do summer programs help at all with admissions?

[Anonymous]

RSI might help, but I heard it is extremely competitive:
https://www.cee.org/programs/research-science-institute

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My junior is passionately interested in Barnard. Would like to ED next year. It's 150% her first choice. She wants to attend a woman's college.
She's a top student at a top DC private so her chances are probably as decent as they can be (but still very much a lotto).
Would it help her application at all to do a summer program there? They have a 7 week pre-baccalaureate program (for college credit with Barnard faculty) but it is $$.

Nope, they do not. They give a false sense of security. The two programs also rarely talk to each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think they help at all at a particular school but if the program is in marine biology or whatever and the application makes the case that you have an abiding interest in marine biology I think it can be a minor positive, the same as volunteering in something related to marine biology. But that would be at any school not the school where the kid did the program in particular.

This right here. The summer program can be a valuable piece of a kid's application narrative. It shows an interest in a field and a desire to learn more about it. Remember this anecdote from Jeff Selingo's book "Who Gets In and Why" about a pre-med applicant to Emory:

"The original readers gave him a score of 2 out of 5 in that category, observing he wants to major in pre-med, 'but we don’t see activities to support that.'"

https://www.marketplace.org/2020/10/05/college-admissions-is-a-business-and-the-pandemic-could-upend-it/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything I've read says that most do not help if they are "pay to play," meaning that it's not hard to get into them if you have the money. I would say that if a kid has a really intense desire to go to a specific school or type of school, it couldn't hurt because at least it gives the kid a chance to really be involved in the campus. But even a program like the Yale Global Scholars Program, which I think IS competitive and is considered sort of prestigious is not getting your kid into Yale.

If you look at places like college confidential or the insane applyingtocollege subreddit on Reddit, you will see lists of programs that supposedly do help with college admissions. A lot of the ones listed are in math and STEM but there are a few that are in the humanities.

There are also numerous programs involving research that look good. A lot of them are free. Some aren't, but they are known as being selective. My kid is applying to a few of the math/science ones this summer. We will see if he gets in. But I decided against having him apply to some of the other college programs that were really just expensive because he's not interested in any particular college.

We looked at the George Mason research program, which is basically where the student does research ALL summer--literally ALL summer from 9-5. That would probably look good, but I decided I didn't want my kid to spend all summer doing work to go back to school and do more work. Some students might really love that.

I won't discount the value of these competitive admission summer programs. But their real value in college applications is serving as a vetting process. Students who are accepted have demonstrated strong academic and intellectual chops. Arguably, a kid who gets into Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASP) was going to be accepted to T20 schools regardless.

[Anonymous]

For those with kids who’ve been through the process, any summer programs to recommend? That seemed to help with admission, of interest to interviewers if your child did college interviews?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those with kids who’ve been through the process, any summer programs to recommend? That seemed to help with admission, of interest to interviewers if your child did college interviews?

Choose the summer programs whcih are related to your kid's major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those with kids who’ve been through the process, any summer programs to recommend? That seemed to help with admission, of interest to interviewers if your child did college interviews?

Choose the summer programs whcih are related to your kid's major

pretty much that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They don't necessarily help with an admission. But there are so many benefits. I did one. I made lifelong friends, enjoyed the rigorous classes, loved living on a college campus, made connections with professors, etc.

Yes. I think there are benefits. But all the info I've found says they generally don't help with admissions. Not everything has to be about admissions, though. I'd really like my kid to go to a college program this summer because he's not really been away from home before. Did not do sleepaway camp, and the last two years were total washes. He was going to go to CTY 2 summers ago and that got cancelled. So he's just done online summer school two summers in a row. I've been doing a lot of research on which programs actually seem to have some merit with colleges + what he wants and will enjoy + what he might get into. He's applying to some math and science programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They don't necessarily help with an admission. But there are so many benefits. I did one. I made lifelong friends, enjoyed the rigorous classes, loved living on a college campus, made connections with professors, etc.

Yes. I think there are benefits. But all the info I've found says they generally don't help with admissions. Not everything has to be about admissions, though. I'd really like my kid to go to a college program this summer because he's not really been away from home before. Did not do sleepaway camp, and the last two years were total washes. He was going to go to CTY 2 summers ago and that got cancelled. So he's just done online summer school two summers in a row. I've been doing a lot of research on which programs actually seem to have some merit with colleges + what he wants and will enjoy + what he might get into. He's applying to some math and science programs.

Similar for rising jr. We just think he should have the experience of being away from home before going to college and we think that it may help him do a better job of assessing schools on college visits. We also think that it may help in rule in/rule out potential majors.

We are trying to identify ones that seem at least somewhat selective or at least not run by done outside for profit type entity. I don’t expect any program to help him get into a particular school.

Like another PP, the GMU research program looks great but we want DS to make friends and have fun as well rather than working a 9-5 type job without other same age peers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RSI might help, but I heard it is extremely competitive:
https://www.cee.org/programs/research-science-institute

RSI is a free program. We have had a few kids from our school (NY) in the past few years. I think they take one or two kids per state. Anyone with experience on what this program is looking fir. My DS is applying for this program and is interested in research. Supposed to be highly selective (a friend told me that it may be easier to get into top 5 colleges than RSI). Anyone with experience on what they think mattered in your kids application to get into this program?

[Anonymous]

My DD did 2. She ended up at one of the schools but I don’t think the summer program helped get her in except that it showed her interest in the school and the major she said she was thinking about. It also gave her a feel for the school (which was helpful because people like to throw shade at the school and she had enough information to make an informed decision).

The other one helped her decide whether she wanted to major in art (which was a no). Had she wanted to major in art, the program would do a portfolio review, which would have been helpful.

She made great friends at both and remains in contact with them.

If you can afford it, go for it. If not, it will not hold her back or give someone else and undue advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:RSI might help, but I heard it is extremely competitive:
https://www.cee.org/programs/research-science-institute

RSI is a free program. We have had a few kids from our school (NY) in the past few years. I think they take one or two kids per state. Anyone with experience on what this program is looking fir. My DS is applying for this program and is interested in research. Supposed to be highly selective (a friend told me that it may be easier to get into top 5 colleges than RSI). Anyone with experience on what they think mattered in your kids application to get into this program?

RSI is big in our private school. They make all seniors who are remotely interested in STEM research apply. Kids who get into this program are almost guaranteed a spot in the top 5 colleges, probably because there is a rigorous application process.
My DD who is a sophomore was made aware of this program by her bio teacher and the students are highly enocuraged to apply in their junior year

[Anonymous]

They are exactly like soccer camps for prospective athletes. Just a way for the program to make money during the summer and get kids hopes up.

[Anonymous]

Whether or not it helped with admission, if your child do to a summer program on campus and had a great experience, would like any recommendations. Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whether or not it helped with admission, if your child do to a summer program on campus and had a great experience, would like any recommendations. Thanks

Over 20 years ago , I did a program for sophomores at Cornell (I did ultimately get in) and after junior year, did one at Duke (I did not ultimately get in) and they were both utterly fantastic experiences. I will add that they got me very excited about going to college and moving forward with my academics, and I think that's good motivation for a HS student. If you have concerns about your kid staying strong senior year, I think a college summer program is a fantastic idea. Especially for an advanced kid who may be sick of their hometown lol.

The Duke Pre-College program is associated with their Talent Identification Program (TIP) which is a bit different, takes truly gifted younger kids. It's an OG program with a great reputation. It's a hot summer, though!