Question 1

When and where is the New York East Seminar this year?

Accepted Answer

This year’s HOBY New York East seminar will be held at SUNY Albany in Albany, NY from Friday June 5th to Sunday, June 7th, 2026. While the schedule of events is not finalized, students should expect to check-in between 7:30 and 8:30 am on Friday.  Our program will conclude on Sunday afternoon.  Finalized check-in and check-out times will be provided to registered students in the Spring. Students are expected to be present for the entirety of the seminar, including overnights. All students reside within the residence halls on SUNY Albany’s campus.

Question 2

What is the registration process for sending a student to the seminar?

Accepted Answer

1. Review your school’s copy of the HOBY Registration Kit
(https://hoby.org/school-nomination-kit/)
2. Start your selection process to find an outstanding sophomore with leadership potential! Each school has a different way of selecting their students to attend, whether it is through essay writing contests, or by appointment through school administration. However, we try to ensure that our seminar is as inclusive as possible, which may mean that your ambassador may not necessarily represent the “popular” or most “academically-advanced” student. If there is little interest from the students, your teachers, faculty, and staff may have some outstanding students in mind to send. If you need more suggestions on how to select or recruit a student, feel free to email to registration@hobynye.org (mailto:registration@hobynye.org)and we will be happy to help!
3. Have your applicants fill out the Registration Info Sheet (https://hoby.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2026-Registration-Kit-Full-1-compressed.pdf)(page 8)
4. Once your school has chosen the student who will be attending the seminar, log on to HOBY’s registration website.(https://hoby.org/nominate-a-student/) If you are having trouble with the registration portal, email registration@hobynye.org (mailto:registration@hobynye.org)Be sure that the email contact information for both the STUDENT and PARENT(S) are filled out completely and accurately. This is how we will continue to communicate with our registered students! Please do not use school email addresses for the students as most of these addresses cannot accept emails from outside of the school district.
5. Remember to register your alternate student as well! This can be done at the end of the initial registration of your student. If your school is sending additional students, you will register them after you register your primary student using the same form.
6. Lastly, please pay the registration fee! You can do this directly when you register your attendees or you may print an invoice. A confirmation email will be sent to you and the student(s) upon receiving payment.
    • If the registration fee will not be paid by the school, please provide further payment information to those responsible for making this payment.
    • Only the school has access to the HOBY registration website. Please ensure that a copy of the invoice is provided to whoever is responsible for paying the fees to any additional students you may choose to register.

Question 3

Is my student guaranteed a spot at seminar?

Accepted Answer

All registrations and payments submitted prior to December 12th, 2025 are guaranteed acceptance to our New York East seminar.  Additional students registered by this date will also receive an early-bird discount. Registrations submitted online after December 12th will be accepted on a space available basis.

Question 4

What is the difference between a primary student, alternate student and an additional student?

Accepted Answer

When registering students, schools may select up to 4 primary students to represent your high school at our program. We also ask that each school select one alternate student to attend in case one of your primary students can no longer attend. This student would not attend unless a primary student is unable to attend.

Question 5

How will the students receive more information regarding the seminar?

Accepted Answer

We will be following up with more seminar details via email. When you register a student please ensure that ALL email addresses are correct. This includes the school contact email, student(s) email, and parent(s) email. If these email addresses are not correct, we will not be able to get in touch with the student and it could affect the student’s ability to attend the seminar.   Keep in mind that school issued email addresses often block emails from outside of the school district.  Please use the student’s personal email address when registering.

Specific information regarding our seminar will be outlined in a packet of pre-seminar materials. This will be emailed in late winter/early spring and will be sent to the school contact email address, student email address, and all parent email addresses. This packet will provide you and your student with all of the necessary information to attend the seminar. If you do not receive this packet of information by mid-March, feel free to email operations@hobynye.org (mailto:operations@hobynye.org)to ensure we have the correct email on file.

Question 6

What is the cost of a student to attend the HOBY New York East Seminar?

