Rolling enrollment open. Courses prorated.
Explore now.Does your teen have a passion project they can't stop thinking about but no structure to actually finish it? Do they have big ideas that don't fit neatly into any school subject? The Fellowship Passion Projects course gives students the mentorship, accountability, and peer community to turn their ideas into something real. Whether it's a research paper, a creative work, or something nobody's thought of yet, this is where it gets done.
Imagine the excitement in your child's eyes as they design and take their dream course on a topic of their very own choosing.
In the Young Scholars Fellowship, rather than following direct instruction, students write their own curriculum for a project that means the world to them. With expert guidance, individualized feedback, and a proven framework, your child dives into authentic, self-directed, inquiry-based learning.
Guided by our proven framework, participants navigate the entire project lifecycle: ideation and research, pacing and management, and culminating in a final polished creation. Resources are custom-tailored to each student's needs and interests.
The best part: students showcase their finished projects at our Young Scholar's Symposium. This event is not just a culmination, it is a celebration of authentic learning and real achievement.
Along the way your child builds essential executive function skills like project planning, time management, and organization. They finish with something they can take genuine pride in, real bragging rights for college applications, and habits aligned with the modern workforce.
Ignite your child's passion, empower their creativity, and let them shine on their path to brilliance with the Young Scholars Fellowship.
Admissions officers look for students who go beyond the standard curriculum. This course gives your child something real to talk about in applications and interviews. The skills, projects, and experiences built here demonstrate exactly the kind of initiative and intellectual curiosity top schools want to see.
Project planning, time management, meeting deadlines, adapting when things do not go as planned. These are the skills parents worry about most, and this course builds them naturally through the structure of real, meaningful work. Your child gains independence and confidence without it ever feeling like a lesson.
YSA is a UC-registered online publisher and WASC-accredited Supplementary Education Center, which means our courses can count toward official college credit requirements. State schools can recognize the courses your student takes here, adding real legitimacy to your homeschooling journey or building on top of your student's existing transcript. That unlocks two ways to enroll: For Credit -- Your student earns official, accredited credit toward their transcript. For-credit students complete weekly assignments that build toward their transcript grade. Outside-of-class work ranges from 1-2 hours per week. Perfect for families who want documentation that reflects what their child is actually capable of -- to show the world how brilliant they are. For Enrichment -- Your student takes the very same course purely for the love of learning. No grades, no outside-of-class work, no credit attached. Just the content, the community, and the growth. Same course. Same mentor. Same experience in class. You choose what fits your family.
If you homeschool, this works seamlessly. If your student attends another school full time, we create a report card and transcript that we share with you, and you share with the school. It is up to your primary school to accept it and add it to your student's official transcript.
Build college-ready skills including critical thinking, independent research, and confident self-presentation 
Develop executive function skills like planning, time management, and follow-through in the context of work that genuinely matters to them 
Create portfolio-worthy work and experiences that demonstrate initiative and intellectual curiosity to admissions officers 
Gain the confidence and independence needed to thrive in college-level academic environments 
Malikai Bass is a twice exceptional (profoundly gifted/ autistic adhder with dyspraxia/dysgrpahia) life-long learner who has been teaching twice-exceptional students virtually for the past four years working with over a thousand students in classrooms that center, celebrate, and affirm neurodiversity. I love helping students succeed and find the ways their brain works to thrive in all subjects and highlight the ways we can use gaming to practice and expand our executive functioning, life, and real social skills.
