Summer programs?

[Anonymous]

DS (HS sophomore) received a nomination for the National Youth Foundation League for Medicine. Basically a $3K 10 day camp that focuses on medicine, how to get into med school, etc.
I believe that the nomination goes to many students taking advanced science classes in H.S. Not sure this is the camp for DS, but I would love to hear if anyone's child has attended this camp or something similar, and if so, how was it? DS is interested in sciences and business. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

To OP - I've read up a lot on the summer camp gambit. I would run your question through college confidential. In summary, if you are paying for a camp at a college, the admissions office knows the program is just mom and dad opening their wallet exercise. Many of these programs (even at Harvard, Brown, Stanford, etc.) are pay as you go programs and not considered real achievements in the eyes of college admissions teams. If, however, they are highly selective, then yes, go for it. Some college programs have no affiliation with the college itself -they just rent the space and bring in their own professors. This is true of the Oxford programs - you really aren't going to Oxford. You are going to a program run by some smart dude who is renting the empty dorms and bringing in lecturers. In all my searches on college confidential I haven't seen the name National Youth Foundation League for Medicine. The real summer scholarships that count are free or at a minimal fee: Clark, Garcia, SSP, Interlochen, Boston-Rise (although that has a fee), ROSS, NASA, SEAP, TASP, YYGS. The very best (RSI, SEAP) provide a stipend for your child. Those are the summer programs to apply to but they are highly selective and seek out international students. You are fortunate that your son is a sophmore because this gives you a year to figure this out. Applications for some of the most elite summer programs (the Virginia Governor's Program, for example) for rising seniors start in December. We missed a few dates because we weren't on the ball. The rest were due in Jan. and Feb. and we are waiting for results now. There are also books written specifically on the summer programs. It is a money-making machine so be careful. Just because it says "Stanford Summer School" doesn't count in Stanford's eyes and will take $10K out of your pocket fast, not including airfare. However, if you can get into the Stanford program for minorities or the less privileged (free) then that is a REAL summer program. If you can wade your way through College Confidental you can get a sense of which are the big name elite math and medical summer programs and which are not. My DS is not interested in medicine, but I would up reading "Summer Immersion in Medicine & Research for High School Students" by Raahil Sha and The Ultimate Guide to Summer Opportunities for Teens by Sandra L. Berger. The former mentions a National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine (based here in Reston) and takes 9, 10, ll, and 12 grades for $3K. It sounds selective but unfortunatley the book just reprints the description of whatever is on the internet about the program - it doesn't tell you which one is selective and which one is not. Berger's book doesn't even list National Youth Foundation League in Medicine, which makes it suspect. We did not get SEAP but then only 40 kids in the world did, and are waiting on the others. Just be careful. I got my best info out of college confidential.

[Anonymous]

No, don't. Premed applications and planning can be done in college unless you want a combined BS MD program