<p>I haven't attended any specific University's summer program, but I know a lot of my friends have. Many Universities like Brown and Columbia have summer programs which cost thousands of dollars and really aren't that hard to get into as long as you simply pay for it. Does going to those programs increase your chances of getting into that college?</p>
<p>And another note -- I attend Columbia's Science Honors Program, which is completely free and is pretty competitive as far as I know. Does going there help me get into a good university, especially Columbia?</p>
<p>The ultra selectives (like Brown and Columbia) pay no heed to the fact that you may have attended a pgm hosted at their college. Some next-tier schools use these as big recruiting tools – but it’s a two way street. They’re trying to woo the attendees. </p>
<p>But to your original question: no, being a Brown summer pgm attendee does not confer any advantage as a Brown applicant over another useful Summer activity.</p>
<p>I agree, for example I attended a marketing camp at Drexel and they actually gave us applications on the last day so that we could fill them out right there.</p>
<p>Free, competitive summer programs are good in general and sometimes specifically for the college (eg. Mites for MIT), I don’t know about the C program.</p>