How much do college summer programs help with admissions?

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have a sense of how much pre-college summer programs help with:

1) admission to the college where the program is held?
2) admission to other colleges, esp if summer program is at prestigious school?
3) admission to any college when program is used to indicate interest in specific field?


More generally, are these programs legit or does it just look like the kid is trying to "buy" their way in thru expensive summer program options?

[Anonymous]

None. Zip. Zero.

Really, they do not help one bit. They are a money grab.

[Anonymous]

They don't.

But status seeking parents, who are easily parted with their money, somehow think it gives them a leg up.

The schools depend upon that type of parent for mucho dinero.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you.

Has anyone had their kids do these after which the kid confirmed an interest in a program or decided not to apply to certain schools after doing the program? That would provide value as well. Just wondering whether to even pursue these at all.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Do these because the kid wants to take the class as part of their own interests - either because class is not available at their school or they don't have time to take the subject at school or because they want to explore it as a potential major in the future.

In the end, it's just a summer EC blip or a supporting fact (when showing interest in "X") in an essay.

[Anonymous]

Totally depends on the program. The for profit ones that just rent out the college facilities, not so much.

If actually run by the college, it can show interest in a particular field or potentially demonstrated interest for a college. Some are for credit and can show your child can meet the rigor of a college course.

Some are super competitive to get into and can look good on an application.

Not a must do by any stretch and they tend to be expensive (although many offer financial aid). For both of my kids, they helped rule out a major that would not have been a fit (for one, it meant not choosing art school, so that was huge). It really just depends on the program and your financial situation. They are by no means a ticket into a particular school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally depends on the program. The for profit ones that just rent out the college facilities, not so much.

If actually run by the college, it can show interest in a particular field or potentially demonstrated interest for a college. Some are for credit and can show your child can meet the rigor of a college course.

Some are super competitive to get into and can look good on an application.

Not a must do by any stretch and they tend to be expensive (although many offer financial aid). For both of my kids, they helped rule out a major that would not have been a fit (for one, it meant not choosing art school, so that was huge). It really just depends on the program and your financial situation. They are by no means a ticket into a particular school.

Do you mind sharing whether your DC did the RISD program, New School, or something else? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Not at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you.

Has anyone had their kids do these after which the kid confirmed an interest in a program or decided not to apply to certain schools after doing the program? That would provide value as well. Just wondering whether to even pursue these at all.

Thanks.

Wake's summer program absolutely drove DS away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally depends on the program. The for profit ones that just rent out the college facilities, not so much.

If actually run by the college, it can show interest in a particular field or potentially demonstrated interest for a college. Some are for credit and can show your child can meet the rigor of a college course.

Some are super competitive to get into and can look good on an application.

Not a must do by any stretch and they tend to be expensive (although many offer financial aid). For both of my kids, they helped rule out a major that would not have been a fit (for one, it meant not choosing art school, so that was huge). It really just depends on the program and your financial situation. They are by no means a ticket into a particular school.

Do you mind sharing whether your DC did the RISD program, New School, or something else? Thanks!

RISD. They write graphic novels and are largely self taught. They ended up feeling that RISD was Intellectually not varied enough and did not like the one dimensional focus of an art school. They also felt the graphic novelists were looked down upon by the studio artists and they did not enjoy the classical training.

It was a great way to try out an art school without applying. RISD also does a portfolio review and helps the students build their portfolios over the summer. Had they decided they wanted art, that would have been very helpful. They enjoyed the program a lot and felt it gave them a real taste of art school. They also made 2 close friends. I call that a win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you.

Has anyone had their kids do these after which the kid confirmed an interest in a program or decided not to apply to certain schools after doing the program? That would provide value as well. Just wondering whether to even pursue these at all.

Thanks.

DC did a summer engineering program at Johns Hopkins and another at UMD that confirmed that he did not want to go to an engineering school to study CS. He went somewhere where he could study it in an Arts and Sciences program. So that was helpful. We never thought it would help specifically with admission though. But if your kid needs something to do over the summer and you can afford a program like that, they can be good experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you.

Has anyone had their kids do these after which the kid confirmed an interest in a program or decided not to apply to certain schools after doing the program? That would provide value as well. Just wondering whether to even pursue these at all.

Thanks.

Wake's summer program absolutely drove DS away.

Then it had value for you and them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you.

Has anyone had their kids do these after which the kid confirmed an interest in a program or decided not to apply to certain schools after doing the program? That would provide value as well. Just wondering whether to even pursue these at all.

Thanks.

DS's friend did one after sophomore year that convinced him he did not want to apply anywhere pre-med, which helped him rethink his college plans. Another friend did one at Colorado College to see what it was like to take one class at a time (their approach). He loved it and ended up applying there. I could see it also be useful for learning about a certain type of school (what's it like to be on a small campus or part of a huge university) and also to get familiar with an unfamiliar part of the country (what's an urban or rural campus like).

Also, depending on what else your kid has going on over the summer, it fills time. My child works and plays sports but if your child would otherwise sitting around, it is a way to bring some structure and they could include it on their activities list. It's not an "impressive" thing to do, but it is a thing to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you.

Has anyone had their kids do these after which the kid confirmed an interest in a program or decided not to apply to certain schools after doing the program? That would provide value as well. Just wondering whether to even pursue these at all.

Thanks.

My kid did this with two different programs in two different (but overlapping) fields. One was pretty inexpensive, the other was a bit more expensive but "COIVD virtual" cut the costs by a decent amount. They learned a lot from those programs and have decided to pursue both topics in college. They are also the kind of kid that liked to take a session at CTY each summer in lower grades, they consider learning to be fun.

[Anonymous]

My older DD did 2 college programs of interest and she liked both of them, thy fostered her interest in intended field of study and both were fun things to do in the summer. Was accepted to 1 of the 2 colleges - not the higher ranked one but still feels like it was worth it.

Younger DS didn't do any and he has been accepted to all the schools he applied so far so it doesn't seem to be hindering him.