Feedback for John Hopkins Explore Engineering Innovation: Online

Hi fellow parents and respected teachers,

My son (will be a senior this year) is greatly interested in engineering fields (robotics especially). He had been trying to get into good summer programs but couldn’t make it to some of top ones (SIP, COSMOS (AI), BU-RISE etc.). This was probably heartbreaking for him. He is a good kid (W-GPA 4.65) and all As in STEM subjects. But I believe most programs that he wanted was very competitive.

We got a letter from John Hopkins today that he got accepted for “John Hopkins Explore Engineering Innovation: Online”. I wanted to ask here if anyone has any pointers about the value for this program. I am sure there are engineering level learnings that he will love and also there is a college credit which is helpful, I guess. Additionally, like any other parent - I am thinking like - “Does this program look good in college applications?” Or "Is this program selective enough to show the child’s achievements.

Any pointers will be helpful.

Thanks.

If your son wants to do this because HE wants to do it, that’s likely fine. But doing any summer program hoping it will give you an edge in college admissions is a poor reason for doing a summer program.

There are tons of colleges where this student can apply and be accepted without doing any summer program at all.

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This is very costly, unless I am looking at the wrong program ($85 application fee, $3350 tuition, $235 lab fees not including tax and shipping). This is what is stated for EEI online fees for summer, 2023.

Hopkins is clearly an excellent school, but some of their programs seem somewhat questionable.

My daughter is attending a graduate program this fall (not at Johns Hopkins, and not engineering). JHU offers a 10 week summer certificate in her field designed to provide exposure prior to applying to grad school (this certificate is also costly). My daughter gained this exposure and experience for free, and was able to get a gap year position in the very field that this certificate is designed for.

Personally, I would think twice before spending this money. Lots of students are accepted to college as engineering majors without these programs.

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Taking an engineering course in person locally would be a better use of funds/time or doing a free MIT online course while working this summer or volunteering would be an option to consider.

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Hi -

My S24 also looked at engineering programs to take this summer just to dive deeper into the various aspects of engineering. Given his summer schedule he was somewhat limited in the programs available to him. He applied but was not admitted to the Cal Poly engineering week-long program (EPIC).

He applied and was admitted to Purdue’s STEP program, which is a week-long program as well, didn’t seem to be too competitive, but he’s really excited about spending time on a college campus studying these areas. I think it’s still open and taking applications, but not positive.

I agree with the above posters that the reason to spend time in the summer at one of these programs is to further your education in the subject matter and confirm/deepen your interests in the subject, not to look good on college applications. I found that a lot of the private programs being run on college campuses were very expensive versus the programs run by the colleges themselves.

Good luck

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These are not the relevant questions to ask about the kinds of programs you mentioned.

All of the ones you have listed are considered to be pay-to-play programs. The residential ones are $4,000 to over $5,000, and the JHU option is over $3,000 for your child to sit in his room during the summer for hours a day.

Admissions offices at elite schools generally do not look favorably on these kinds of programs. They don’t require any creativity — they are predesigned programs that don’t differentiate an applicant in a meaningful way — and they show privilege because the family is able to spend many thousands of dollars while other students are working, doing independent projects, or pursuing interests locally. Also, some colleges may interpret summer participation at a competitor college as meaning that college is the student’s first choice, and be less likely to admit the student.

Some college counselors recommend not including any pay-to-play programs like you’ve mentioned on a college application at all because they can be more of a liability than an asset. There are very small handful, like MIT’s RSI program, that are free to the small number accepted. RSI would have a meaningful positive impact on an application; nothing you have listed would so the answer to your questions for ALL of their programs is NO and NO.

All that said, pay-to-play programs can have value to a high school student even if they aren’t helpful for admissions. The questions you should be asking would include things like, “Will my student gain insight into a major/career path to see if he wants to continue,” “Will my student get a taste of college life in a way that will inform decisions in the future,” “Will my child have fun and make new friends,” “Could my student get a similar experience with this field for less money and locally?”

If the answers to questions like these are along the lines of, “My son is so interested in XYZ field and he can’t get enough exposure to it in school or locally, so he is excited to explore it more and make some new connections along the way,” then one of these programs might make sense.

But if your goal is to do something attractive for college admissions, then look elsewhere. Look for something unique so that it (or something like it) couldn’t easily be on many other applications. Or get a job — colleges appreciate students who have proven that they can work hard outside the classroom and who understand the value of paid work. Or pursue his interests in a way that doesn’t require spending money. If he is interested in sustainability, then volunteer at a nature center; if he loves tinkering with computers, then see if a local library/church/synagogue might have a need for his skills. Or show that he cares about the world beyond himself by impacting his community in some way.

Again, I am not saying the programs you listed are bad because they can be fun and interesting to a student while helping them refine their goals. They aren’t the only way to do that, and they rarely make a significant positive impact on admissions, though.

The JHU program requires a teenager to spend big chunks of every summer day alone in a room, staring at a computer screen. If this is what your son enjoys and how he wants to learn, then go for it.

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No advantage…well little. Maybe someone is impressed by the JHU name.

My kid went to an in person.

I don’t think it gave him an admissions advantage but he got to experience engineering (and the school).

Personally, I wouldn’t do this…but it’s not going to hurt.

I just wonder if it can cement his interest from an on-line POV. I’m guessing not. If anything, it could turn him against engineering.

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