THERE IS MORE IN US THAN WE KNOW. IF WE CAN BE MADE TO SEE IT, PERHAPS FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES WE WILL BE UNWILLING TO SETTLE FOR LESS.
-Kurt Hahn, Outward Bound Founder
Welcome to Outward Bound!
Interested in going Outward Bound this year? You’re in the right place! We have a scholarship waiting for you!
Your school, club, or organization has recommended YOU for a FULL scholarship to go Outward Bound in 2024. You have the potential to make the world a better place, and we want you to go Outward Bound. This means a life-changing leadership adventure is yours, for free… $0!
What does your Outward Bound adventure look like?
It’s a wilderness expedition (trip) in Minnesota or Texas with a group of people your age and two experienced and caring Outward Bound instructors. You don’t need any experience, and you can choose an expedition that’s just right for you. We canoe backpack, climb, and kayak. Our expeditions are 8, 10, 15, 22, 28, 30, or 50 days long– you choose what’s right for you.
No experience necessary.
Two Outward Bound instructors lead your expedition and teach you everything you need to know about surviving, thriving, and having fun in the wilderness. You’ll learn practical skills, like paddling a canoe and pitching a tent, and you’ll practice vital leadership skills with a new crew of friends. YOUwill make decisions, YOUwill solve real-life problems and YOU will care for others. YOUwill get to use your unique skills and identify where you want to grow. Discover belonging through peers, strength through challenge, and purpose in goals. An Outward Bound experience is life-changing.
An Outward Bound experience is life-changing.
Outward Bound is great for your leadership. It can help you grow confidence, make friends, connect with nature, get ready for college, get into college, get a job, or just have an excellent adventure.
After you fill out the above form, you’ll get an email invite to schedule a 30-minute chat with our super-friendly enrollment expert, Megan. During your enrollment chat, Megan will learn a little about you, and then help you choose your Outward Bound adventure. You will complete your course registration and learn about the next steps during this conversation. If you are under 18, feel free to invite your parent or guardian to join the chat.
#3 Start dreaming!
Click on the button below to start browsing course options. What looks cool? When can you go? What kind of questions do you have? If you’re under 18, share your ideas with your parent or guardian.
Outward Bound is for everybody. Our goal is to provide access to leadership learning. Please join us in thanking the VOBS donors and supporters who make Outward Bound possible for hundreds of students every year.
VOBS Scholar Partner Organizations:
City Academy
Century College
Christodora Elliman Scholar
College of Saint Scholastica
Democracy Prep Public Schools
Discover U
Dougherty Family College
Galapagos Charter School
Gordon Parks High School
Hiawatha Collegiate Academy
Minds Matter
Mounds View Public Schools
North Hennepin Community College
NorthStar Foundation
Open World Learning Community
Saint Paul City School
Saint Paul Public Schools
Sejong Academy
Stillpoint Engage
The Fellowship Initiative
TRIO Student Services: Metropolitan State University
TRIO Upward Bound: Dakota County Technical and Community College
TRIO Upward Bound: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Ujamaa Place
Youth Odyssey
TESTIMONIALS
What this trip taught me, is that every single 'I can't' is an 'I won't' and that I have the power to change that and make it an 'I can'
~ Gicel, Age 15, Boundary Waters Canoeing & Backpacking Alum
Without the noise of their regular lives, kids have a chance to just be, to hear themselves think, to connect with the larger world. They see the world is big and they start thinking about their place in it.
~ Gayle Smaller, Founder, New Lens Mentoring Society
This course made me feel nervous and excited at first, exhausted and desperate in the middle and stress-free and happy at the end. This experience will help me go forward with new challenges because I can always look back and say
if I could hike 18 miles in 4 days, I can do this.'
~ Carlos, Age 15, The Fellowship Initiative Alum
Join Us Out There
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH CHALLENGE AND DISCOVERY SINCE 1964