Skills for Success Course
Pre-College and Pre-Career
CURRENTLY ONLY ACCEPTING WAITLIST APPLICATIONS.
Boston University, Summer 2024
June 16 - June 28 | July 7 - July 19
Ages 15-19
Become prepared to take on the toughest challenges in your future with panache! Develop the skills that are critical to success in college and your career — but aren’t taught in conventional schooling.
Rapidly accelerate your development, working with exceptional peers in dynamic, challenging, and exciting projects that prepare you for a high-flying career, regardless of the role.
This year only: founders Nat & Erik will be lead facilitators. Learn more about them here.
Join us this summer 2024!
Key Takeaways
What Our Students are Saying
Hear from Yevhennia, visiting scholar to MIT
Hear from Evan, Dartmouth 2025
“The Founder's Foundry changed my perspective of the real world, which totally differed from my previous view. I learned that the most important traits in the real world aren’t how many questions you can get right on a test, but rather how to be adaptable to the ever-changing environment and be motivated to carry out your goals.”
-Allen Chen, MIT 2026
“Founders Forge was instrumental in developing skills that I will utilize throughout the rest of my academic and professional career. The activities we engaged in, such as pitching and researching various startups, along with receiving feedback on our work, have equipped me with strategies and ways of thinking that would be hard to learn anywhere else.”
--Beckett Devoe, MIT 2025
Your 2024 Facilitators
This year only, the Skills for Success lead facilitators are Nat and Erik, the founders.
Futures Forge's founders and curriculum leads graduated from MIT and Oxford and founded multiple companies (management consulting, devtools startup, hardware startup). We have published books on political polarization, tertiary education, and technical problem-solving, and have jointly coached and managed over 100 top-talent young adults.
The foundation of our companies’ success has always been the rapid development of talented young people; our employees have gone on to found, lead, and accelerate dozens of great businesses. Today, we are developing talent all over the world using the methods we learned and developed.
Sam Goldstone
Sam Goldstone is a rising senior at Tufts University who has been heavily involved in the educational realm since high school. First as captain of his debate team and an instructor and director for Lumos Debate, Sam knows firsthand how to create and oversee effective programming that teaches high schoolers the important real world critical thinking and analytical skills that Futures Forge promises to deliver. Through experiences in his consulting club in college, he's been able to both enhance his own skills in problem-solving, project management and interpersonal communication and help motivate others to do the same. As a Sophomore Advisor that lived in a freshman dorm, Sam has helped support students' emotional needs while they were away from home for the first time. Sam is deeply passionate about Futures Forge's mission and can't wait to start facilitating effective programming this summer!
Alisa Hil
Alisa Hil is a sophomore at MIT studying computer science with the life mission to revolutionize the educational system. Since middle school she had helped peers with math, physics, and languages, later consulted them on how to make money online while being a teenager. Being in high school she tried to create the online school where teenagers can learn needed skills for life outside of the classes. Being Ukrainian, Alisa had experienced both European and American systems of education that gives her clear vision of its drawbacks to address them. At MIT, Alisa is on executive board of MIT Entrepreneurship club where she solves problems, develop the brand of the club and makes it better place for startup-minded students. Along with Futures Forge values, she is eager to change the perspective on learning and help students to success.
Rory Myers
Rory Myers is a rising junior at Tufts University. He is a Computer Science major with a passion for education. As a Teaching Assistant for Machine Structure and Organization, Rory works with high-level CS students to help them learn and understand difficult content. He believes that the best way to learn new content is through first-hand experience and problem solving. As product manager for the seven-week game design project, Smoothie Inc., Rory oversaw a six-person team throughout the entire development process. Rory is excited about Futures Forge and passionate about their philosophy/mission. He’s looking forward to facilitating this summer!
George Pygall
George is an undergraduate at the University of Exeter (In the UK) who is graduating May of this year. Throughout his studies, he co-founded an agency to help business owners grow organically and has been involved in sales roles. George has developed skills which most undergrads don’t get the opportunity too; communication, problem-solving and team management to name a few. George’s values strongly align with that at Futures Forge, he was not prepared at High-school or university for the skills which are helping him excel most now. George is excited to help students feel empowered through this journey and prepare them for whatever comes their way.
Kaatje Welsh
Kaatje Welsh is a rising Junior at Tufts University, majoring in Child Studies and Human Development. Throughout her time in high school, she held various mentorship positions, helping her peers work through emotional and educational roadblocks. She has continued to work in similar positions during her time at Tufts, both learning about and providing emotional support to students. Similarly, she is dedicated to the work of expanding educational access, and to promoting encouraging and challenging learning environments. As someone who has experienced unconventional forms of education first-hand, she is excited to facilitate within Future Forge’s innovative learning model!
What Students Learn in the Skills for Success Course
Through hands-on challenges, presentations and feedback, reflection, and cognitive exercises, students improve their ability to perform in cognitively challenging future endeavours in school and work.
The Course exists to give students an introduction to developing key attributes and increasing their rate of learning throughout their lives. Over these two weeks, students learn the answers to the following questions:
How does each key skill and attribute affect their performance and development?
How will they use these skills & attributes to succeed in the workplace?
What can they do in their own lives to most effectively grow stronger in these?
How can they increase their total rate of learning in any situation?
How can they iteratively explore and test what they are motivated and passionate about?
Students consciously practice and reflect on using these attributes throughout the course to accelerate their development for years to come.
Daily Structure of the Course
• Overview of a key attribute or skill and why it matters
• Identifying current strengths in these attributes and skills
• Small group research on how they are developed
• Preparing for the small group challenge
• Taking on the challenge!
• Presenting how the group approached the challenge
• Feedback between groups about performance, presentation strength, and what could have gone better
• Group and individual coaching with facilitators to accelerate development in top-priority areas
What Students Get in the Course
• Increased confidence to take on ambiguous, complex challenges in the future
• Improved understanding of how to perform, communicate, give feedback, and work in teams
• Knowledge of how to increase performance and self-motivation
• Understanding of your strengths & development areas in key skills & attributes
• Paths to continuously improve these skills
• Personalized growth plan from the lead facilitators
Learning in the Skills for Success Course
The 2024 Skills for Success Course In Brief
For: Ages 15-19
Scored PSAT 1150+, SAT 1250+, SSAT 80th+, or ACT 25+
(UK: combined score of 63 across GCSE grades or 7+ holistically)
(Other cognitive ability scores are accepted)
When:
June 16 - June 28, 2024
July 7 - July 19, 2024
Where: Boston University, Boston, MA
Cost: $5,485 (boarding students), $4,460 (day students)
Admissions & Tuition
Applying to the Skills for Success Course
Futures Forge welcomes high school students and graduates to apply if they have scored at least 1150 on their PSAT, 1200 on their SAT, 25 on their ACT, or over 80th percentile on most other standard cognitive exams. UK students are invited to apply if they have at least a combined score of 63 across GCSE grades or 7+ holistically, and students of other nationalities may submit any cognitive ability or IQ test. Those yet to take such a test will be invited to take the Ravens Progressive Matrices (RPM) to qualify.
While spots are limited, these cognitive ability tests are sufficient to qualify. Qualified students will be invited to information sessions with facilitators and founders, and interviewed for their ability to operate in complex social dynamics.
Tuition
Costs are $5,485 total, including all teaching, materials, room and board, and meals. Some spending money is encouraged.