Hi! Thank you for taking a moment to learn a bit about me and about how I might be able to help support your learner on their educational journey. Over the past twenty-five years, I have valued the opportunity to teach across various educational levels including, K-12 public schools, community colleges, and at 4-year public and private universities. I hold a PhD in Sociology and I am a generalist by training. I currently teach courses in the areas of class, culture, family, ethnicity, gender, methodology, philosophy, race, social justice, and theory. I also actively mentor students in research, writing, and in their continuation into graduate, law, and medical school. Over the past decade, I have also created programs to help incoming college students develop a sense of belonging, connect to positive peers, and academically excel. In all of my classes, I work to develop strategies that foster presence, openness and a reflexive learning environment where student support, acknowledgement of the intrinsic value of every student, and efforts to promote student persistence and success are requisite. Through critical, contextualized learning; active and ongoing student mentorship; progressive and responsive course development, and the creation of experiential opportunities, I have constructed inclusive and enriched academic experiences for students, where they are at, and that help equip them for where they want to go. At YSA, I look forward to providing courses that build knowledge through reflexive, reciprocal learning, to inspire growth in the minds and lives of our students, and to help foster belonging within this rich learning community. See you soon! Eric
Monica enjoys teaching 2E students through a strength based lens, using humor and novelty to grow interest in new topics. She also encourages students to observe the world around them and see nature, games, and art as opportunities to continue learning in all aspects of their lives.
Amy Bechtol is a neurodivergent individual, educator, and activist. Six years ago she thought it would be fun to volunteer teach for a week as a break from entertainment design work, and accidentally found her passion. Amy has worked in neurodivergent and twice-exceptional education ever since, covering a wide breadth of topics from the humanities, to the sciences, to the visual arts. Her background as an entertainment designer and storyteller informs her teaching practices, finding ways to make content relevant to human experiences. Amy loves getting to work with her students, who often share a neurology similar to her own, connecting them to curriculum in a way that is meaningful, novel, and fun. Utilizing a strength-based, talent-focused model, Amy seeks to engage learners by allowing them to connect their best, most authentic selves to the material. She believes that a state of growth is the natural state of a human mind, and it is the purpose of a classroom to facilitate that process, and allow it to be a joyful one. When not embroiled in the world of education she likes to indulge in her autistic special interests, which include working on her small farm in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, identifying wild plants and animals, reading thick books, making art, and sometimes, even playing some video games.
WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING
Parents don't just see happier kids. They see sharper thinking, stronger friendships, and a child who actually wants to log on.
★★★★★
"My son designed his own course on medieval weaponry and actually finished a real project. The Fellowship gave his obsession a purpose."
Rosalind F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Watching my daughter present at the Young Scholar's Symposium was a proud parent moment I will never forget. The Fellowship made her the expert in the room."
Emmett F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son designed his own course on medieval weaponry and actually finished a real project. The Fellowship gave his obsession a purpose."
Rosalind F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Watching my daughter present at the Young Scholar's Symposium was a proud parent moment I will never forget. The Fellowship made her the expert in the room."
Emmett F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The Fellowship let my son steer his own learning for once. Ms. Amy guided without taking over, and he finished something he is genuinely proud of."
Yvette F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter has a hundred interests, and the Fellowship finally let her chase one all the way to a finished project. That has never happened before."
Bruno F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The Fellowship let my son steer his own learning for once. Ms. Amy guided without taking over, and he finished something he is genuinely proud of."
Yvette F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter has a hundred interests, and the Fellowship finally let her chase one all the way to a finished project. That has never happened before."
Bruno F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Ms. Amy helped my son break a huge dream project into steps he could manage. He learned planning and follow-through, not just the topic."
Ophelia F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The Fellowship fits my kid perfectly because it does not force a curriculum on her. She built her own, and presenting at the Symposium sealed her confidence."
Desmond F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Ms. Amy helped my son break a huge dream project into steps he could manage. He learned planning and follow-through, not just the topic."
Ophelia F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The Fellowship fits my kid perfectly because it does not force a curriculum on her. She built her own, and presenting at the Symposium sealed her confidence."
Desmond F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My son designed his own course on medieval weaponry and actually finished a real project. The Fellowship gave his obsession a purpose."
Rosalind F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Watching my daughter present at the Young Scholar's Symposium was a proud parent moment I will never forget. The Fellowship made her the expert in the room."
Emmett F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The Fellowship let my son steer his own learning for once. Ms. Amy guided without taking over, and he finished something he is genuinely proud of."
Yvette F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"My daughter has a hundred interests, and the Fellowship finally let her chase one all the way to a finished project. That has never happened before."
Bruno F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"Ms. Amy helped my son break a huge dream project into steps he could manage. He learned planning and follow-through, not just the topic."
Ophelia F.
