<p>My son is currently a sophmore. He is thinking about his college applications, and wondering if a summer program is important to have on his application. He has heard if they cost money it just shows you have the money to pay for it, but that it is good to show the initiative to learn in the summer. </p>
<p>Also, any advice on Boys State Camp and if that is good to have?</p>
<p>He is interested in learning something not available to him in high school, so this would be a good thing for him, not just a resume builder.</p>
<p>How do you figure all this out!!! It seems like a maze of do's and don'ts that I am afraid we will mess up!
Thanks</p>
<p>He should do well academically and have interests outside of academics that he likes. That’s really it. Colleges want interesting people. Let him be interesting. </p>
<p>If your son is aiming at selective colleges and universities, then doing something productive with his summers will improve his application. But a very broad range of things can count as “something productive.”</p>
<p>The best advice I ever heard on this matter was from a friend of mine who told her kids to begin with the end in mind. A teenager may end up changing his mind between ninth and eleventh grades, and that’s fine, but he should ask, “What do I want my activities outside of classes and homework to say about me when I am applying to college? Am I a jock? An outdoorsman? A linguist? A musician? An entrepreneur? A do-gooder?” </p>
<p>And then he should look for activities that not only help him tell that story, but also enable him to show that, year by year, he has taken on greater responsibility, acquired new skills, or otherwise experienced some kind of personal growth. For example, if he is outdoorsy, he could do a wilderness program for a summer or two, and then become a group leader in a similar program. He could spend a couple of summers learning Italian, and then travel to Italy when he’s older. He could get a summer job working as a lifeguard, and work his way up to being an assistant manager of the pool.</p>
<p>Almost any kind of summer experience other than drinking beer and playing Xbox can be OK, as long as it says something about who he’s becoming, and shows that he’s making progress toward getting there.</p>
<p>And if, after 3 summers of Interlochen, he decides that he really wants to be an architect and not a violinist…well, there’s probably a good college essay to be written on how he had that epiphany.</p>
<p>Competitive colleges like to see classes, EC’s, summer experiences that all support a passion. However, it is not that big of a deal. If your child has the opportunity to do something over the summer that is fun and enriching, then consider doing it for its own sake, rather than merely to support an application. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Some of the colleges apps want you to list what you did each summer whether it was working at a job or something else. DS did something each summer but it was because he was interested in it. It wasn’t until he started filling out apps that he found out it was a good thing he had. As long as your son can put something down whether it’s I attended a summer program on XYZ or I volunteered at the zoo or had a job at krogers he will be fine.</p>
<p>I agree, there isn’t any one program that is “good” or “bad”. I know that colleges like to see Boys State if that is of an interest to him but usually it’s more of a “that’s nice that he did that” vs “BOYS STATE–HE’S IN”. Let him do what interests him. A summer job is as good as a summer program really. They just want to see that he isn’t spending all summer playing video games :D.</p>
<p>not a straight forward answer. My experience reading applications for an honors college at a large university tell me that all summer programs do not help. Referees have a good feel for ones that are selective and prestigious versus the “pay to play” options. The latter does not help. FYI: some expensive programs at even Ivy schools are not that selective and not considered prestigious. So watch out for that.</p>
<p>I’d rather see a kid get a job - and show both initiative and responsibility - rather than participate in another summer program paid for by mommy and daddy.</p>
<p>The two exceptions:</p>
<p>(1) an activity that the kid does every summer to pursue a particular passion or develop a particular skill; and</p>
<p>(2) a pre-college program that will actually help the kid figure out what he or she wants to do in college.</p>
<p>For example, several schools offer short (1 - 3 wk.) engineering programs in the summer, to help a potential engineering student decide if he or she is really interested in an engineering major. At some private schools, this is a really costly undertaking ($5k - 10k!), but at some other, most often state, schools, it’s both affordable and subsidized for lower-income kids. I’m not saying it’ll look good on the kid’s applications . . . but it might be a huge help in deciding where to submit those applications!</p>
<p>I disagree, I think summer programs can help. But your kid doesn’t have to go to a tippy top one.</p>
<p>For example, my D2 has done some of the following in the summer:
She went to one program where she took two college courses in a three week period for credit. She did this two different summers. She wanted to try it initially just to see if she could do it (scary academic challenge). She has used that in her essays to discuss why she knows she wants an intensely academic environment for her college experience.
She spent a few weeks last summer at an engineering-related program. Learned she does not want to be an engineer, but it gave her some skills and confidence she uses in Robotics this year, and that might be useful in experimental physics (another interest of hers). Again, she was able to discuss this in essays.
