The entry-level job market demands proof of skills and results. The Personal Growth Accelerator gives you both. You develop the 12 High Performance Skills that drive career success while discovering what work you want to do.
What Is The Personal Growth Accelerator?
The Personal Growth Accelerator is a 12-week intensive focused on developing the cognitive, psychological, and interpersonal skills that research proves high performers possess. You compete in teams to solve challenging, complex problems that stretch you across all 12 High Performance Skills.
Traditional education focuses on transferring knowledge. The PGA is intentionally designed to develop skills. This difference accelerates your growth far beyond what traditional programs can achieve.
You will work with a cohort of high-performing peers in multiple international locations. You spend 4-6 weeks with the same team to build genuine working relationships, then switch teams for broader exposure and fresh perspectives.
When you complete the PGA, you will notice a marked increase in your maturity, confidence, and self-awareness. You will feel more comfortable with complexity, ambiguity, and difficulty. You will have clarity about what work motivates you and why.
2 Weeks
Boston, MA
15-19
Duration
Location
Ages
20th March
Deadline
Format
Full-Time
Starts
June 2026
What You Will Achieve
At the end of the PGA, you will have:
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Deep foundations in the 12 High Performance Skills that determine career trajectory
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Clarity about what work motivates you through hands-on exploration of multiple career paths
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A high-performing network forged through intense collaboration
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Compelling problem-solving stories that make interviews memorable
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Confidence in your ability to handle complexity and deliver results
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A repeatable method to discover what motivates you at different career stages
12 Weeks, 3 Locations
Week 1: Domestic orientation and team formation
Weeks 2-3: Domestic intensive (United States)
Weeks 4-7: First international location (Costa Rica)
Weeks 8-12: Second international location (Paraguay/Argentina)
Team Structure
You spend 4-6 weeks with the same team to build genuine working relationships and learn to navigate differences. You make challenging collaborations work.
Then you switch teams and facilitators for broader exposure, new perspectives, and an opportunity to put teamwork skills to use in a fresh dynamic.
Experience and growth in giving and receiving feedback positions you to be a valued teammate immediately at whatever workplace you enter.
Program Structure
The 12 Skills That Drive Performance
A small set of cognitive, psychological, and interpersonal skills explains most of the difference in performance between equally intelligent people. These High Performance Skills are backed by science, transferable to any career area, and demanded by industry leaders.
The Personal Growth Accelerator develops all 12 skills through intensive practice:
Cognitive Skills:
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Self-Awareness
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Critical Thinking
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Effective Communication
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Digital Literacy
Psychological Skills:
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Autonomous Motivation
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Adaptability
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Resilience
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Focus
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Emotional Stability
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Openness to Experience
Interpersonal Skills:
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Collaboration
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Integrity
You develop these skills faster and more effectively than through traditional paths, giving you a lasting advantage in any field.
How The PGA Works: Catalytic Learning
The PGA uses Catalytic Learning, a pedagogical approach that accelerates skill development far beyond traditional education methods by leveraging your autonomous motivation.
The Four-Stage Cycle
1. Challenging Application
You work in teams on broad, complex challenges with clear, objective outcomes. Each challenge is engineered to stretch a suite of cognitive, psychological, and interpersonal performance skills. The pursuit of victory serves as your primary motivator.
2. Performance Transparency
The results of each team's work, along with their approach, are made transparent to all participants. You present your work and see how other teams approached the same problem.
3. Targeted Feedback
You receive clear, specific feedback on both your results and your application of underlying skills. This feedback comes from teammates, competing teams, and trained coaches who understand skill development.
4. Intentional Integration and Iteration
You engage in deliberate reflection. You may seek coaching or direct your own learning online to acquire new techniques. You integrate what you learned and choose how to modify your approach for the next challenge.
After high-intensity challenge periods, the intensity drops temporarily to encourage recuperation and passive integration. You travel, explore, and have fun with your cohort.
Locations
The PGA takes place in three vibrant international locations, each chosen for cultural immersion, economic interest, opportunities to get you out of your comfort zone, and because they are likely to be fun:
United States - Domestic orientation and foundation building
Costa Rica - First international intensive
Paraguay/Argentina - Second international intensive and integration
Discover What Work You Will Love
Most students graduate uncertain about their career direction. The PGA solves this through structured exploration.
