<p>Somewhere over the last couple of years here on CC I read that its considered a negative to apply to a school that you went to for one of their summer programs. Its considered to be "unadventurous" or something? Initially I thought that was ridiculous, but then anecdotally I can think of three instances off the top of my head where this has happenned to kids I know. Do you think there's any truth to it? It makes me think twice about sending my high schooler to one next summer if she might want to apply there for college. What do you think?</p>
<p>Here’s our experience for what it’s worth. My D was invited to tons of college summer programs. Instead she decided to follow her passions. She loves pirates and ballet. She crewed on and restored a “tall sailing ship” from the 1800’s with a historical society and danced with a major ballet company. She also had a ton of fun. She was accepted at H, Y, Duke, Dartmouth, UVA, Rice and Vandy. In our experience colleges are looking for individuals who are well rounded. A strong school year program and good test scores will show your students academic side, encourage them to try something completely different in the summer. It sure worked out well for my D and it was free except for ballet shoes.</p>
<p>And here’s our experience. Last year, my D expressed an interest to attend a fine arts program locally. We figured if she’s going to do it as a college major, she might as well do it at a university that she may eventually attend. She went to CMU summer program, loved it and we are convinced that the school is a good fit for her and she can survive far away from home (we are from the NW). She got admitted and is going there this fall. I believe one of the advantages she has over other equally talented kids in her HS is the “demonstrated interest” part, the fact that she is a known quantity to them. We did not plan for this last summer, we just wanted for her to have a “trial” period of college experience and if the college was not right for her, she would not have applied there. It just turned out to be a win-win situation.</p>
<p>One of my friends went to a summer program at UPenn, applied ED to UPenn, and is now a student at UPenn. Didn’t seem to hurt.</p>
<p>In some cases it can be a hinderance, yes. Your kid can do poorly, get into trouble, rub someone the wrong way. You also signal to the school that you have the money to burn for those programs, especially if you are doing a lot of them and are clearly not a scholarship case. And if your kid isn’t dong any other things in the summer…well,it doesn’t take much oomph to have parents get the info and apply and pay for these things. Not exactly an imaginative way to spend your summers. Top schools can look at it that way.</p>
<p>But for some kids, say, if your kid goes to some unknown school in, say Idaho, that has never sent a kid to the schools your kid want to consider, and the classes are light on the APs, well, it really helps to see his performance in some of these programs where s/he is with other high flying kids from all over. </p>
<p>For those schools that are need aware, it can signal the ability and willingness of the parents to spend for education which can be very helpful.</p>
<p>One thing these programs are not, is an auto conduit into the school. I know a number of families who are still upset after paying for summers at certain schools that their kids were then rejected from the college. Especially when those same kids were accepted to schools that were very similar in admissions standards. That’s a pretty clear signal that the summer programs did not offer much of a tip if any.</p>
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<p>This could certainly be true at a school that does indeed consider “demonstrated interest,” however, many schools – among them most if not all of the Ivies and Stanford – don’t consider interest in the least when making their admissions decisions.</p>
<p>This is helpful, thanks for your take on this. I think we’ll just look at it as something she might do next summer and not avoid a campus purposefully if its one she may eventually apply to.</p>
<p>My personal view on this is that by the time a kid is in the last few years of high school, summer programs should reflect the particular interests of the kid, as opposed to a more generalized program. If the program fits into the larger story of the kid’s interests, I can’t see how it could hurt that it’s at a school to which the kid applies. But if the program is just a more general academic summer camp, I doubt if it helps much at any selective college.</p>
<p>You said it well, Hunt.</p>
<p>I always figured that the programs were designed to get bright kids to apply to the college.</p>
<p>MD Mom - there is a lot of truth in your statement. In our D’s case, she certainly chose CMU over other equally or more selective schools, even some that offer her merit scholarships. The “known quantity” can cut both ways.</p>
<p>I think summer programs for HS students do several things for the college. They raise visibility and interest among HS students, not only those who actually attend the summer programs but those who see the promotional materials and are attracted to the program and to the school even if they end up not attending. That probably generates a few more applications for freshman admission. These programs can also be money-makers, making use of facilities and resources that otherwise would be idle in summer; I’m sure the programs are designed to at least pay for themselves if not generate a small surplus, but even operating at break-even they’d help defray the costs of facilities, maintenance, grounds, utilities, etc. that the school would be paying for anyway. Third, these programs may provide a little supplemental summer income for any faculty members who participate. And fourth, they provide not only summer income but also classroom teaching opportunities for graduate students, which can be helpful to them as they prepare to go on the academic job market. </p>
<p>This last factor shouldn’t be underestimated. We’ve never sent our kids to these kinds of summer programs, but D1 was interested enough at one point to investigate some, and as we looked at the programs it quickly became apparent that (at least at the programs we looked at) a high percentage of the instructors were grad students. Nothing wrong with that; I’m sure many of them are very knowledgeable and many may be very good teachers. But especially at universities that pride themselves on how little undergrad teaching is done by grad students, this is a really important opportunity for the grad students to get some classroom experience in a way that has no impact on the college’s reputation for undergraduate education. </p>
<p>As for the relation between summer programs and freshman admission, it’s hard to see that it would make a difference one way or the other. It signals you have money, and it signals that the parents, at least, have academic ambitions for their kid; those aren’t negatives but they’re not strong positives, either. Depending on the kid and what else is in that kid’s freshman application, it may help underscore an academic interest in a particular subject matter, but there are plenty of other, and cheaper, ways to do that. And unless there’s a highly competitive admissions process for the summer program, no college is going to be impressed that you spent some time there (or at some other fancy college) in one or more HS summers, because for most such programs the main qualification seems to be that you can afford the time and money to attend.</p>
<p>Camps and academic programs also offer a good opportunity for a young person to really take a look at a school. Child number one never did anything with the goal of it looking good on an application or it being helpful in admissions. She did, however, attend cross country camp at Dartmouth twice, and decided she did not want to apply there. She also attended an academic camp at a Midwestern state honors college; she also did not apply there, but the admissions staff sent her a signed birthday card all four years of high school. </p>
<p>For me, the camps were a great way to get a look at different types of colleges even though they were not necessarily in session while DD was there.</p>