These schools ^^^ have been sending me emails throughout the year asking me to attend their summer programs at their universities. I know it’s expensive, but I feel like it would be an amazing experience. I haven’t been to any of the campuses, but I’ve heard Cornell and Princeton are beautiful. Any input from people who have been through these programs and/or toured these uni’s would be helpful. thanks!
I applied to the Columbia summer program. The campus is really nice, the setting is really nice, and there’s such interesting culture in NYC which could end up being a learning experience for someone who hasn’t experienced something like that before, though I live very close to Manhattan.
I went to Yale Summer Session last summer. Yes, it is expensive, but it was an awesome experience. I was able to take two semester long classes, and really pursue my academic interests in depth, past the high school level. You also get to experience life in college, because you essentially become a normal Yale student. You’ll learn a lot about the school & campus (which helps when applying), and you’ll be able to show colleges that you did something productive with your summer.
Something else to keep in mind is whether you want actual college credit for the courses you take. If I remember correctly, I was looking at Colombia’s summer program too, but then realized the courses weren’t for college credit.
These schools send emails to so wide of a recipient list that getting an email isn’t really “oh come to our school” but rather a “we want your money” type of message. These programs are not too selective in nature on basis of merit than on money; most of them are a good source of income for universities with the prestige to attract lots of students. Attending one of these programs, although immersive in nature and seemingly palatable on your resume, actually doesn’t help you that much (it might hurt you if you ED one school and attend a summer camp at another school). It takes only your parents’ big wallet and some good-above average stats to be accepted into one of these (save exceptions such as MIT’s RSI, that sort of thing) so it might paint you as a rich protege, which is pretty bad if your parents’ aren’t gonna donate a few million dollars to the institution… The only good things that I see that these programs offer are college credit and details for the “why us” supplemental essay, the latter of which is easy to get just through a visit your junior or beginning of senior year. Overall, I think programs like these stifle your own creativity; if you’re thinking HYPSM, these programs will NOT help you. Creating something new, or establishing something in the summer in which you’re an active leader in will be much, much better, and adds both character and humility to an application.
And yes, I visited Cornell this last summer and Princeton 2 years ago; I really enjoyed the pastoral green of Ithaca and the quiet little Princeton. Worth a visit for anyone.
I attended Harvard Summer School the past two summers. Check to make sure the courses they’re offering are the same as matriculated students take, so the credits will transfer to any of the other ivy’s or little ivy’s. I took a two semester science course (8 credits) the first summer… I had no time to breath for seven weeks. It cost @ $5500 as a commuter student, twice as much to board. The following summer I took a 4 credit course, at half the cost. I recommend that because it allowed me time to enjoy the activities offered around campus. Harvard provides a lot of financial aid, but you need to apply as early as possible.
@WendyWellesley Are the courses extremely difficult?
Yes, any 8 credit science course at an ivy school will be extremely dificult because it covers what’s normally covered in two 15 week semesters (squashed into 7 weeks). I spent every day and night studying for 7weeks. I will never do that again. I had just got an A in the same honors class in HS just before taking it at Harvard for college credit. I only got a B+ and I knew everything inside and out. The exams were so difficult that no one could ace them. Most of the 100+ students in the class had a BS degrees and were fulfilling their med school course requirements. The second summer I took a freshman writing class, which was easy and fun, but graded tough. They only give out 1 or 2 A’s per class, just like Wellesley. I’m not sure if it’s called grade deflation at Harvard. If you do well (B+ or above) in a difficult course it shows you can handle any ivy school class, which looks great on college applications.
Has anyone attended the Brown Summer Leadership Program and have thoughts about it? I would love to hear.