<p>Hey everyone! I'm really considering going to Harvard SSP next summer and i just wonder how hard it is to get in? also if you went there....how did you like it, how was Boston? were you able to go to other states over the weekend? I've never been to the east coast before but I am super excited to go visit!!</p>
<p>They basically accept you as long as you have the money to get in. Not competitive at all. Adcoms have explicitly stated that how you do at the summer school really does not cause admissions officers to look at your app in a different way. I would probably do something more productive with your summer.</p>
<p>I went this past summer. I really loved the experience. I though it was valuable getting to know a university before doing college apps because I have a better idea of what I was looking for. I loved Boston so much that I’m applying mostly to schools in the area. I’m absolutely in love with the area! I can testify that safety is never an issue if your parents are concerned like mine were. </p>
<p>Harvard itself is great! As an SSP student, we get access to all of its resources for the summer. I’m such a nerd, but I absolutely adore the libraries! The guards won’t let you in without a valid Harvard ID, so it’s awesome having that opportunity, if only for a summer. You also get to meet people from every corner of the world, including undergraduates from H and other colleges and graduate students. I thought that was eye-opening. </p>
<p>If you want to be away from Harvard (I believe rule of thumb is 45 miles) you have to let the directors know in advance. The program offers trips, though, including those to colleges in other states. (We went to Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, and Amherst, and shorter trips were offered to MIT, BU, and BC.) </p>
<p>The only thing that irked me was that rising juniors have a curfew set at 11 PM weeknights and 12:30 weekends. It was inconvenient. There’s such a small difference between rising juniors and rising seniors that it was unnecessary, you can’t tell them that. </p>
<p>Overall, I had the impression that admissions wasn’t hard at all. You should be able to get in just fine. 
If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. I like the nostalgia of remembering Harvard summer and I’d be more than happy in convincing another student in going.</p>
<p>I also went this past summer and agree with a lot of what BostonCrmPie said. I absolutely loved the program and all the people I met this summer. Basically, it allowed me to experience the freedom and responsibility of college life before applying to college this fall. Having said that, however, it doesn’t give you an advantage in college admissions, so if that’s what you’re looking for I’d suggest a different program.</p>
<p>I completely agree with the two posts above. Harvard SSP was one of the best experiences of my life. I thought the environment was great, Harvard is amazing, and I met so many interesting people. </p>
<p>Boston is a really great college town - there is so much going on and a lot to do. And the staff was really nice and lenient about letting you go out of state, you just have to let them know ahead of time. </p>
<p>Like the previous posts mentioned, admissions is fairly easy. I’ve heard from a few people the rate is about 60% - 70%, although I do not know how credible that number is.</p>
<p>Quick question: sorry if this is a rather dumb thing for me to ask, but how many courses do you usually take at Harvard SSP? (I mean, they’re a bit expensive.) Also, is the admission really that easy? I have a 2310 SAT and by the end of junior year only around 11 APs and not really many outstanding ECs so I don’t know how I’ll match up to other people applying there…</p>
<p>Also, is any financial aid available?</p>
<p>Holy crow 2310??? Relax, I had a 1910 cummulative. My high school didn’t even offer APs. You’ll be fine!</p>
<p>I’m sure you will be fine, I hadn’t even taken the SAT when I applied. And for a lot of the classes it doesn’t matter if you are not the smartest, but about how much work and effort you put into the class. </p>
<p>In terms of courses, you have to take 8 credits worth of classes. Either you take one 8-credit class or two 4-credit classes. The 8-credit classes are apparently alot more intense and time consuming.</p>
<p>@braves 2012 - Can i take just one 4 credit course as Im visitng USA for tourism purpose next summer and I dont want to be enrlled as a full time student there</p>
<p>I went two summers ago. The admission that time was 65% I think. I had a 2160 SAT at the time of applications I believe. </p>
<p>The experience was, without a doubt, amazing. I got to meet many people I wouldn’t usually get to meet in Kansas. I took the Aging Mind and Journalism courses. However, was it worth the $10,000? I don’t think so. </p>
<p>I think going to the Harvard Summer Scholars Program is a great experience if you have the time and money. However, ANY summer spent doing research or having an amazing international experience will be more feasible monetarily and will make you a better candidate for all Ivy Leagues. Yes, it is true that if you spend money on Harvard, they will be inclined toward you (why else would they ask you about that info on their app?) but a lot more can be done with 2+ months in a summer than paying $10k to go to the most prestigious SSP in the nation. </p>
<p>In short: if you have the money and do not have anything planned for the summer, go for it.
If you can get your hands on a good professor who will ultimately help you toward your college major/career goals, that would be a much better option.</p>
<p>I spent this last summer working at a brain imaging center studying cognition in aging individuals. I wish I could replace my Harvard Summer with the same experience.</p>
<p>Hi everyone. I’m a high school student from Czech Republic and I’m considering the option of applying to this summer’s Harvard SSP. I have really tried to find out as much as I could myself but there is a lot of countervailing information here on CC.
