Your Introduction To High Performance
Begin developing the three critical accelerators for a high performance career:
1. Mastery of a set of high performance skills
2. Ability to deliver results
3. Personal alignment with your work
Traditional education does not intentionally develop these three critical career accelerators or most of the High Performance Skills . Ask any high-performing person you know about these skills, and they will all agree that they are critical to success.
2 Weeks
Boston, MA
15-19
Duration
Location
Ages
20th March
Deadline
Format
Full-Time
Starts
June 2026
The Futures Forge Skills for Success Course is a 2-week intensive residential program. It is designed to do two things: introduce you to an environment that mimics the real world of high performing careers, and help you start to understand your personal motivation and what it actually takes to excel.
"In 2 weeks I made more progress on skills than I have with the other 17 years of my life." - Saleh 2025, Jordan
"You’ll learn more in 2 weeks than in 2 years of high school. You learn so many useful skills that you never learned in high school and you meet lifelong friends." - Zeybek, 2024
Our admissions process has six stages:
The first three stages are pre-application. You must pass them before officially applying. This ensures you meet the minimum requirements and have a minimum level of understanding before you join our official application process.
We recommend completing the pre-application stage at least 5 days before the application deadline.
Pre-Application
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Pre-Application Registration
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Initial Cognitive Review
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Demonstration of Understanding
Official Application
4. Full Application Registration
5. Candidate Evaluation
a. Introduction Video
b. Live Facilitator Interview
c. Learning Readiness Assessment
7. Offer Released
8. Secure Your Place
Admissions
What Students Learn in Skills for Success
2025 students highlighted that they most improved in:
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Teamwork and leadership
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Complex problem-solving and critical thinking
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Effective communication and presentation
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Adaptability, personal motivation, and grit
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Learning from giving and receiving feedback
"Skills for Success pushed me to grow in ways I never imagined. Over just two weeks, I gained invaluable skills, built my confidence, and connected with amazing people who have become lifelong friends. It was truly a transformative experience!" -Aakriti, 2025
What does a week at S4S look like?
Meet our Student Creators
Example Challenges
Each day, a Challenge stands as the centerpiece of learning and growth. A range of real world business and leadership topics, including strategy, marketing, project management, product development, operations, etc. Each challenge roughly looks like:
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A novel business-like or engineering-like goal, problem, or objective, and a minimum set of boundaries
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A limited set of resources (time, money, etc)
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Guidance on where to begin learning what to do and what it takes to win
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No lectures, no need to memorize for a test
Students have broad leeway and high responsibility for iterating and succeeding in each challenge. Facilitators use the Socratic method and spot feedback to help students maximize learning and not get too stuck.
Application Deadlines
The Future Is Bright
Failure Is An Option
Own It
At Futures Forge, we believe that failure isn’t something to fear, it’s part of how you grow. The future is full of possibility, and it’s yours to shape. But to get there, you have to take responsibility for your choices, your effort, and your direction. No one else can do it for you.
The Futures Forge Ethos
Immediate Personal Growth
We assign a facilitator to each team and student. Facilitators provide immediate coaching during challenges and modules. In the afternoons and evenings, facilitators meet with students to help them incorporate feedback and improve their performance. They also help students overcome psychological barriers to growth and better understand their inner motivation.
Our facilitators are trained in feedback and coaching methods used in elite management consulting firms. We coach them throughout the program. Most of our students said their facilitators passion and talent had a large positive impact on them.
Cognitive Ability Requirements
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.
