How much do college summer programs help with admissions?

[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.

this is the correct answer, in my very recent experience. The PPs who claim that no college summer program matters to any AO (zip! nada! nothing!) are incorrect.

DS did two different summer things, both extremely competitive entry. One, at a T10 school, was an actual class where he sat alongside freshmen and sophomores and a handful of equally smart high schoolers. He decided not to ED that school, but when being interviewed by a different T20 school, the AO person asked him a lot of substantive questions about what he studied. He developed knowledge from that class that he turned around and used as background in some of his "Why us?" essays.

The other competitive entry program he did was, I think, competitive due to space constraints and having far more applicants than slots due probably to the prestige of the university/college (Oxford). Again, AO interviewers did ask him about curriculum there because it directly relates to his intended field of study and he was able to make that connection for them.

So unless DC went to Oxford, they did not help with admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None. Zip. Zero.

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

There is one program that I KNOW makes a difference in admissions (at least for ED applicants at that school) and that is Davidson College's July Experience taught by full time Davidson professors. My D attended when it was last held pre-pandemic and along with 6 others who roomed in her dorm floor alone were admitted ED or ED2. She knows at least 15 others who attended and are now classmates at Davidson She was told by one of the student counselors that the admissions rate for successful July Experience attendees is around 80% (vs. 17% rate overall). Just don't take this anonymous poster's word for it. Jeff Selingo in his book Who Gets in and Why mentions the program being a deciding factor in an applicant's admission. The applicant previously was on the cusp of being denied before it was noted that the applicant attended JE. It was a great experience for my child and a life changing one at that now that she's happily a student there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of these comments are weird. It's way too extreme to say these programs have no value.

No one said they have no value.

The OP's question was WRT admissions. Read the thread title.

In admissions, it is the overwhelming consensus that they offer no benefit. What's weird is some people's refusal to accept that.

A post that says "Zero - it's a money grab thing" is saying that these programs are a money grab without value. It's not like that post says: "Zero - but it has other value/benefits".


Asserting that they have value (sometimes a lot of value) is not the same thing as saying they help with admissions. What's weird is your inability to understand that.

What's weird is your inability to read the OP and the title of the thread.

Those answers are completely accurate, appropriate, and on topic.

Yeah god forbid we provide additional context-- like how a summer program was helpful-- to a poster deciding whether to send her kid to one. No one ever does that. That's never useful
Also, my post, that you quoted, also said that these programs are "certainly no ticket into college". Convenient how you left that off for your critique.

Not saying your posts are off topic. I'm saying they are not showing the whole picture, are extreme, and leave out crucial data points.

What is this, bizzarro world? YOU were the one who criticized posts. All I said was the posters you criticized were valid and on topic.

OP didn't ask for "the whole picture". Want that? Start a new thread.

I repeat: the posts you criticized were 100% accurate, appropriate and on-topic, that these programs don't help at all in admissions. That's my point, end-period.

DP. Your posts are rude and unhelpful. Just so you know

Disagree with both charges.

[Anonymous]

We told our 10th grader that he had to pick a program at a college to attend this upcoming summer. We want him to start thinking about some potential career areas and said he could pick anything he wants. He's going to attend an "Exploring Your Options" camp in engineering. He will get a taste of all of the different engineering disciplines to see if any spark his interest. I doubt that it will make a difference in admissions but I'm hoping it will give him some direction or a bit more motivation.

[Anonymous]

Yes, some programs do help if the kid does well in the program. For each of these I know kids who got into the college after attending, with help of recommendations from summer profs

Yale Young Global Scholars
Medill Cherubs (Northwestern)
Wharton Global Youth (Penn)

[Anonymous]

DD did Duke Tip program. Hated Duke afterwards. At Dartmouth now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. Zip. Zero.

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

There is one program that I KNOW makes a difference in admissions (at least for ED applicants at that school) and that is Davidson College's July Experience taught by full time Davidson professors. My D attended when it was last held pre-pandemic and along with 6 others who roomed in her dorm floor alone were admitted ED or ED2. She knows at least 15 others who attended and are now classmates at Davidson She was told by one of the student counselors that the admissions rate for successful July Experience attendees is around 80% (vs. 17% rate overall). Just don't take this anonymous poster's word for it. Jeff Selingo in his book Who Gets in and Why mentions the program being a deciding factor in an applicant's admission. The applicant previously was on the cusp of being denied before it was noted that the applicant attended JE. It was a great experience for my child and a life changing one at that now that she's happily a student there.

My DS is interested in this program, regardless of whether it provides an admission boost, but I wonder if it’s been cancelled, it didn’t happen last summer and there’s no info about this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. Zip. Zero.

