U.S. Senate Youth Program Instructions

To apply for the 2025 U.S. Senate Youth Program (USSYP), students must meet these minimum qualifications for eligibility:

• Show demonstrated leadership through public service in elected or appointed positions in which they are actively representing a constituency in organizations related to government, education, public affairs, and/or community service.
• Must be actively serving in qualified leadership positions for the entire 2024-25 school years.
• Must be enrolled in high school as a junior or senior and living in California for the entire 2024–25 academic year.
• Must be able to attend the entire 2025 Washington Week March 1-8, 2025 held in Washington, D.C.
  
• Must be a legal citizen or permanent resident of the United States at the time of application. Due to security clearance requirements, students not in possession of the Green Card at the time of application are ineligible to apply for this program.
• High school principal (or designee) must sign and verify the student’s application submission and nomination to the program.
  

If the above has been met, then the student needs to complete Part A and Part B of the USSYP California Qualifying Application and Exam. The deadline to apply for the 2025 USSYP is Monday, October 7, at noon.

Part A, Application/Nomination Form

Part A should be submitted as a single PDF with five required documents:

• USSYP California Student Checklist (PDF).
• 2025 USSYP California Qualifying Application/Nomination Form Part A (PDF). NOTE: Requires signatures from the school principal (or designee), students, and parent.
• Unofficial student transcripts with a list of all courses.
• Two letters of recommendation.

Students should begin working on Part A first while gathering the above list of required signatures and documents.

A completed Part A packet with all five required documents must be uploaded as a single PDF to the first "Upload files" space on the Box.com 2025 U.S. Senate Youth Program Application-Part A and Video Presentation page.

IMPORTANT!
Students must use this naming convention when submitted the application: Last Name First Name 2025 USSYP Part A

Part B (Survey Application and Exam)

Part B is a survey application and exam and includes a video presentation.

• Follow instructions to complete and submit the 2025 USSYP California Student Application Survey Part B and Exam (Survey Link). The instructions are found in the link.
• Instructions for the video presentation are in the link. The video must be uploaded to the Box.com 2025 U.S. Senate Youth Program Application-Part A and Video Presentation page. Upload the video to the second “Upload files” space.  

IMPORTANT!
Students must use this naming convention when submitted the application: Last Name First Name 2025 USSYP Video.

NOTE: Students may complete the Part B survey application and exam in one sitting or can work on the application in multiple sittings since there is a save feature within the survey application. Please allow adequate time to complete the entire application and exam which may take a few hours.

Both Parts A and B must be submitted by the deadline of Monday, October 7, 2024, at noon.

Additional Notes

• Late applications will not be considered.
• Incomplete submissions may be disqualified.
• Please do not submit additional materials besides the required elements since they will not be evaluated.
• Student interviews via Zoom may be held as the final part of the selection process.