No. GLEE Academy is designed to be accessible regardless of your prior technical experience. Business majors, other STEM students, and early-career professionals are welcome — our workshops (CAD, embedded programming, manufacturing, etc.) start from foundational skills. What matters most is curiosity and willingness to engage in hands-on, team-based design work.

You may be living in dorms in the Valley campus or City campus. Click on the links to see room layouts.

Rooms on the City campus are apartment style to accommodate 2, 3, or 4 students. Each apartment includes a kitchenette with refrigerator and stovetop, and a bathroom.

Rooms on the Valley campus are traditional, double occupancy with a community bathroom for that "true" American college experience.

Your program fees ($2,000/person) will cover

• tuition and supplies,
• room and board including on-campus breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and a linen package
• industry and cultural excursions
• campus buses from the Valley to the City campus each day 

Costs not included are

• Airfare 
• Visa application fees
• Taxi to and from GRR airport (~ $45 - $55 for an UBER Comfort ride)
• Personal expenditure (souvenirs, additional excursions)

GVSU campus is cashless for the following reasons:

• Improve speed of student and guest transactions
• Improve safety of students and employees
• Reduce contact
• Improve accountability and internal control
• Improved security over transactions

We accept the following forms of payment: Credit Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Tap-and-Go.

If a student or guest only has cash, they can visit one of our Cash to Card Kiosk ATM kiosks to convert cash to a prepaid card. Cards can be used anywhere that Visa and MasterCard are accepted!

Cash to Card Kiosk ATM kiosk locations are located within:

1. Kirkhof Center (South Entrance)
2. Laker Market Place (Main Entrance)
3. Devos Center Bld. C (Outside “U” Club Room)

There is no fee to convert your cash to a prepaid card at a kiosk on campus. GVSU does not assess any fees. However, an Anti-Money Laundering Fee will be applied to a card after 92 days with no activity.

Each prepaid card can be loaded up to $500.00 USD. Prepaid cards are not reloadable after the initial transaction.

Learn More. 

We highly recommend new students fly into Grand Rapids airport: Gerald R. Ford International, code GRR. Flying into a larger airport such as Chicago or Detroit and then taking public transportation is not recommended.

The Grand Rapids airport is small with a helpful information desk, only 5 baggage carousels, and taxi services on-site.

We highly recommend purchasing Travel Insurance.

Suggested Airport Transportation Options

• a local taxi company such as Metro Cab (616) 827-6500 or Yellow Cab (616) 459-4646 (cost varies, review cash and card options)
• a transport app such as Uber or Lyft (cost varies - need to download in advance, review cash and card options)
• A trusted local resource V's Anytime chauffeur service LLC, 616-406-9664

Buses and trains are not an option from the Grand Rapids airport. Please be prepared by booking your transportation to your accommodation in advance or waiting for a taxi upon arrival.

We will hold an informational session via zoom on Friday, October 30th, 2026 at 8:00 am EDT to answer any questions regarding travel to campus and the program. The zoom link will be sent to all applicants - application site will be live in September 2026.

An Onboarding zoom session will be held on Tuesday, June 1st, 2027 at 8:00 am EDT for all campers. Zoom link will be sent to all accepted students.

For any other information, reach out to Dr Samhita Rhodes ([email protected]). 

Yes! We have put together program flyers with all the details!