Yes! The Next Generation Policy Program is open to all young women and non-binary individuals around the world, so long as they meet the age requirement (8th grade through first year of college). While we welcome (and encourage!) international applicants, please make sure to convert the meeting time (10:00 - 11:30 AM PST on Sundays) to your time zone. Unfortunately, this time is not always convenient for other countries, which may be a barrier to participation. Regardless, in the past, participants have joined from various countries from Canada all the way to Saudi Arabia. The program's curriculum tends to be centered around U.S. policy; however, we try to incorporate relevant material for international applicants, too.

Zero dollars and zero cents! That's right: it's free! As an organization dedicated to increasing representation in politics, we are committed to reducing barriers to experience in the political field. Therefore, in order to mitigate economic barriers within Empolitics, the program is entirely free.

The meetings will take place online via Google Meet. So, you will need access to a computer with a video camera and microphone. Additionally, you will need access to WiFi in order to engage with the meetings. Technical stuff aside, all you need is a dedicated, supportive attitude!

We try our best to be flexible and accommodate various scheduling conflicts. That being said, some meetings are mandatory in order to ensure the program runs smoothly. Therefore, we work around attendance issues on a case-by-case basis. Please email us before the program begins (can be before or after you apply) about this issue, and we will do our best to work through it with you. We understand that life happens and things will come up during the program's duration. That's okay! Again, all we ask is that you communicate with us so we can find a way to accommodate you.

While we can't offer a specific estimate of acceptance chances, know that our goal is not to deny people from the program. We want to accept as many qualified participants as possible so that the program can have the greatest impact.* That being said, we want applicants who are clearly committed to the program and its mission. So, the more effort and passion your application demonstrates, the better. *Note: "Qualified" does not mean most-experienced. We welcome participants with little-to-no experience in the political field. To us, "Qualified" means many things, from extensive experience to a dedicated and passionate demeanor.

You know yourself best and only you can answer that question. The program is designed to fit into busy schedules and there is minimal asynchronous work. We are high school students, too! We know how busy it can be.

Yes! We know the meeting time is longer than usual, but we work in breaks and fun activities. To accommodate busy schedules, we've opted to do one and half hours on one day instead of spreading it throughout the week.