She has been to a one week program focused on her primary academic EC a couple of times. It improved her skills in her EC considerably, and was a factor in helping her become a top player in our state. She doesn’t talk about the summer experience in her apps except in passing in the EC section, but the end result (top player) does come up.
D1 was more of a “theme” kid – she spoke an unusual language (studied at camp in years prior to high school). In high school she did a program to get credit for the language for two summers, and then spent a summer abroad in that country (on a scholarship). It did give her college app an unusual flavor, I think it helped with merit awards.</p>
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<p>Your son absolutely has the right attitude about this! I also think Sikorsky has a good suggestion about thinking about his “theme” and building on that if he has one. But that doesn’t have to be through a program. If he doesn’t have a “theme” to build on, it is also a good time to explore various fields and careers (like engineering) or work on strengthening his ECs.</p>
<p>In our experience we didn’t feel that summer programs would help with admissions, but they helped get our kids ready (and us ready) for their going away to college. In a couple of cases I think the summer experience helped our kids figure out what kind college experience they wanted (they all ended up choosing LACs).</p>
<p>To my way of thinking, the only exception would be programs where selection is rigorous, for example in NJ the Governor’s School summer program. The kind of program where you pay and just about anyone can get in may provide a great experience, but seem unlikely to boost admissions chances unless they are a signal to “need blind” admissions offices that the applicant might be a full-pay student.</p>
<p>D went to two very prestigious “audition only” music programs as a HS student. It didn’t hurt her applications. BUT in both of the scholarship/financial aid interview where she was offered the most money,they commented on the fact that she had a job during the rest of summer and during the school year. Quote: “we like to see that the students who are asking us for money are actually trying to make some themselves.”</p>
<p>In working with a college counselor, we were told that summer programs are important for selective schools. The best ones are selective and prestigious, as mentioned by luvthej. They are usually free if selected. Summer programs relate to someone’s EC to show passion are also good. The counselor also said if our kid wanted to do a summer program at a college, select one that’s her top choice and take college level couses, not just a program which is hosted at the college. By taking a college course at a highly competitive college and able to get good grades would show aptitude. Of course, the flip side if if the student gets bad grades then it defeats the purpose. By doing a college summer program would also help with “why college X” essay. If the student could get a LOR then it is so much better. The counselor also mentioned that there is nothing wrong in getting a summer job or doing volunteer work. He did say the summer after junior year is very important. FYI - most competitive summer programs start taking applications fall of junior year, and they usually require a lot of essays, LORs, interviews. Something to plan ahead.</p>
<p>I agree that attending a pre-college program in an area of interest, and possibly a college major, will benefit the student’s application. S attended a couple of pre-college programs in design and after he began his first year in college, discovered that the school really liked accepting students from one of the programs he had attended. In fact, one of his classmates was someone he had met at that very program. And this was for a program where 600 students applied for 55 slots.</p>
<p>I didn’t want my kids to do summer programs for the purpose of gaining college admissions. I did however think it was a good idea for them to do summer programs to explore interests that they had in greater detail. </p>
<p>Each of my two kids did a different kind of summer program during each of their intermediate summers and got something out of each. They ranged from music camp, language immersion, computer science, biology, biotech, and an entire AP course in 3 weeks at Northwestern. All of them wanted you to think they were competitive, but we knew that some were uber competitive and some were money making operations, though of very high quality. </p>
<p>It’s not about college. It’s about learning and growing in a different kind of setting than school can provide. </p>
<p>We really didn’t care what colleges thought of them. If you live your life worrying about how this and that looks, you’re not really living.</p>
<p>IMO, what CRS has said is key. To do these things in order to get into college would be mercenary–and probably transparent, too. The kids who get into top colleges have often done interesting and productive things with their summers, but they have some them because they were interested in doing those things.</p>
<p>But I don’t think there is anything wrong with what I suggested earlier, which is to do the things you like, but to do them with an eye toward what your accomplishments will say about you when you’re ready to move on to the next phase of your life.</p>
<p>I have 2 kids that got into highly selective colleges, and they did not take any summer programs, although they did participate in their sport in the summer. </p>
<p>They also did not work any summer jobs, or jobs during the school year, although both took summer school courses at their HS after Freshman year, so that they could take electives during the regular year.</p>
<p>If you have the money and time though, it sounds like a great idea. But I certainly don’t think it’s “required” to get into a tipply-top school.</p>
<p>There is nothing required when it comes to holistic admissions, but it also means everything matters one way or another. No one could ever say that it was one factor which got someone admitted.</p>