Are summer boarding programs at Brown, Harvard, Penn, Exeter, Andover worth it?

[Anonymous]

My mistake- SSP is not free, but it is one of the few programs that is widely known for producing top STEM kids, so it is taken seriously. Less than 10% are admitted. The others are free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This one at Cambridge is not even affiliated with the University. You have to read the fine print. "We are not in any way affiliated with Cambridge University". They are simply leasing the dorms and rooms and supply their own faculty. http://cambridgesummerinstitute.com/

Calm down. There are plenty which are not affiliated but if you actually go to the Cambridge university website and look for summer programs you will find the courses which are.

Its definitely not rocket science separating them out.

Why do you say "calm down". Nothing incendiary here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are some free programs which are, like MITES[/quote]


only if you qualify. Those programs are great for the urban poor or searches for minority talent. But for the rest of us, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What free programs? What's MITES

MITES (http://oeop.mit.edu/programs/mites) is a highly competitive engineering summer program for high school students, hosted by MIT. The school pays for tuition, room, and board. The students who are admitted to MITES tend to be the top STEM students in the nation.

There are others held in a similar regard: Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP), Summer Science Program (SSP), Research Science Institute (RSI). All competitive, highly selective, and free. They will confer an admissions advantage because they are renowned programs.

Really? Why don't you tell everyone what the M in mites stands for while you are at it? Unbelievable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MITES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What free programs? What's MITES

MITES (http://oeop.mit.edu/programs/mites) is a highly competitive engineering summer program for high school students, hosted by MIT. The school pays for tuition, room, and board. The students who are admitted to MITES tend to be the top STEM students in the nation.

There are others held in a similar regard: Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP), Summer Science Program (SSP), Research Science Institute (RSI). All competitive, highly selective, and free. They will confer an admissions advantage because they are renowned programs.

Really? Why don't you tell everyone what the M in mites stands for while you are at it? Unbelievable. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MITES

You should read your own sources. From the above link:

"Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply to MITES, applicants must be:

U.S. citizens or permanent residents
High school juniors or equivalent
Students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds can apply to the MITES Program."

[Anonymous]

Anyone can apply to MITES. It used to be minority only till 2003, but the name has stuck since then.

[Anonymous]

I have multiple students who do summer at Harvard each year. Almost all of them are rejected from Harvard when they apply to be admitted as freshmen.

I have a low opinion of this program because students who do this ALL come back believing they will be admitted to Harvard, assuring me that professors had told them they "had a good chance." These students sometimes go back to the summer program several times, and often these are weak students. I understand Harvard is making (a lot) of money from these students in the program, and it must be difficult for the profs teaching in the summer program (to make extra money) to be confronted with weak students who must be placated to ensure they keep coming back and paying, but the whole things leaves a bad taste in my mouth and leads to heartbreak each year when rejection letters come out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone can apply to MITES. It used to be minority only till 2003, but the name has stuck since then.

As a white male I would be feel very uncomfortable taking a spot at a program labeled for minorities. Look at E Warren and her Native American hoopla... a white male would have perceived advantages (even if he came from poor socioeconomic background and crummy schools like me) that i don't think it is a good gamble.

[Anonymous]

I did Harvard. Totally money maker. It was fun and helped me learn calculus bc my high school didn't teach it, but there are a lot better programs.

[Anonymous]

The question is what are you going to do instead?

Nothing you do in the summer is going to be as important as what you do during the school year.

Years ago our DD did several of these programs because her alternative was to LIT.

After many years of camp, going to more camp had no appeal.

She had a friend who wanted to be a teacher who LITed every chance she got and loved every minute.

By the way, out of that list, there is kind of a big difference between the universities and the prep schools.

The universities offer college credit which has certain appeal but can be stressful if you end up with a B.

In some programs, the prep schools seem to walk a tight rope between enrichment and making sure kids really know what they "learned" in HS.

[Anonymous]

I think programs like the Virginia Governor's School are worth it. It's practically free and admission is competitive.

[Anonymous]

I did an Ivy program as a teen. No, it didn't get me admitted to that Ivy. (But yes, the credits I earned transferred to my college.) But it was a good experience in the sense that I wasn't surprised by the college environment a year later. My made my son do the UMd program for this reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did an Ivy program as a teen. No, it didn't get me admitted to that Ivy. (But yes, the credits I earned transferred to my college.) But it was a good experience in the sense that I wasn't surprised by the college environment a year later. My made my son do the UMd program for this reason.

This is the sanest response so far. The courses are not designed to get you a place in the college as an undergrad, they are designed as educational enrichment, and if they achieve that, then they're working correctly for everyone.

[Anonymous]

What does LIT stand for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have multiple students who do summer at Harvard each year. Almost all of them are rejected from Harvard when they apply to be admitted as freshmen.

I have a low opinion of this program because students who do this ALL come back believing they will be admitted to Harvard, assuring me that professors had told them they "had a good chance." These students sometimes go back to the summer program several times, and often these are weak students. I understand Harvard is making (a lot) of money from these students in the program, and it must be difficult for the profs teaching in the summer program (to make extra money) to be confronted with weak students who must be placated to ensure they keep coming back and paying, but the whole things leaves a bad taste in my mouth and leads to heartbreak each year when rejection letters come out.

I know quite a few kids that have done the Harvard and Brown summer things. This year alone they're going to Brown, Duke, Cornell, Harvard, Yale. I'm not saying they got in because of the programs, I am saying these programs attract highly motivated kids. There's a lot of value in kids being exposed to smart diverse peers from around the world. Further, being away at summer school is far more productive than what the average lazy ass American teen -- which is sit on their ass all summer, maybe scoop ice cream while texting.