This is OP, and I appreciate the general suggestions and specific recommendations. I will suggest DC look into the William & Mary program- does anyone how if/how competitive entry is? Also, DC has already taken APUSH - will the material be repetitive or build on it/go deeper?

We are in MD so no Governors School unfortunately - I participated in my home state one summer in HS and had a great experience, one of the pieces being on a college campus and another was being with a group of engaged, excited peers.

To the posters whose children had good experiences at Skidmore and Denison, how did you sort out ahead of time that those programs would be strong?

We aren’t interested in this for college admissions at all. We do think it will add value to DC’s college search in that she can see does she like small/big, rural/city, etc, and will help make more realistic her expectations for the college experience and does she feel prepared from an emotional standpoint. We want the experience to be engaging and help her hone interests, too. I agree that the programs are pricey and I wish there were more lower cost ones.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

I work at a university that offers these programs, and they are absolutely a cash cow—not being able to have them during the pandemic was a huge source of lost high-margin revenue—but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. I would assume they count as “demonstrated interest” for schools that consider that in admissions, and I’m sure other schools would see the decision to participate in a rigorous academic program during the summer as a plus when evaluating a student.

To me, though, the value is the experience of living away from home on a college campus for a couple of weeks. It seems like a great way for a teenager to get a taste of what that’s like. I would not send my kid to one of these programs for admissions purposes.

+1 my kid did one of these programs pre pandemic and we didn’t see it as a way to get a leg up in admissions but as experience in living away from home, a chance to do some relatively intense academic work, and a chance to get a sense of what they look for in a college campus. Especially for those years when they are too old for camp but too young to get a job it’s a nice option.

This makes sense. Exactly the same for us.

Thanks, My DD would much rather work this summer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

I work at a university that offers these programs, and they are absolutely a cash cow—not being able to have them during the pandemic was a huge source of lost high-margin revenue—but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. I would assume they count as “demonstrated interest” for schools that consider that in admissions, and I’m sure other schools would see the decision to participate in a rigorous academic program during the summer as a plus when evaluating a student.

To me, though, the value is the experience of living away from home on a college campus for a couple of weeks. It seems like a great way for a teenager to get a taste of what that’s like. I would not send my kid to one of these programs for admissions purposes.

+1 my kid did one of these programs pre pandemic and we didn’t see it as a way to get a leg up in admissions but as experience in living away from home, a chance to do some relatively intense academic work, and a chance to get a sense of what they look for in a college campus. Especially for those years when they are too old for camp but too young to get a job it’s a nice option.

This makes sense. Exactly the same for us.

My kids have both done them and it absolutely was not with the intention that it would help them get into a specific college. DS had no interest in the college where he did a program. DD is now interested in the one where she did it but that was not the intention (and the school is not a reach for her anyway).

What they did get out of it was demystifying what it's like to live on a campus, some exposure to the academic fields of interest, and some advise on things to consider when it does come time to apply to college. They also both don't know a lot of other kids interested in the same thing so enjoyed spending a week with a bunch of kids who shared their interest.

DS also ended up drawing from the experience in some college essays that asked about why he was interested in the major he was applying to or what his career goals were.

^^Actually, this was more the reason for her high school summer experiences, but the benefit still applies. Especially if you kid will require an expensive, time consuming graduate degree. You want to make sure that they know what they are getting into.

I did it solely to help my kid figure out what to major in (i.e., she had a vague interest, but I wanted to make sure it was based upon a realistic understanding of the field prior to letting it influence her career path).

Yale Young Global Scholar

OP, you're getting a lot of (a) it's only a cash cow and (2) it's useless for boosting admission chances so why bother.

Well, there absolutely ARE programs like that, but if you are actually seeking a program for content that your kid will find enriching and interesting, and you're not just seeking something to stick on college applications--there are programs like that too. You are wise to be looking around carefully but this site may not be your best resource because there is SO much focus here on "will doing X help my kid's admission chances" rather than on "Is the program content of good quality and will my child have a good experience with what's learned?" (Not just living on campus---actually, will the kid get a good educational experience that's interesting.)

I've heard the William and Mary program mentioned above was very good content and well designed but we don't have personal experience with it.

See if you can search around online for mentions of programs of interest to your kid -- maybe posts by kids or parents of kids who have done programs that look right for your student. College Confidential used to have some things like that but alas they seem to have dried up and are all about "here are my stats, 'chance me,' can I get into school X" stuff. We used CC to find out more about creative writing programs when my DC was in high school and it led us to the fantastic summer program at Denison University, for instance.

I would say a general rule for any program is that if it's all pay to play, it's likelier to be a cash cow than if the student truly has to compete for a slot to enter. It can be hard, of course, to tell if applying to enter is truly competitive and they turn people away or if they just say they do....You might have to do some deep dive internet searching to get to comments by "been there, done that program" students and parents.

