<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I know they are both very good programs but which one would the best for an international student like me ?
Has anyone been to one of them ? How was it ?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>I was applying to both, but after I got into SSP and saw the aid package they were going to give me (Plus, I’d been to Stanford and wanted to live on the east coast for a few weeks) I didn’t finish my application to Stanford.</p>
<p>I definitely had one of the best times of my life there, taking a class that was fascinating, doing whatever I wanted, and just having fun (Note that I consider my class fun, as I did spend a considerable amount of time programming).</p>
<p>I think you should find the course lists for both programs, and pick out all of the courses you would take, and prioritize them based on your interest. I would apply to both unless one school doesn’t have any classes that you wanted to take. As for deciding, if you get into both of them (I recommend applying early, so you get accepted early, so the classes are wide open), think about where you would rather go. Stanford and Harvard have extremely different campuses. Stanford has an immense campus, while Harvard is much more urban (read: thousands of tourists daily). I personally like Harvard’s campus better, I loved my dorm, my classroom, Annenberg, pretty much everything about it.</p>
<p>So, my priority was:</p>
<ol>
<li>Classes I really wanted to take</li>
<li>Where I would have a better or new experience (campus-wise and city-wise. I’m familiar with Silicon Valley, not so much Boston).</li>
<li>Climate (I try to leave CA any chance that I can get during the summer. Not so bad year round, but where I’m at it isn’t much fun)</li>
</ol>
<p>Good luck. I hope you find a program that you enjoy.</p>
<p>Thank you for your answer.</p>
<p>I’ve been admitted to the Harvard SSP and I’ll get the answer for Stanford next week (I’ve been interviewed last week).
As i saw on the websites, the courses that I’m interested in (math, physics) are very similar from one school to the other.
Is the Harvard program more prestigious ? How do all the college prep workshops work ? because these workshops are very interesting for me so it might make me go to Harvard more than Stanford.</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>I am curious about these two programs also. When I looked at the Harvard classes, it appeared that they were all 3 hour, twice a week. Is this how all the summer classes are taught at Harvard?</p>
<p>That’s why on the website they say that most of the students take 2-3 courses only.</p>
<p>I wanted to clear up that in the summer you have the option to take 2 4 unit classes or 1 8 unit class.</p>
<p>The class I had met everyday of the week (except Wednesday) for 3.5 hours (sometimes went long) and then we had 1.5 hours of section.</p>
<p>The summer school students can enroll in the same classes as undergrads, grads, and other students taking summer classes at Harvard (although it seems there are high school only classes).</p>
<p>They give you schedules that contain when all of the workshops are and their locations. They email you to remind you, and then you just show up.</p>
<p>I knew students who took two 4 unit classes, and thoroughly enjoyed them (3 courses you probably have to petition to take). The 8 unit class that I took was great, though.</p>
<p>If you are worried about it being too easy, don’t you will be challenged at whatever level you want to be, depending on the class.</p>
<p>applefan123:
You need an interview to get into Stanford summer school? I don’t know that actually. Just a friendly reminder that those programs are not that “prestigious” as they sound like. Don’t limit yourself to those college summer schools; there are a lot other programs that are better and cost you less money. As far as I remember Harvard SSP costs $9,000 right?</p>
<p>I’ve been interviewed because I’m an international student and I didn’t submit any TOEFL score so they probably wanted to see if I really speak English.
I believe the summer colleges are really adapted for me. The research programs like SSP, MITES or RSI (which, I admit are really more prestigious) may be to difficult to get in for me. Nopurpose, were you thinking about these programs ?
Harvard is about $10,000.</p>
<p>I am applying to the Stanford Summer Program this year too. I have looked into the campus and the program in general, and I just think that it sounds like a good way to spend my summer. I have lived on the east coast all my life and want to spend my summer in Palo Alto. </p>
<p>Also, I am not sure how the courser layout is at Harvard, but it sounds like it’s a lot more rigid that Stanford’s. You can go into the Stanford Axess site and look up classes you want to take and what times/days the classes are held. </p>
<p>-Dean</p>
<p>Hey, so for the Stanford summer interview, what do they normally ask? I am in the same situation. I attend an international school, and they set up a skype interview with me. I just want to have some preparations. Thank you.</p>
<p>Don’t worry. They just want to talk to you to see if you speak English and to know more about yourself so they will ask you questions like :
- why Stanford ?
- what do you plan for your future studies ?
- what subject would you be interested in taking ?
- have you already been to the US ?
- do you have any specific question about the program ?</p>