You test-drive many different kinds of work through simulations that resemble real job functions:
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Financial analysis
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Consultative sales and consulting
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Strategic planning
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Marketing
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Product development
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Project management
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Complex problem-solving
This experience helps you discover what you want to do. Just as importantly, it helps you discover what you don't want to do and rule it out.
You will study yourself. You will learn about your personality, your motivators, your strengths and weaknesses. With this greater self-awareness, you work with your team and facilitator to triangulate what work may motivate you most.
Most university study in a subject bears little resemblance to what you will do at work. Even engineering degrees spend most time in equations, when real engineers often spend much of their time with people, collaborating to make design decisions. Experience in simulations of real work is invaluable.
Are You a Good Fit For The PGA?
You may be a good fit if:
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You want to discover what work truly motivates you before committing to a major or career path
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You thrive learning through challenges, competition, and failure
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You are hungry for constructive feedback and want to identify and attack your weaknesses
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You want to develop the general performance skills that have a force-multiplier effect on your success
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You value rapid skill development over credential collection
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You are ready to work with other adults in an environment that treats you as an adult
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You want to build a network of high-performers who will become future leaders
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You believe that exploring career paths through hands-on experience is more valuable than theoretical study
How The PGA Accelerates Your Development
Real-World Conditions
Every challenge mirrors the pace, ambiguity, and demands you will face in the modern workplace.
Rapid Iteration
You receive immediate feedback and coaching to accelerate your growth 10x faster than traditional education.
AI Integration
You learn to use AI as a productivity multiplier from day one.
Team Dynamics
You rotate through multiple teams, building your ability to collaborate with diverse working styles.
International Perspective
You develop global awareness and adaptability through work in multiple countries.
Maturity and Independence
You are treated as an adult from day one, with the responsibility and freedom to match.
What Happens After The PGA
The Personal Growth Accelerator is the first module of the Foundational Leadership Course.
After completing the PGA, you move to the Career Development Accelerator, where you apply your skills in increasingly realistic work settings. You also complete a Career Skills Certification in your chosen area, preparing you for your internship.
You then participate in a curated Futures Forge Internship where you are expected to outperform new college graduates. You build references and professional relationships that you leverage throughout your career.
The complete FLC prepares you to enter the workforce with capabilities that exceed those of traditional four-year graduates.
When To Attend The PGA
Best timing: Before college begins or as a gap year during college
The PGA works exceptionally well as part of a gap year. You enter college with clarity about your major and career path. You have developed skills that give you an advantage in internship recruiting. You understand what motivates you and can make better decisions about coursework and extracurriculars.
Other great options:
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Mid-college break (instead of study abroad)
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After graduation (before starting your career)
If you are enrolled in college, the PGA integrates seamlessly with your academic calendar. Many students use it to replace a semester or take a leave of absence.
Applying to the PGA
Pre-applications to the PGA are open via our portal. Interviews begin later in the fall.
To apply to Futures Forge, you must demonstrate strong cognitive ability. We have expanded our acceptable range as internal research has demonstrated strong benefits for a broader range of cognitive ability than our initial narrow focus allowed. We group students into teams using a number of factors, one of which is cognitive ability to ensure near peer status.
U.S. System
Minimum Requirements (score at or above the 70th percentile):
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PSAT (1050+ on PSAT NMSQT 11th grade, etc)
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ACT (23+)
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SAT (1150+)
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WISC
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or similar standardized cognitive ability exam, IQ test, etc
International System
Minimum Requirements:
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GCSE/IGCSE with a total score of 63+, or an average grade of 7+
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International Baccalaureate (IB) with a score of 35 or higher
Other qualifying options:
You may also apply by submitting your class rank, GPA, AP results or other nationally recognized exams. Share as many of these as you have available. If your results suggest you’re likely to be in the 70th percentile or higher, you can move forward to an official application. At that stage, you’ll need to take a cognitive test before proceeding with the full application. Prequalifying includes:
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Unweighted GPA of 3.7+ (submit a transcript)
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Class rank of top 20% or better
We administer a cognitive assessment for applications choosing this route for a fee of $75.
Program Dates & Costs
Dates: September 2026 - November 2026 (12 weeks)
Cost: $41,000
This is "bumper-to-bumper." It includes all core learning activities, room and board, transit within the course, medical and evacuation insurance, and sponsored social events.
It does not include flights to and from the course or spending money.
Financial Aid: Limited financial aid is available. Details provided during the application process.