaging presentations, communication skills, and receiving and implementing feedback.
- 160+ hours of technical skills training in your field (software engineering, digital marketing, or data science).
- Curated, exclusive internship opportunities.
- Internship placement with one of our 200+ company partners.
- Membership to Forge's community, includes free access to alumni panels, workshops, social events, and more.
Financial Aid
Launch has provided a transformative experience for more than 500 students over the last seven years. Our unique training and internship placement model is a proven investment into your future earning potential. Participation in this program can drastically grow your technical skills, professional networks, and confidence.
It's important to us that the Launch program is accessible to a broader community of students. We understand that every student's circumstances are unique, so we offer aid for a limited number of students with significant and demonstrated financial need. At this time, only students receiving financial aid from their college or university are eligible to apply for financial aid for the Launch program.
If you would like to apply for financial aid or an application fee waiver, please email financialaid@joinforge.co to request the application. You still need to also complete the standard Launch application by the usual deadlines to be considered. All Launch applications are reviewed entirely need-blind.
We are also aiming to increase the number of students we can assist every year, if you are interested in donating to support our financial aid program please visit our Donate page.
It's important to us that the Launch program is accessible to a broader community of students. We understand that every student's circumstances are unique, so we offer aid for a limited number of students with significant and demonstrated financial need. At this time, only students receiving financial aid from their college or university are eligible to apply for financial aid for the Launch program.
If you would like to apply for financial aid or an application fee waiver, please email financialaid@joinforge.co to request the application. You still need to also complete the standard Launch application by the usual deadlines to be considered. All Launch applications are reviewed entirely need-blind.
We are also aiming to increase the number of students we can assist every year, if you are interested in donating to support our financial aid program please visit our Donate page.
Email us at launch@joinforge.co with any questions. We know how important it is to understand and feel comfortable with how payment works for the program.