I don’t have a clear idea of how competitive the program really is. I mean, my last school report was somewhat mediocre (GPA of around 3.60). It was my worst ever, since my previous reports were ranging from 3.70 to 4.00. Would this be a major problem?
Another issue is that I got a Czech equivalent of B in English, which was a coincidence as I had always managed to get As effortlessly before. However, I proved my level of English to be sufficient by scoring 7.5 in the IELTS test. Again, would this kill my potential application?
My ec’s are not outstanding either. I have recently become a member of a student anti-corruption organisation, since graft is a major problem in our country. I am also a member of Prague Student Summit where I take part in a UN model. However, I have never done any serious volunteering, since it is not very habitual in my country. My only experience that resembles voluntary work is helping some of the younger and less talented students from destitute families with English.
My biggest asset, I think is a great zeal for the subjects I would apply for, i.e. Philosophy and Politics. I have read loads of books from those fields and I’m quite knowledgeable in them.
I know my chances are probably not very high but I would like to know your opinion anyway. Thanks a lot for any answer.</p>
<p>im considering applying for it for summer 2013 [if we’re still alive]. Based on what people have said i believe i’ll get in but i might need financial aid [hopefully not]. will that hinder the outcome?</p>
<p>can you do research with professors at harvard ssp?</p>
<p>I went to Harvard SSP in the summer of 2011, and I loved it! You’re not only with other academically motivated high school kids, but there are also a lot of undergrads and grad students in the classes (unless you take a summer seminar just for high school kids - I heard they’re fun, but I loved being able to debate and discuss with grad students and such!) It was a great experience if you want to get a feel for college classes, but don’t go just because you want to get into Harvard - as everyone else (including Harvard) says, it won’t in any way guarantee admission. But I like to think that doing really well in your classes will at least look impressive to other schools, if not Harvard. </p>
<p>As for admissions rates for the SSP program, they are actually VERY high. Some people say 20% or 50% but I would wager that they’re a lot higher than that. I remember during a welcome meeting the summer school dean told us that most people who apply are admitted; he said that, basically, just completing and submitting the application shows that you should be there. He also said, however, that most kids who apply have exceptional grades and applications, so I’m sure that they wouldn’t accept kids with low grades, though I don’t think many kids who aren’t intellectual apply in the first place. I mean, why would you bother applying to a summer academic program at HARVARD if you can’t even handle high school? I don’t think that B’s will kill you, and a couple C’s is probably acceptable, too, as long as you’re taking difficult classes. Also, they love to accept foreign kids, so that’s definitely a hook.</p>
<p>As for financial aid - I was a commuting student, so I may not be able to help much here. I do know that financial aid isn’t great - they certainly don’t dig very deep into that multi-billion dollar endowment for the SSP program, and I think they’re pretty upfront about that. They definitely tend to give more to students living on campus, and the earlier you apply for aid, the better. To put it into perspective: if I got into Harvard undergrad, I would basically go for free because of my mom’s income. However, I only got $750 from the SSP program, less than 1/3 of the cost of the one class I was taking. I know of a few kids who got the whole thing covered, but out of thousands of kids who attended, I only heard of 2 or 3 who got a full scholarship.</p>
<p>Oh my god. Did you just refer to 20% as a high acceptance rate?! </p>
<p>Speechless…</p>
<p>I"m applying for the summer of 2012 too! I’m just waiting for my counselor to give me a report/transcript and I’ll be sending those off! I’ll let you know how it goes, and who knows, maybe we’ll meet during the summer! good luck!</p>
<p>hey guys, im a harvard SSP alum:P i went last year and i have LOTS i could say, so please dont hesitate to contact me and ask me any questions!
i would love to share my experience.
i remember being in your spot last year and i had lots of questions that previous studens helped me answer so yeah:P
again, dont hesitate !</p>
<p>aside from the fact that you can ask me questions through messaging though, ill share a little about my experience.
so i went during summer 2011 as i said before, and i was a rising junior at that time… meaning 11 curfew weekdays 12:30 weekends. i was one of those people who went into it thinking “oh thats not bad at all! i wont be missing much”
but i was very mistaken.</p>
<p>lotsss my friends were rising seniors, and i missed a lot.
that being said, it was one of the most flexible curfew times out of all the college programs</p>
<p>also… i did sneak out a LOT.
i got really lucky, i was never caught. my roommates were pretty cool about it , and my proctors didnt catch me.
it was pretty close sometimes, and it would have been really really bad if i had gotten caught, but luckily it all worked out</p>
<p>anyway i have so much more i want to say but ill calm down and if u guys have questions, message me</p>
<p>btw, as far as sats go, i never even took them when i applied!! i also had done zero aps
i know lots of other people who were in the same place.</p>
<p>keep in mind though that everybody you meet is still very successful
it may not be competitive to get in but most people you meet will have donesomething great and often you dont realize it til u really get to knokw ppl</p>
<p>I just received an admission and I am considering going.</p>