Find Purpose.
Tuition, Scholarships, & Discounts
At Cottonwood Gulch, we believe cost should not be a barrier to transformative outdoor experiences. We offer a range of scholarships and discounts to help families afford our summer treks. Below you can learn about our tuition, scholarships, and discounts as well as cancellation and payment policies.
TUITION & PAYMENTS
If you have any questions about which tuition and payment models are right for you and your family, our staff are happy to answer questions if anything feels unclear. Please call us at any time.
For Outfit, Wild Country, Paleo, SW Art, Mountain Desert, & Family Treks:
- Deposit: A nonrefundable 20% deposit is required to hold your space.
- Final Payment: Tuition must be paid 30 days before your trek begins.
For Prairie, GO!, and Turquoise Treks only:
- Choose Your Gift Tuition: This is a flexible tuition policy based on family income. For a full description, please read more here.
- Deposit: A nonrefundable 20% deposit is required to hold your space.
- Final Payment: Tuition must be paid 30 days before your trek begins.
For Wilderness Medicine Courses:
- Due to space limitations, these require full payment at registration. No deposit option available.
Cancellation Policy:
- 20% deposit is nonrefundable at any time.
- Cancel 45+ days before the trek: remaining 80% of tuition is fully refundable.
- Cancel less than 45 days before the trek: No refunds.
- If your child isn’t accepted based on our Essential Eligibility Criteria or we cancel the trek, you’ll receive a full refund.
Scholarships
We offer need-based scholarships that can cover 10% to 100% of tuition, funded by our endowment and generous donors.
Partial Scholarships (10-80% Tuition)
For families with household income between $75,000–$175,000:
- Register with a 20% deposit to hold your spot.
- Fill out the PDF of our Partial Scholarship Application here.
- We’ll notify you of your award, typically within 3 weeks.
- Once awarded, you will need you to accept your scholarship within 3 weeks of the award notice so your space can be reserved for the summer trek.
- Pay remaining tuition at least 30 days before your trek.
Full Scholarships (Up to 100% Tuition)
For families with household income under $75,000:
- Fill out the Full Scholarship Application first—no deposit required.
- Wait for your award letter (typically within 3 weeks).
- Once awarded, you will need you to accept your scholarship within 3 weeks of the award notice so your space can be reserved for the summer trek.
Discounts
We offer the following discounts, which can be combined unless otherwise noted:
General:
- Referral Credit: For each new Trekker you refer to us who registers for a trek, your family will receive a $200 credit off any summer trek tuition.
- Alumni Discount: Returning trekkers who signed up through “Save a Space” pay last year’s tuition rate.
- Sibling Discount: 5% off for the sibling with the lower tuition.
- CA/QM (Cook’s Assistant and Quartermaster) Discount: 5% off (can be stacked with other discounts).
Staff:
- 80% off for full-time year-round and full-time summer staff.
- Part-time staff receive a prorated discount based on hours worked (e.g., 20 hours/week = 40% off).
Support the Gulch's Scholarship Fund
One of our founding core values is Connected Communities. Each year is an opportunity for us to expand our strong network of passionate trekkers of all ages and help them to open doors of exploration and personal discovery.
We value a spirit of curiosity and teamwork, problem solving and perseverance and we know you do too. Your donations help us keep the Gulch accessible for all families. Every dollar goes toward opening the door to life-changing experiences for future trekkers.