Payment & Tuition
Make an investment in your future.
The Launch program will help open doors for you far beyond one summer internship.
The Launch program will help open doors for you far beyond one summer internship.
If you're matched with an internship with one of our company partners, you'll go through our training program, get paid for your internship, and then pay back your tuition. If you don't get an internship through Launch, you don't owe us anything.
We built Launch to complement higher education. Our program offers practical insights for what is taught in university classrooms. Some students incur debt for skills that don’t always align with the needs of employers. Traditional institutions may lack the incentive to ensure their graduates are ready for high-paying jobs. Launch aims to address this gap by aligning our values with yours, providing a transparent approach to costs and payment structures. Our goal is to enhance your educational journey and better prepare you for success in the job market. This page contains all the details you need.
We built Launch to complement higher education. Our program offers practical insights for what is taught in university classrooms. Some students incur debt for skills that don’t always align with the needs of employers. Traditional institutions may lack the incentive to ensure their graduates are ready for high-paying jobs. Launch aims to address this gap by aligning our values with yours, providing a transparent approach to costs and payment structures. Our goal is to enhance your educational journey and better prepare you for success in the job market. This page contains all the details you need.
How Payment Works
1
Once accepted to Launch, you'll pay a $400 deposit to secure your spot.
If you don't find an internship through Launch, you'll get your deposit back minus an operational fee. Reduced deposits and/or deposit payment plans can be discussed for accepted students with demonstrated financial need.
2
You'll get to access and apply to Launch's exclusive internship opportunities.
See our exclusive internship opportunities as they're announced each week, and have your resume sent to the ones you're interested in. Most Launch internships pay between $22-26/hour, or about $7,920-9,360 total before taxes. Pay rates vary a bit by company, location, and the skill track you're in. You'll always know payment information up-front for each opportunity before interviewing with a company.
3
If you accept an offer from one of our company partners, you'll commit to joining our summer training program.
If you receive and accept an offer from one of our company partners, you'll sign a contract to confirm your commitment to that company and agree to take part in our 3-week summer training program. Students who do not secure an internship through Launch will receive their deposit back minus an operational fee.
4
You'll get paid for your internship.
Internships are full-time for 9 weeks from June 9-August 10, 2025. Depending on the company's hiring preferences, your paycheck may come from the company directly or from Forge itself.
5
Pay back your tuition.
Tuition for the Launch program is $3,900. This covers your tuition for both Countdown and summer training as well as our work to find and match you with an internship (more on this below).
Since you've already paid a $400 deposit, you'll owe only $3,500 which is paid in installments over the summer. You don't start paying tuition back until after you've started interning with your company. This timeline ensures students have had sufficient time to receive paychecks from their company before paying tuition back.
Since you've already paid a $400 deposit, you'll owe only $3,500 which is paid in installments over the summer. You don't start paying tuition back until after you've started interning with your company. This timeline ensures students have had sufficient time to receive paychecks from their company before paying tuition back.
6
After paying back tuition, students earn an average of $4,020.
All of our internship opportunities pay students at a rate that allows them to pay their tuition and walk away with earnings from the summer.
- Let's say you earn $23/hour at your internship.
- That means you'll earn $8,280 before taxes for a 9 week internship at 40hrs/week.
- Let's say your take-home pay after taxes is about $6,830
- After paying back your remaining $3,500 in tuition, that means you'll walk away with $3,330.
(This is just one example that's meant to illustrate how Launch payment could look for you next summer.)
- Let's say you earn $23/hour at your internship.
- That means you'll earn $8,280 before taxes for a 9 week internship at 40hrs/week.
- Let's say your take-home pay after taxes is about $6,830
- After paying back your remaining $3,500 in tuition, that means you'll walk away with $3,330.
(This is just one example that's meant to illustrate how Launch payment could look for you next summer.)
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.
Financial Aid
Launch has provided a transformative experience for 600+ students over the last seven years. Our paired training and internship model is a proven investment into our students' future earnings and can drastically grow students' technical skills, professional networks, and confidence. Because of this, we want to make the Launch program more accessible to more students.
All Launch internships pay students much more than the cost of Forge's tuition. However, starting this year, Forge is offering reduced tuition to a limited number of students with significant and demonstrated financial need. We are working with our partners and alumni community to increase the number of students we can assist every year.
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 aid, 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.
All Launch internships pay students much more than the cost of Forge's tuition. However, starting this year, Forge is offering reduced tuition to a limited number of students with significant and demonstrated financial need. We are working with our partners and alumni community to increase the number of students we can assist every year.
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 aid, 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.
What Tuition Includes
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, our aim is to pack as much value as we can into our program so you get the most out of your $3,900 tuition. We know you're making a big investment and we know you'll get a lot out of it. Here's what's included.
1) Curated, exclusive internship opportunities
We find awesome internships so you don't have to. Our team sends 35,000+ outreach emails and makes 2,000+ phone calls every year to startups, tech firms, and small to midsize companies across the country. Our goal is to find forward-thinking, impact-oriented companies that are the right fit for our program and will provide meaningful experiences to their interns. Many of our company partners offer internships only through our program each summer.
2) Job descriptions that just make sense
We build personal relationships with our company partners and work hand in hand with them to create a detailed profile on every internship opportunity. Each internship profile is full of info that helps you picture what it would really be like to work there.
The profiles include details about the team or manager you'd work with, the pay rate, the workplace culture, and our take on why what the company is working on is really cool. This allows you to focus on evaluating the roles and companies that fit you best, instead of scrolling through overwhelming online job boards where postings often lack any substantial information.
The profiles include details about the team or manager you'd work with, the pay rate, the workplace culture, and our take on why what the company is working on is really cool. This allows you to focus on evaluating the roles and companies that fit you best, instead of scrolling through overwhelming online job boards where postings often lack any substantial information.
3) Resume review, interview practice, and more
You'll receive soft-skills training to help you stand out to our company partners. We work with every student to strengthen their resume content, polish their LinkedIn profile, and practice key interview questions. You'll get personalized feedback on all of these things and more as you go through our soft skills training. We know that sometimes these things can feel like the hardest part of applying for internships, and we're here to help!
4) Technical skills training
Our intensive 3-week training program is designed alongside our company partners to ensure the curriculum is aligned with what you need to know. Beyond the curriculum, one of our key training methods is in our approach of teaching students to teach themselves. In training, you'll be pushed to use online resources, work with others, and ask key questions so you can tackle more challenges on your own.
All in all, we'll bring the internship opportunities to you and share the most important and interesting information on each role. You'll receive 150+ hours of technical and professional skills training from our team and your instructors. Your tuition covers all of this, and you'll still walk away with some earnings at the end of the summer.