And some PPs above are correct that if a third party is running the program and the college is really just the location -- it might be more of a mere cash cow. You really need reviews from those whose kids have done those programs.

I mentioned state Governors' Schools above and still think they're a place to look, too. DC's friends did humanities there -- one did Latin, one did history, and both had good experiences (VA).

I would not approach this as "Can this increase my kid's chances of getting admitted to the host school." NOT saying you're doing that, OP! Just noting that it comes up here. Do it because your kid wants to do it as fun and enrichment, and the living on a campus is a good plus. But it would be a huge investment of many summer weeks to do these programs just in hopes they might boost a kid's chances of admision at the host school or elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

I work at a university that offers these programs, and they are absolutely a cash cow—not being able to have them during the pandemic was a huge source of lost high-margin revenue—but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. I would assume they count as “demonstrated interest” for schools that consider that in admissions, and I’m sure other schools would see the decision to participate in a rigorous academic program during the summer as a plus when evaluating a student.

To me, though, the value is the experience of living away from home on a college campus for a couple of weeks. It seems like a great way for a teenager to get a taste of what that’s like. I would not send my kid to one of these programs for admissions purposes.

What are you talking about?
they went online - many of them still offer online.

I’m talking about the fact that the in-person programs didn’t happen; the dorm rentals are where schools make a lot of money. Online means you still have to pay a professor to teach the class, and people aren’t willing to pay nearly as much because their kids aren’t getting the full “experience.” Dorms are unoccupied in the summer but still have to be maintained at a basic level; costs increase minimally when you have HS students staying in them, but the schools can charge a fortune.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

I work at a university that offers these programs, and they are absolutely a cash cow—not being able to have them during the pandemic was a huge source of lost high-margin revenue—but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. I would assume they count as “demonstrated interest” for schools that consider that in admissions, and I’m sure other schools would see the decision to participate in a rigorous academic program during the summer as a plus when evaluating a student.

To me, though, the value is the experience of living away from home on a college campus for a couple of weeks. It seems like a great way for a teenager to get a taste of what that’s like. I would not send my kid to one of these programs for admissions purposes.

+1 my kid did one of these programs pre pandemic and we didn’t see it as a way to get a leg up in admissions but as experience in living away from home, a chance to do some relatively intense academic work, and a chance to get a sense of what they look for in a college campus. Especially for those years when they are too old for camp but too young to get a job it’s a nice option.

Online= the university doesn't charge room and board and other facility fees.

If you saw in a previous post, some of these in person programs t rent space from prestigious universities which is a win win for both. Jacks up the price of the program and generates income for the university .

My DC participates in these in person programs. Duringthe last 2 summers, they went online, the price was 1/3 of the in person cost. Great for us parents paying but the kid' didnt get the college experience.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

I work at a university that offers these programs, and they are absolutely a cash cow—not being able to have them during the pandemic was a huge source of lost high-margin revenue—but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. I would assume they count as “demonstrated interest” for schools that consider that in admissions, and I’m sure other schools would see the decision to participate in a rigorous academic program during the summer as a plus when evaluating a student.

To me, though, the value is the experience of living away from home on a college campus for a couple of weeks. It seems like a great way for a teenager to get a taste of what that’s like. I would not send my kid to one of these programs for admissions purposes.

What are you talking about?
they went online - many of them still offer online.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

I work at a university that offers these programs, and they are absolutely a cash cow—not being able to have them during the pandemic was a huge source of lost high-margin revenue—but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have value. I would assume they count as “demonstrated interest” for schools that consider that in admissions, and I’m sure other schools would see the decision to participate in a rigorous academic program during the summer as a plus when evaluating a student.

To me, though, the value is the experience of living away from home on a college campus for a couple of weeks. It seems like a great way for a teenager to get a taste of what that’s like. I would not send my kid to one of these programs for admissions purposes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I read about so many amazing stem programs on college campuses in the summer.

I know most have humanities/liberal arts offerings, too, but we are having trouble distinguishing among the programs.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a history/political science focused teen? He likes math/statistics, too.

We’d like him to have an experience living on a campus for a week or 2, if possible.

Thanks for any suggestions.

To what extent are these programs just income generators for universities? I am trying to understand whether worthwhile or not. Thanks.

+1 Does participating in these programs help students get into these universities?

No, unless it’s a specifically designed cultivation of possible candidates program. For example, trying to get underrepresented kids in engineering. Also, look closely, in addition at just being income generators, some are just rented space at big name school but have nothing to do with the school. As OO is trying to do, evaluate each one carefully. Kid can also have a good time at an income generator program…

Anonymous wrote:Alot of these are outrageously expensive.

Yeah, they are only for rich kids. Another privilege.

Some might provide a small number of scholarship slots, but that is not their main purpose.