<p>We had a college admissions counselor from Bowdoin College(he used to be at Princeton), come and talk at my S’s school a few weeks ago and a parent asked him this question directly. He said that it would not help in any way with admissions. He said, " go ahead and do it if you have the passion and money for it but it won’t help and can even hurt if you are coming from a top prep school like this one."</p>
<p>My Soph DS is going to scout camp where he will do an advanced scuba cert. class, working on the trails on a 2 week hike at Philmont, working as a leader/volunteer at the Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia. All of these things cost almost nothing and add valuable volunteer service. He also will work as a lifeguard and at a small theatre company in town. All of these things are a continuation of what he loves to do during the year. He has been doing all of these things for years and it is now paying off with tons of leadership opportunities. If I’m not mistaken, this is what colleges really want. I would encourage your kids to find their passions and just stick with those few things. Everyone wins in the end.</p>
<p>This is where I can see a summer program helping with admissions–showing how a student pushed an EC beyond the school environment. It works for music ECs and for science ECs, especially. </p>
<p>Both of my kids went to summer science programs for one summer before senior year–one did COSMOS at UC Irvine and one did YSP at UC Davis. The Davis program was much more involved with invidiual science research and she did a research paper on her work at the end of the program that she submitted as part of her application to some of her schools in the fall. I thought that it was well worth the money.</p>
<p>My older D has done summer programs for 3 years (two were paid & at a major university and 1 was competitive, free & at a public university.) I don’t expect them to help her in college admissions one bit, except to help paint a holistic picture of her that shows that she has a passion for learning. Her 1st program helped her realize that while she liked the subject matter, it would be impossible to make money following that degree (told to them point blank by the instructor.) Her 2nd program (the free one) opened her eyes to a career that she would never have considered as well as the possibility of working for a branch of the government. And the 3rd program made her see the world in a way she hadn’t before. Plus she got to experience living in a dorm…her 3 week experience last year made her rethink going away to a school where she would have to fly home. </p>
<p>So will they help her get into a prestigious school? Guess we’ll see April 1st as she is waiting to hear from the school where she attended two summer programs but I don’t think that will be a deciding factor. What they did do was make her think about college in a way she wouldn’t have if she hadn’t attended.
good luck!</p>
<p>I understand how a pricey summer program could be unhelpful for admissions, but how could it hurt? Does it make the applicant seem too privileged? Is this a backlash against applicants from higher socioeconomic strata? Are all students supposed to volunteer in under-developed countries each summer instead?</p>
<p>I agree with the opinions above and would add that, if free/competitive/scholarship-types of programs don’t accept you, and the summer job market falls through, then look into college courses at you community college or local university. You can explore a potential college major or fulfill distribution requirements at a lower cost, living at home. Just be forewarned that the credit may not actually transfer–it is up to your college whether they will accept it, and private colleges are less likely to do so. But if the course is in an area for which the college has its own placement test (like world languages or perhaps math), you still may get some credit or place out of a requirement. Or you could even take an AP exam in the summer subject and get credit that way. Another idea is to line up an unpaid summer internship in a career interest. Volunteer work is always a good idea.</p>
<p>The best of all worlds is an opportunity that combines some facet of each: volunteerism, job for pay, academic enrichment. </p>
<p>D took a position teaching at a local Summerbridge (now Breakthrough Collaborative) program two summers ago. While she did receive a stipend at the end of the summer, it probably came to about $3.00 an hour as most days were very long and she did work some weekends. The opportunity to teach pre-algebra to underprivileged middle school kids was so great, though. Her mentor was the math chair at a local well-respected private school; he showed my D ways of thinking about math that not only helped her help her students, but provided some academic enrichment to D as well. Even though she received a stipend, her high school considered it enough of a volunteer job to exempt her from other volunteer hour requirements. </p>
<p>Of course, it gave her plenty to write about when college essay time rolled around.</p>
No. From what I’ve read here on CC, this has been overdone to the point that it’s now viewed cynically as yet another resume-padding approach for rich kids. I think the term is “voluntourism.”</p>
<p>I think the bottom line is, students should spend their summers engaged in whatever productive activity they want or need to do. If there were a “formula” for gaining admission, then masses would submit applications based on the “formula.” And then admission folks would get weary of all the formulaic applications and favor something else. That’s why there is no formula.</p>
<p>So imho it’s best not to choose activities based on what might look good to colleges, but based on the student’s interests and needs – and then the colleges that fit best will take the most interest in the student’s profile. It’s just like dating: Be yourself, and you’ll be most attractive to the ones who are most compatible with you.</p>
<p>As parents, I think what we can do to help is encourage our kiddos’ developing interests and seek a wide range of opportunities (that we can afford and support) for them to pursue those interests in productive ways. Then let them choose and (if necessary) help them get there.</p>
<p>The only winner at the summer program is the college, which makes a ton of money. I live in a very affluent town, and I think that after many years of expensive sleep-away camps, the thought of the child home for the summer is more than the parents can stand. That accounts for the “Teen Tours” of Europe, and the college summer programs. My neighbor’s 15-year old spent 2 weeks at the Sorbonne, and 2 weeks at Oxford, studying who knows what, while the parents went on vacation together. None of the children are expected to amuse themselves, or–horrors–work. That being said, I often wonder what the financial aid departments think of parents who can spring for the $10K summer program, but feel that they need aid for tuition. My kids worked, not always for money, as we think that volunteerism is great. My older D is out of grad school now, working for “real” at the exact kind of job she volunteered for when she was between junior and senior year of high school. My younger D, soon to graduate college, is still a lifeguard at the pool, which she has done since she was 16. They both got into their first choice schools with ease and without summer college programs. Their only academic summer program was to read.</p>
