Every rule, and every yuan
We can't ask you to trust names we haven't published, so we publish the rules and the money instead. If something here is unclear, that's our bug. Tell us.
What you pay, and when you get it back
| Item | OPC cohort | Research track |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | ¥0 | ¥0 |
| Refundable deposit | ¥1,000 / US$150 | ¥1,000 / US$150 |
| When you pay | Only after you've been admitted. Never before. | |
| When it comes back | Within 14 days after Demo Day | When you reach the milestone agreed at the start |
| Depends on your results? | No. It depends only on whether you took part honestly. | |
Kept only if
- You miss two weekly logs in a row without telling us
- You quit after week 1
- You fake data or present someone else's work as yours (this also ends your participation)
Always returned if
- You leave during weeks 0–1
- You leave because of illness or a family emergency. A short note is enough; no proof needed.
- You took part honestly, whatever happened to your product
Running costs only, published every cohort
Kept deposits pay for the domain, hosting and tool subscriptions, and nothing else. They never go to any person. Whatever isn't spent rolls over to the next cohort.
After every cohort we publish a ledger here: deposits collected, returned and kept, and every expense.
What happens after you apply
Application closes
Applications stay open for about three weeks.
Review
Every application is read by a person, with school names removed. AI only organizes the materials; it doesn't score anyone.
Decision
12 admitted, 3 on a waitlist. Everyone hears back either way.
Deposit
Payment details are sent only to admitted students.
Week 0 begins
Set-up week. Leaving now, or during week 1, means a full refund.
In writing
- No ghost-building or ghost-writing. You do the work. We review it.
- No guaranteed outcomes. Not funding, not revenue, not admissions, not publications.
- No upsells. No follow-up courses, paid communities or "advanced tracks".
- No paid recommendation letters or name-on-paper deals.
- No payment before admission. Anyone asking for money in STARC's name before you are admitted is not us.
A small, unpaid team
STARC is run by a small volunteer team. Nobody is paid, and we don't list names yet. We'd rather be judged by the rules on this page and by our students' public work than by titles you can't verify.
Reviews may use AI to summarize and draft. Every AI-drafted piece of feedback says so, and a person reads it before it's sent.
Questions or concerns: info@starc.institute.