YSA parent
★★★★★
"The Fellowship fits my kid perfectly because it does not force a curriculum on her. She built her own, and presenting at the Symposium sealed her confidence."
Desmond F.
YSA parent
If you’re not 100% in love with the course, you have options depending on how you enrolled:
You can switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit or get a credit to use toward a future course.
You can either get credit toward a future course, switch to another course of equal or lesser value that’s a better fit, or stop all future payments after a 30-day processing period.
No risk. No stress. Just the learning and belonging you have been looking for.
We can offer this because we know what we do works for thousands of other families. Kids become more self-confident. They find their people. And families tell us this is the place where their student finally feels welcome. We know it will work for your family, too.
All-Access Passes have separate terms and conditions. Please see the All-Access Pass pages.
It goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway... to qualify for the satisfaction guarantee policy, you have to actually attend the classes. This is not a cancellation policy. It’s a satisfaction guarantee. You can’t be satisfied or dissatisfied if you don’t attend.
Young Scholars Academy is a virtual village that offers one-of-a-kind, engaging enrichment courses and community for 5-18-year-old bright, quirky kids to empower them to develop their strengths, make like-minded friends, cultivate life skills, build confidence, and feel great about themselves under the loving care of expert mentors. description2: >- Picture a place where your child fits in, is celebrated, mentored, and loves learning the unique content their beautiful brain craves. That happens every day at YSA for over 1,200+ families, and it can happen for your family, too.
WASC Accredited · 1,200+ Families · 93% Re-Enroll · 47+ States, 17 Countries, 6 Continents
Learn more about YSAQUESTIONS ABOUT THIS COURSE
Everything you need to know before enrolling your child.
Most online classes put 20-30 kids in a room with a teacher who reads slides. At YSA, your child joins a group of 8 or fewer students who think like they do, led by a mentor who was often once just like them. Cameras are optional. The content is chosen by passion, not grade level. And 93% of families re-enroll - because kids who have never liked school before fight to log on to YSA.
Yes. YSA families join from 47+ states and 17 countries across 6 continents. All you need is an internet connection. We schedule sections across multiple time zones so families worldwide can find a time that works.
Fellowship: Passion Projects meets once per week for 50 minutes, every week from August through December. Your child joins the same tight-knit group of up to 8 students and the same mentor all semester long. Same friends, same mentor, a new challenge every week.
Our gifted and 2e students experience such asynchronous development that hard age limits rarely tell the full story. If your student should be aged up or aged down, contact us at support@youngscholarsacademy.org or click the chat in the bottom right corner of the screen. We do this all the time.
Please don't confuse reactive distance learning with what happens at YSA. When a kid is engaged in a course they chose, with a mentor who gets them and peers who share their interests, the screen disappears. They're not on a screen. They're with their people. Parents tell us their children fight to log on to YSA.
If your child isn't loving a course by the end of the first week, swap into a different course. Same semester. No questions. Not the right fit within the first month? We'll stop payments, switch courses, or issue credit toward any future course. The credit never expires. And you keep every bonus you've received. Over 93% of YSA families don't just stay. They add more courses.
No. Cameras are always optional. Always. Many of our students start with cameras off and turn them on when they're comfortable. Our mentors engage every student equally, cameras on or off.
No. If you're here, you're in the right place. We don't require paperwork, evaluations, or labels. Whether your child has been formally identified as gifted or twice-exceptional, whether you suspect it but haven't pursued testing, or whether you just know your kid's brain works differently and nothing else has fit, they're welcome here.
Yes. YSA is an approved vendor with 10+ state ESA programs including Arizona ESA, Utah Fits All, ClassWallet, My Tech High, Florida Step Up, and others. Enroll directly to secure your child's spot, submit the invoice to your ESA, and your payment method is refunded when funds transfer. Many families pay zero out of pocket.
Click "See Available Times" on this page, pick the section that fits your schedule, and your child's spot is secured immediately. No phone call. No placement test. No prerequisite.
Right now, a kid who thinks like your kid is in a course they chose, with a mentor who was once just like them, surrounded by friends who don't think they're weird... they think they're interesting.
Your child is one click from finding out what that feels like.
An internet connection and a can-do attitude!