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

Not true. They show demonstrated interest and I’ve seen some incredibly impactful supplemental essays that center around an experience in a program like this. Also sometimes it helps make you pointy in a way unique to a program you may be applying to at a school. So they can help if utilized strategically.

nope the originial poster was correct does nothing nadda zip zero

Interesting — on my kids’ supplemental applications, the schools specifically asked if the students attended any pre-college summer programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD did Duke Tip program. Hated Duke afterwards. At Dartmouth now.

What did he hate about that program?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

this is the correct answer, in my very recent experience. The PPs who claim that no college summer program matters to any AO (zip! nada! nothing!) are incorrect.

DS did two different summer things, both extremely competitive entry. One, at a T10 school, was an actual class where he sat alongside freshmen and sophomores and a handful of equally smart high schoolers. He decided not to ED that school, but when being interviewed by a different T20 school, the AO person asked him a lot of substantive questions about what he studied. He developed knowledge from that class that he turned around and used as background in some of his "Why us?" essays.

The other competitive entry program he did was, I think, competitive due to space constraints and having far more applicants than slots due probably to the prestige of the university/college (Oxford). Again, AO interviewers did ask him about curriculum there because it directly relates to his intended field of study and he was able to make that connection for them.

So unless DC went to Oxford, they did not help with admissions.

NP. Person I know with an admit [this year] to HYSP followed a similar track as described above (that is to say, took a few great summer programs at different prestigious places, one intl., and then applied early to a different school).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, some programs do help if the kid does well in the program. For each of these I know kids who got into the college after attending, with help of recommendations from summer profs

Yale Young Global Scholars
Medill Cherubs (Northwestern)
Wharton Global Youth (Penn)

The Yale program specifically says it does not help with admissions. Doesn't mean you can't still get in, but substantively it was a colossal waste. Look for programs where DC can actually take classes at a college rather than the puff that something like YYGS serves up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. Zip. Zero.

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

There is one program that I KNOW makes a difference in admissions (at least for ED applicants at that school) and that is Davidson College's July Experience taught by full time Davidson professors. My D attended when it was last held pre-pandemic and along with 6 others who roomed in her dorm floor alone were admitted ED or ED2. She knows at least 15 others who attended and are now classmates at Davidson She was told by one of the student counselors that the admissions rate for successful July Experience attendees is around 80% (vs. 17% rate overall). Just don't take this anonymous poster's word for it. Jeff Selingo in his book Who Gets in and Why mentions the program being a deciding factor in an applicant's admission. The applicant previously was on the cusp of being denied before it was noted that the applicant attended JE. It was a great experience for my child and a life changing one at that now that she's happily a student there.

Agree that Davidson is the right sort of program - that is, one that has real classes at the school. Unfortunately for us, Davidson bought in to Covid fear and suspended programs so DC had to go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, some programs do help if the kid does well in the program. For each of these I know kids who got into the college after attending, with help of recommendations from summer profs

Yale Young Global Scholars
Medill Cherubs (Northwestern)
Wharton Global Youth (Penn)

The Yale program specifically says it does not help with admissions. Doesn't mean you can't still get in, but substantively it was a colossal waste. Look for programs where DC can actually take classes at a college rather than the puff that something like YYGS serves up.

Where did you get THAT from? According to the website, it's not at all clear that the Yale program "does not help with admissions."

"In short, a Certificate of Completion . . . helps students as a credential to add to an application to ANY college or university around the world (including Yale) . . ."

https://globalscholars.yale.edu/common-questions

[Anonymous]

They straight out said it when DC attended but that was four years ago and they may have changed their tune for marketing reasons. Otherwise, here is a blurb from a college website (prepscholar):

Will attending a Yale Young Global Scholars program impress colleges? It depends on what you make of the program. Just having it on your college application won't do much. Despite a somewhat low acceptance rate, the program isn't competitive enough or well-known enough to really make a difference to colleges. It will basically look the same as any other extracurricular program, such as a local summer camp, club membership, etc. Because the program is affiliated with Yale, it may give your application a small boost if you apply there, because it'll show interest in the school, but in most, if not all, cases, this won't be enough to make a difference whether you'll be admitted or not.

And, in any event, the classes were largely inane, mostly taught by college students.

[Anonymous]

This question comes up on this board from time to time so my answer might be familiar with those who have read these threads before.

My sister is a Cambridge University graduate. In the summer before applying there, she attended a week long Literature class for pre-college aged students (she went to a UK school and is from there). During that week she met and was taught by 2 different Cambridge professors who liked her work and were impressed by her ideas. When she turned up for her interview, one of them was at the table interviewing her. She got in and graduated with a 1st.

But this is not to say she got in BECAUSE she did the course, she got in because she is brilliant and ticked all the boxes, she had the grades, the unpaid internships at publishers, her own writing work.

I know a lot of courses are not run in house, so that's going to make a big difference, but what the course she went on did for her was put her in front of the very people who mattered and who saw her work and heard her speak about literature in ways that impressed them and they remembered her and they wanted her to be their student.