Scholarship and Subsidized Rate Pre-Application Guide

Where can I learn general information about the conference?

Please see the conference website and FAQ for basic information about the conference.

Who is eligible for Scholarship or Subsidized Rate registrations?

If you are interested in attending Horizons but sincerely cannot afford the public rates, we encourage you to apply. Applications are open to everyone in need — not just students or medical professionals. We routinely accept people who are new to this field, or have never attended a conference before.

These programs are open to anyone who is experiencing economic hardship for reasons such as:

• Full-time study
• Unemployment
• Underemployment
• Low-income and inconsistent employment
• Retirement on limited/fixed income
• Extraordinary family or medical expense burdens
• Residence in a country with major economic disadvantage to the US
• other specific circumstances that create ongoing personal economic hardship

Who is ineligible?

Neither the Scholarship nor the Subsidized Rate registration programs are intended for people who could afford the public rates, but are simply seeking discounts and would prefer to pay less.

In general, we expect people who have full-time employment or reliable self-employment, or otherwise are able to live comfortably and have disposable income to use public registration rates.

Our public rates fairly reflect the actual cost of producing an event of this size and quality in New York City. Registration is our primary source of revenue. So, we really do need everyone who is able to register at the public rates. The best way to save on public rates is to register early, rather than shortly before the conference.

What are the benefits?

Approved applicants can attend the conference at subsidized rates.

Subsidized Rate registrations are offered at ~ 50% of the public Community rate. This is currently (May 2026) $175 for the 3-day conference.

Scholarship registrations are offered on a sliding scale from $0 to $40 per conference day.

Unfortunately, our scholarship program is not adequately funded to provide travel, lodging, meal, or stipend support.

What is the application and response process?

There is one application that allows you to apply for either Scholarship or Subsidized Rate.

Please note that an application does not guarantee that a scholarship will be awarded.

Applications are currently open and will close on August 30.

In June, July, August, and September, we review applications received during the prior month.

Decisions are communicated to applicants at the end of each month. So, if you apply during May, your application will be evaluated in June, and you will receive a response in late June.

When should I apply?

Applying during the earliest month possible is strongly recommended.

However, there is no preference given to applications that arrive earlier within a given month.

So, it is better to apply in May than in June, but there is no preference given to a May 15 application over a May 30 one.

How do I apply?

First, please read this entire page.

Then, you will need to write a one-page personal statement. Work on this until you feel great about it. These are very important, and we read and reflect on each and every one.

Once you have your personal statement, you can fill out the application. Filling out the application should take about ten minutes, in addition to the time you spend writing your personal statement.

What kinds of questions do you ask in the application?

The application has about fifteen questions, plus a personal statement.

Other than the personal statement, these are general questions about your personal and professional situation and characteristics that you should be able to answer without any preparation.

The information you share helps us see the whole community of applicants in front of us and award seats equitably.

How do you evaluate the applications?

Please understand that we simply receive more qualified applicants than we have capacity to accommodate each year. So, we unfortunately cannot accept every qualified application.

We approve applications with a broad range of backgrounds, communities, motivations, and circumstances. There is no such thing as a "typical" or "ideal" application.

While we do ask questions related to formal education, professional credentials, and personal identities, these questions are both optional and not individually determinative. Some of them are simply for reporting to donors and not even used for decision-making.

Please don't assume that if you find yourself answering "No" or "None" to many questions that you are doing poorly. Not only is it extremely uncommon for all/most questions to be relevant to any given applicant, but it is also unimportant. All kinds of people receive approvals.

The personal statements are very important and weighed more heavily than any other factor. Yes, they are read and evaluated by a real human.

We do prioritize applicants with a clear goal of service to a larger community, which we understand can take many forms.

What is the personal statement?

The most important part of the scholarship application is a short personal statement.

In the personal statement, please share with us:

• Your relevant biography and values
• Why you are interested in psychedelics
• Why you would like to attend Horizons
• What you hope to take from the experience
• What communities you hope to serve

The personal statement should be 250 – 500 words in length. If you write more than 500 words or one page at 12pt single-space, please edit downward.

Prepare and save your personal statement in Google Docs, Pages, or Word, and ensure that it fits on one page. We will not read more than one page.

If my application is approved, how can I claim my registration?

If your application is approved, you must complete the registration process or your approval will be forfeited.

Shortly before the conference, you will also need to re-confirm the days that you plan to attend. If you do not make confirmation prior to the conference, your registration will be forfeited.

Details about both the registration and confirmation steps will be sent to all approved applicants.

What is required of me during and following the conference?

Other than learning, meeting people, and enjoying, we require registered recipients:

• Attend as confirmed or notify us of emergency change of plans, and…
• Fill out a short survey within 48h of the conference conclusion

We want every scholarship seat to be full. Since there are a limited number of opportunities available, it is crucial that all recipients actually attend. If there is an emergency that causes a change of plans, the conference should be notified. Treating a scholarship registration as a "free option" rather than an obligation to attend deprives someone else of the experience.

Will my experience differ from other attendees?

In general, you will have the same experience as Community level registrations. You will be able to access all of the conference educational content and social areas. You will not be visibly identified as a scholarship or subsidized rate recipient.

What do you do with this data?

Scholarship application personal data is held in strict confidence. It is only available to and used by team members and IT systems for the purpose of operating the scholarship program and conference. Beyond conference operations, we do not sell or share personally identifiable information with third parties.

We do privately share aggregate data and fully anonymized excerpts from a small number of applications and surveys with donors who support this program.

How can I make sure I hear from you?

Please apply using an email address that you will have ongoing access to throughout the year, such as a personal email address.

Please whitelist the following email addresses to ensure that you hear from us:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]

If our responses are getting stuck in your spam folder, we won't be able to help you, no matter how good your application is.

Where is the application form?