CSSF FAQ: Application Fee Refunds

In almost all cases, no, but there is one exception given below.

The Application Fee for the California State Science Fair is a nonrefundable fee charged for the application, not for participation. (Otherwise it wouldn't be called the “Application Fee.” ☺) All students who have been selected by an affiliated fair to participate in CSSF and who submit an application to CSSF are expected to pay the Application Fee before being accepted, although in certain circumstances (*) students may be accepted as participants before the Fair receives the required Application Fee.

In general, the only reasons for which any Application Fee will be refunded are:

The Application Fee was paid more than once.
Typically this happens when a school, school district, or county science fair pays the Application Fee, but in order to insure that the student's application was completed before the appropriate deadline, the student's family has also paid the application fee. In this case the Application Fee will be refunded to the family.
The Application Fee should never have been paid.
This typically happens when students who have been named as alternates submit their applications which are subsequently not accepted, but in the meantime they do not follow the directions to alternates not to pay the application fee until instructed to do so. Also, occasionally a student who was not selected for participation in CSSF submits an application and pays the Application Fee mistakenly thinking that he/she was selected. In each case, the Application Fee will be refunded to the original payer.

Even though in general these are the only reasons a payment of the Application Fee will be refunded, in an effort to encourage the maximum possible participation from throughout the State, CSSF recognizes one and only one exception to the rule of nonrefundability:

Any student who withdraws his/her application from the Fair prior to the Withdrawal Deadline will have his/her Application Fee refunded. The Withdrawal Deadline depends upon the affiliate which has nominated the student to CSSF, and is either the Decision Date of that affiliate or three days prior to the Final Decision Date, whichever is later. No refunds will be issued for withdrawals after this deadline. Withdrawals must be via email to CalifSF@usc.edu and for authentication purposes must be sent from the email address recorded for the withdrawing student. Email sent from another address will delay the authentication of the actual withdrawal.

The reason for the Withdrawal Deadline is that up until then it is still possible to add new participants given only space for such students. When any accepted participant (or applicant who would be accepted) withdraws their application, this opens a space, with three days allotted to the process of contacting and accepting an alternative participant if he/she has already been rejected. On the other hand, after the Final Decision Date, all spaces are filled and production of the Fair has commenced (ranging from the assignment of project numbers and project display locations to the printing of the Program of Projects, certificates, and nametags) so that despite the withdrawal, no new space is created. In fact, the late withdrawal entails some additional work by the Fair to notify judges of the project's absence. Nevertheless, CSSF does request that students who know that they will not be able to participate inform us of this fact in advance of the Fair.

(*) Any student whose Application Fee Deadline is within a few days of the Final Decision Date will generally not be able to have his/her Application Fee received before the acceptance decision must be made. Nevertheless, the Application Fee must be paid before any student will be allowed to register at the Fair and set up their project display.