About

The Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS, formerly known as TASP) is one of the most selective and respected humanities programs for high school students. Founded in 1954, TASS offers six-week, fully funded seminars. When the original TASP was discontinued in 2023 the seminar topics shifted but the program’s intellectual reputation remained. TASS is free of cost, covering tuition, housing, and meals, and is hosted at leading universities such as Cornell, Michigan, and Maryland.

TASS is extremely competitive: many estimates place the acceptance rate under 5%. The application requires multiple essays, teacher recommendations, and transcripts, with selection focused less on grades and more on intellectual curiosity, writing ability, and leadership potential. Importantly, TASS is open to U.S. sophomores and juniors, and the program explicitly prioritizes students from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds.

Students live on a university campus for six weeks, joining a small seminar taught by university faculty. The curriculum is rigorous: daily readings, intensive discussions, and regular essays mirror an honors college seminar. TASS also emphasizes self-governance: students run their own community meetings, organize events, and set group norms, which is a hallmark of the Telluride philosophy. The combination of intellectual rigor and democratic living is unique among high school programs.

TASS carries significant admissions weight—it is one of the very few humanities summer programs that is both free and truly elite. Often compared in selectivity and prestige to STEM programs like RSI or Simons, admissions officers recognize TASS for cultivating intellectual depth, advanced writing ability, and civic engagement.