Accepted Answer

This year, the registration fee for each student is $350.
 • This fee covers administration costs associated with the seminar – for example insurance and the maintenance of the online registration portal.
 • It is highly recommended that the high school pay the registration fee for their initial primary student to attend. If the school cannot afford this fee, we encourage the school and the student to work together to solicit donations and/or sponsorships from the local community.  The school may apply for a scholarship from HOBY NY East.  
 • Additional students can cover the sponsorship fee through solicited donations, community or school based scholarships, or friends and family contribution.  
 • Parents should only be asked to pay this fee as a last resort. 
 • HOBY NY East has committed to fundraising an additional $225 for each student (which we refer to as the sponsorship fee) to cover the room and board of the students.  This commitment has allowed us to limit increases in fees to the schools and helps to ensure that all schools are able to participate in our program.  You may hear about this fee if a business or organization from your community that we have contacted for a donation reaches out to see if your school is participating.

Question 7

What if my school cannot afford to send a student to the seminar?

Accepted Answer

We offer scholarships for students to attend the HOBY New York East seminar.

The scholarship for a primary student should be completed by the school.  The application is available online.(https://hoby.formstack.com/forms/hoby_ny_east_2023_scholarship_for_primary_students)

The scholarship for an additional student is also online. It does require a letter of recommendation. Students can access it here. (https://hoby.formstack.com/forms/hoby_ny_east_2023_scholarship_for_additional_students_)

For more information on eligibility for scholarships and how to apply, please contact registration@hobynye.org.(mailto:registration@hobynye.org)

Question 8

My student can no longer attend the seminar; however, the associated fees have already been paid.  Can a refund be issued?

Accepted Answer

We do not offer refunds for our program.  We recommend that all schools register an alternate student in case the primary student cannot attend.  This allows the school to replace the student who cannot attend with a student that can attend.
In the event that an additional student cannot attend and has paid, we recommend the school still replace the student who cannot attend.  If the parent(s)/guardian(s) of the student who has withdrawn has paid, the newly registered student can directly pay the family of the withdrawing student.
In the event that the student that withdraws was awarded a scholarship, a primary student’s scholarship will be transferred to the alternate student.  For an additional student scholarship, the transfer of the scholarship will be done at the discretion of the scholarship committee as this scholarship is awarded based on an application by the additional student and not the school.  The newly registered student might be asked to complete the scholarship application themselves in order to receive the funds.

Question 9

A student that I registered can no longer participate in the full program.  Can they leave the seminar for a portion of time and come back?

Accepted Answer

All students that register for our program commit to being at the seminar for the entirety of the event including overnight.  We do not allow students to leave the program and return nor do we allow students to check in late.  This includes, but is not limited to, leaving for sporting events (including state tournaments), prom, school plays, and NYSMAA.  We understand that this may mean the student needs to make a difficult decision as to which event to participate in.  In the event that your student cannot attend for the entire program, we recommend you replace the student with an alternate.

Question 10

How do I know my student’s paperwork is completed for them to attend the seminar?

Accepted Answer

Use the following checklist below to ensure your student is ready to attend the HOBY New York East leadership seminar!  If you are unsure if a step is complete, please contact us.
 • The student is registered online via the HOBY.org registration process.
(For more information see “What is the registration process for sending a student to seminar?” above)

• The student’s registration fees have been paid.
(For more information see “What is the cost for attending the seminar?” above)

• The student’s pre-seminar materials have been fully completed and returned to our HOBY Operations Team.  This includes all medical paperwork that they may need to complete.  These pre-seminar forms will be sent to all registered students in the Spring.

• The student’s key deposit has been paid. This is explained in the pre-seminar materials sent by our HOBY Operations Team.

Question 11

Who can I contact if I have more questions?

Accepted Answer

During the registration process
Contact: Director of Recruitment
Email: registration@hobynye.org(mailto:registration@hobynye.org)
Phone: 518-219-8259

After you have registered your student
Contact: Director of Operations
Email: operations@hobynye.org(mailto:operations@hobynye.org)
Phone: 518-219-8259

Questions about the overall program/organization
Contact: Leadership Seminar Chair
Email: Chair@hobynye.org(mailto:Chair@hobynye.org)
Phone: 518-219-8259

Please keep in mind that all of our staff members are volunteers and will return your phone calls and emails at their earliest convenience.