My daughter is interested in learning about criminal psychology and forensic science. I’m looking for suggestions for reputable summer programs. Also I found local summer enrichment classes through summer discovery at UCLA in both areas. She is in 9th grade. Should I only be looking at programs that offer credit or if this is something she is interested in will it also help enrich her college application profile.
I’d say you should look more to validate her interest. Credit for school shouldn’t matter. I’d find one with good reviews and a good cost. If it’s at a school that’s on her radar where she can spend a week or two that’s a bonus.
It looks like there are several to investigate from all over the country. I’m sure length and cost are area that will matter to you. I’d check reviews for sure as well. You can google to see.
You may also look at summer programs of the colleges that offer this degree to see if they have offerings. You may need to reach out if you can’t find a listing.
Good luck.
Thanks this is super helpful!
short answer: No.
longer answer: in itself it won’t help for admissions. AOs are explicit that these are seen as fancy summer camps for kids whose parents can afford to pay for them.
However, IF it’s part of a larger narrative, and she can link it to something that she actually does with the experience, it can be part of a net positive in admission. For example, an essay along the lines of 'This movie/tv show or X experience led to an interest in the area / did the summer program / learned Y thing & got really interested in that / so changed courses from bio to biochem and got an internship in a lab that does work in Y / realized that the thing in X that was the root of my interest in Y could be found doing Z work, which is what I am looking to study in college".
Note that there are other benefits than admissions! One of the collegekids did a summer course in something that she thought she was interested in, at a college she thought she was interested in. She had a great summer- did a lot of growing up, actually made a couple of friends who stuck- and also worked out that she didn’t want to go any farther in that subject, and did not want to go to that college!
All of those elements made the summer program worthwhile- and lets be honest the summer after grade 9 is a tough one- they are either too old or too young for so many things!
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