<p>Hi, I'd like to attend UPenn, and I'm stuck between
1.) going to the Penn Summer Program, or
2.) trying some other leadership activities and doing a good amount of community service</p>
<p>Will going to the UPenn summer program improve my chances of getting into Penn? Which course of action is the better one?</p>
<p>thxxxx</p>
<p>If you can get a lot accomplished at home you should stay. It's cheaper, and you may be able to accomplish more. It's a tough call though.</p>
<p>I've read on the boards here that the summer programs have nothing to do with the acceptance because the summer program people and the admins are completely different. It may just show that your interested in going there, but there are other cheaper ways to do that. If you just want to get exposed to the campus life there, and you have a few thousand dollars laying around, then go ahead. If not, then NO i dont think its worth it.</p>
<p>generally, the free and selective programs (RSI, TASP to name a few) are the ones that help the most because they are indicative of your intellect and potential. The ones that cost 2000 dollars and last only a week <em>COUGHPEOPLETOPEOPLECOUGH</em> are a waste of time though.</p>
<p>the penn summer program of generally studies is free and selective, and lasts a total of 6 weeks. Does this sound worth it, versus perhaps 350 hours of community service, a one week leadership program, and 200 hours employment?</p>
<p>you gotta be smart, nothing's gaurenteed to help</p>
<p>Summer program alone won't help.. however, here's what you can do</p>
<p>Attend summer program at UPenn, negotiate with UPenn professors, other students, etc... if you can get one of your summer program professors to write you a recommendation letter for UPEnn, i'm sure it'll help A LOT!</p>
<p>ah ok, but do professors really get to know their students at such a personal level during summer school?</p>
<p>you must take the initiative to get to know THEM!</p>
<p>good luck :)</p>
<p>thanks stressed0out ill try my best. also, would such a recommendation also be a positive boost towards other colleges, or only penn?</p>
<p>i'm sure it'll be great to other colleges as well... other colleges would like reassurance that you are able to benefit positively WITHIN a vigorous college environment such as UPEnn's.</p>
<p>Uh, do the summer program. Of course this depends. if your going in to a science field, it would be good to show some research experience. You can always help out the community later...lol dont kill me people.</p>