How do kids get to go to all these princeton summer programs and volunteer at good

Applying to College
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<p>Just wondering how to go about this i see on kids stats and stuff in the forums in there ECs saying attending Princeton's summer whatever or yales this or Columbia University Summer program for explorations in Molecular Biology all these prestigious schools summer program for i guess high school students who are interested in that stuff... I was wondering how they get the opportunity to go to these programs and what they do there cause it obviously looks great on applications and looks like a good chance to see what college is all about..</p>

<p>Also how do you go about volunteering at a local hospital or pharmacy or what do to say to them... and if any1 here has done it how were your experiences and what did you do?</p>

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<p>They get the opportunity because they have the money. And no, the majority of these college run summer programs for HS students are not prestigious or that much help for college applications. While they may show interest in a particular subject, adcoms know that participants of these programs are not selected through a competitive process.</p>

<p>If you want to volunteer in a hospital, go to their website, they’ll have a section about applying which will include forms you’ll need to fill out. For a pharmacy, go in and talk to the supervisor and ask if you could to help or shadow.</p>

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<p>idk i think it really does help your chances being 1. it shows you have interest and 2. i think colleges seeing a big prestigious college name get all excited and then look higher of you</p>

<p>any other thoughts</p>

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<p>I think, and hope, that college admissions officers are more intelligent than the average American.</p>

<p>I highly doubt that any college will say, “Oooh, he went to Columbia for a summer program.” I also think that believing that is ridiculous. Obviously, the fact that you attended a program shows that you did something with your summer other than watching TV, but a lot of other things show that as well. In other words, while it shows you were productive, I don’t really think it is very impressive. </p>

<p>If it is something selective, however, that is a different story. Attending Columbia’s Science Honors Program (HIGHLY selective) carries more weight than attending their summer program.</p>

<p>I completely agree with entomom, most of the programs offer little or no financial aid, so ultimately it becomes a question of whose parents can and are willing to dish out the money.</p>

<p>To answer your other question, many people get these opportunities by looking for them. This is certainly not aimed at you, because I don’t have any knowledge that you do this, but I am surprised at how much my friends’ parents will do for them - calling up places to see if they can volunteer, etc. While I know that in certain cases this is necessary, it is usually done because the kid is too immature/lazy to do it him/herself.</p>

<p>Parents are necessary for support, but they should not be the ones looking. </p>

<p>Good luck – there are a lot of opportunities available, just keep an eye out; Google is very helpful in these matters.</p>

<p>P.S. You should volunteer because its a good cause - get yourself in the habit of thinking that way so helping others is a priority even after you get into college. :)</p>

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<p>Something like Girls/Boys State is a better EC for the college app. It requires one to be selected and go through an interview process. Plus, only one jr. boy and one jr. girl is selected from each school as a delegate to the state “convention”.</p>

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<p>Like most answers on CC: it depends on the college. The schools you listed (Yale, Columbia, etc.) don’t give a flip whether the students had experience at one of their summer programs unless in and of itself, it was a rigorous entrance program. Again, these ultra selective schools don’t care about “demonstrated interest”. Other colleges vigorously promote their own summer programs as a way to get their brand out to local HS students – hopefully turning them into future applicants. They definitely care about student interest.</p>

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<p>Contacts can help. If you know researchers at a nearby university, you might be able to get your kid in to work for the researcher during the summer. Contacts are helpful at hospitals too. I started working at the local hospital at 16 as a ward clerk. My mother was a nurse there and got all of us jobs there.</p>

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<p>Columbia Admin director said flat out at a presentation at DD’s prep school, that Pay-to-Play summer programs at Name colleges have ZERO impact on admissions. These programs are cash cows for the colleges because parents are willing to pay anything for a Name. The programs will be excellent, because these schools need to protect their reputations, but they will not be college classes taught by college professors. They are specialized HS summer programs - for cash. </p>

<p>Just listing a pay-to-play Name program on an application is not a boost (other then indicating likelihood of donations to the annual fund, since you have money to burn). However, if the program provides a life changing or growth experience that can be spun into an essay or short answer, they are interested. Its not what you did - Adcoms want to know what you learned from the experience. And it applies equally to what you learned in a summer program at Brown and what you learned pounding nails on a construction site.</p>

<p>This does not apply to highly competitive summer programs like RIS/MIT or other truely competitive internships. Adcoms do pay attention to that.</p>