<p>If I choose to attend the high school summer scholars program at WashU, will it give me a tremendous boost if I am pretty good student (rank- top five percent, 30 ACT) and strong ECs? </p>
<p>I'm thinking about applying to WashU as ED...so say if I attend sumemr scholars and do ED, would i most likely get in?</p>
<p>Applying ED always helps, but I rather doubt the summer scholars program makes much of a difference. And using a term such as most likely is difficult. It sounds like you are a good student, although 30 ACT is on the low end of the range. Your essay definitely has an impact also, so there are a lot of factors. Maybe you can take the ACT again with the hope of getting your score up to a 32 or so, or try the SAT. Good luck!</p>
<p>Well, I don’t know that it helps too much because someone in my high school class (valedictiorian no less) did a summer program at Wash U and did not get in (I honestly don’t know why though, all of his stats were better than mine, ECs included, although I may have written a better essay).
I think what it does do is show interest in the school though if you attend a summer program, and that may help you in some way.
As for “most likely” though there is really no way to tell, as fallenchemist said you should probably try to boost your scores a bit (although you can certainly still get in with a 30 ACT, it is barely below the posted average, meaning that several others below middle score probably had a 30, and test scores are only one factor), and make sure you do ED only if you are certain that Wash U is the school for you.</p>
<p>A big boost? Definitely not. It certainly can’t hurt, but at best it could only give you a very, very slight advantage. It’s good to show interest, but there are many (cheaper) ways to show interest, and that can only go so far. (like applying ED - you really can’t show more interest than that). It’s definitely not a good idea to spend 6K on this program if your intention is to get a boost in the admissions process. It would be more beneficial for you to work on other parts of your application like raising test scores, writing a quality essay, etc.</p>
<p>Overall I really doubt this program will have any effect on your admission status. If you are the type of student WashU is looking for you will get in regardless of whether or not you attended the summer program. </p>
<p>As it is with a top 5% rank and 30 ACT you have a fair shot ED (applying ED does increase your chances - I strongly recommend it). Like I said before the summer scholars program probably won’t do much to change that. Work on improving your ACT and ECs and you’ll be in good shape. Good luck!</p>
<p>Actually, if you are thinking of applying ED to Wash U, I think the HSSP is an excellent program. Why? Not because it will give you some huge boost to admissions, but because it will give you a great chance to “kick the tires” so to speak, and make sure you truly want to apply ED to Wash U (i.e. to make sure it is your first choice.) Plus if you attend and love it, I bet the essay you write when you apply will show your enthusiasm a lot more than if you had not attended, as would any interview. My D attended HSSP and that definitely sealed the deal for her. She loved everything about the experience and was certain Wash U was the place for her. On the other hand, if you attend HSSP and find you do not care for Wash U, that would allow you to pick a different school to apply ED instead.</p>
<p>wudude - That about sums it up in a nutshell. Very small to no difference in admissions, but a great opportunity to see if WashU is the right place for you. The big question is - the motivation for being in the program.</p>
<p>Additionally, as the admissions from WashU told me, they like people who shows interest to them. The more you participate in WashU, the more they will like you. I believe that doing this program will boast you up.</p>
<p>You can believe what you want - the fact of the matter is that it will make a minimum of difference when it comes to admission.</p>
<p>Moon&Star - I would agree with you that this program would help one get into Wash U IF it were perceived as showing interest in Wash U, but it isn’t. These kinds of programs are held at universities all over the country, and they know that usually kids cannot afford the expense of enrollment, travel, etc. for a summer spent here. Therefore they get a lot of locals. This isn’t like applying ED or doing other things that clearly show you think Wash U is right for you. This is highly slanted towards students that have the money to pay for it. Not to be dismissive of it or anything, so try and take the next comment in the context I mean it. This is really summer camp for smart, ambitious kids. It has no relationship to getting into Wash U. Let’s put it this way. If you lived in Baltimore and went to the same kind of program at Johns Hopkins, do you think Wash U would believe you were less interested because you didn’t spend the money to do it at their school? That would be silly.</p>
<p>The other way that HSSP (or any similar program) actually can help you get into Wash U (or any other elite university) is what classes you take and how well you perform. It makes a big difference if you take two easier courses and get two C’s in them, than if you take Chemistry and Calculus and get an A+ in both of them. That would especially help if you have any grades in high school that are not perfect since it demonstrates you can succeed at a high level at a top university. Plus if you ace a course you can try “networking” with the faculty member who may be able to write a recommendation and put in a good word for you. Don’t try this if you regularly sleep through somebody’s class!</p>
<p>An A in Statistics at Summer Scholars didn’t help my D. NMF, All State track and field, 4.0GPA. WL then rejected.</p>
<p>Save your money for real college tuition.</p>