<p>I get the point that a summer program at a college isn’t the only thing to do, but I don’t understand engaging in reverse snobbery. If, in fact, living at a college and learning things is such a bad idea, why do we aspire for our children to do that for four years as undergraduates? (Which is also expensive.)</p>
<p>I also bristle a little at certain activities being no good for college admissions because admissions officers have seen them before, or are tired of them. If they are really that jaded, or that tired of kids, maybe it is time to get into another line of work!</p>
<p>“Are all students supposed to volunteer in under-developed countries each summer instead”</p>
<p>Colleges are not impressed by students who volunteer in underdeveloped countries because typically what that reflects is that the parents have the money to send their kids abroad to volunteer via an expensive program or to do so-called volunteer work (lots of times the students don’t do anything substantial) with family friends or relatives.</p>
<p>Colleges are far more impressed by students who are deeply involved in volunteer work in their own communities, particularly students who do more than amass hours or do exactly what they are told. The students who-- after volunteering for a while at a place that they enjoy – develop and organize a new program for that place or organize a fundraiser for that place. </p>
<p>Colleges also are very impressed by students who work ordinary jobs such as taking care of a neighbor’s kids 40 hours a week during the summer, having their own lawn care business or working 20 hours a week during the school year in a fast food restaurant. Working any kind of paying job demonstrates maturity and responsibility because people aren’t going to pay you for working unless you’re doing a good job.</p>
<p>My instincts here are to go with the posters who claim there is no admissions benefit from an expensive summer program at a prestigious college (hoping as I usually am that the meritocracy will win out in the end), but I know from experience that this is not necessarily so. My younger son–who had quite defined academic interests and a particular passion that was both hobby and academic–attended two summer programs at elite universities. He enjoyed both, did well, and received recommendations from each. The acceptance letter he received from the Ivy League school he now attends specifically mentioned, by name, the two summer programs and how the admissions committee appreciated his efforts there. I guess, then, I’ve got to admit they must have helped.</p>
<p>My advice would be, then, that if the student is doing these programs because of specific interests AND the parents are comfortable with the cost and not making special financial sacrifices to pay for them, they can be worthwhile. I think the adcoms can understand and discern the different opportunities and responsibilities that applicants have, relative to their own financial and family situations.</p>
<p>My son never did a single summer program of any kind after he was 15 (before that, he had gone to some academic camps for a few years, like SIG and the one at Yale, but obviously didn’t bother putting them on his applications). In fact, he was never asked at a single interview about what he did during his summers – not about programs, not about jobs, not about anything. Yet, he managed to get in at four of the five places where he applied, including Chicago and Johns Hopkins.</p>
<p>Of course a summer program can help - especially if it’s in line with a student’s interests. But it just doesn’t help MORE than other activities - ones that don’t cost money.</p>
Just chance of the draw, I guess, but I’ve done 11 college interviews to date and have been asked specifically about what I did during the summer at several of them.</p>
<p>I forgot all about Macalester. It was six places. They didn’t ask him about his summer there, either, from what my son told me. (I remember that day very well, even though it was 2 1/2 years ago already – he persuaded me to walk about 2 or 3 miles afterwards, on a very hot day, because there were that many miles’ worth of Victorian houses he wanted to see. I don’t think I’ve been the same since!)</p>
<p>I have heard similar accounts from 3 different parents. Spending the summer at a relatively quiet campus in a strange environment surrounded by random “wannabe” high school students actually worked to the detriment of the college’s appeal for these students. None of them wanted to attend after that experience.</p>
<p>"While I loved the class itself and got a ton out of it (though it was easier than my normal high school classes), I didnt like the school itself at all. It was one of those things where the school sounded great for me on paper and it felt fine while on a campus tour, but I disliked the campus so much that I found the overall experience unenjoyable to the extent that I wouldn’t want to live there for four years </p>
<p>So basically, what I got out of the experience was what I did NOT want in a school…"</p>
<p>Which might mean that the experience was worth it. Better to spend an expensive summer at a school you don’t like than to spend an expensive school year at a college you don’t like.</p>
<p>I don’t know if the term “reverse snobbery” was directed to me, but I like to think of myself as eminently practical. You know, everybody wants to do the best for their kids as they possibly can. My parents were not able to attend college, but there was no question in their minds that I would. I am a Bronx Science grad. I attended a NYC public college, which, I am proud to say, cost $54 per semester, and I graduated in three years for a total tuition cost of $324. I took the subway back and forth each day and worked 20 hours a week on campus to pay for books and going-out money. I am a summa and PBK. Among my professors I count Anthony Burgess, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut and Elli Weisel.
It was the most stimulating place I have ever been. Did I want that for my kids? No. I wanted more. I never got the chance to live away but it was not possible. But I did not want them to think that they were entitled, and I most certainly have encouraged them to be life long learners without the need of a classroom. If you think that by going to a college program you are saving money by finding out that you don’t like that particular college, that’s a lot of hard-earned money that is being wasted. We visited about 40 schools for the older one, and about 20 more for the younger. She’s a musician, so our field was much narrower. We could tell after about 30 minutes if a place was a “go” or not.</p>
<p>I would say who knows? As Bay points out, a campus in the summer is quite unlike that of really going during the school year:</p>
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<p>so what if kids paid a lot of money only to end up discounting what might have been an otherwise perfect fit (if they had experienced a more realistic idea of the place than summer camp?)</p>