<p>i got a letter from LeadAmerica recommending me to take part of their summer program at stanford or georgetown; i am sure all of you got it too. does it make any difference for colleges? i mean this summer i was planning on just studying sat and working out (i am a jr) but going there sounds fun, although i am skeptical this leadership camp is actually going to help me be a leader.</p>
<p>i got that letter too. i don't think it would help college admissions, i just don't think it would hurt it either. it would show that you didn't waste your summer, that's for sure.</p>
<p>man this a hard choice... i really want to go cause i think its just going to be fun and games but then i would be wasting my money on a program that will supposedly help me</p>
<p>"Build self-confidence and a sense of
purpose" </p>
<p>"Adopt standards of excellence and the
expectations you have for yourself,
your career and others"</p>
<p>if you want to go for yourself and to have fun, then by all means go. if you want to spend your summer doing other things that would help your application though, i would rethink it.</p>
<p>if you have to pay for the camp, most colleges won't care. if you have to apply and be accepted...that's a different story. if anyone can attend the camps you have to pay for, why even go? all it does is show the colleges you have enough money to pay for a camp :P</p>
<p>I got it as well! </p>
<p>How would we indicate that we actually did attend this or any other summer program to colleges? Also, how would they verify that we did, in fact, attend the program? </p>
<p>I'm deciding between LeadAmerica, an internship at a bank, or taking courses at a community college. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Well, 3365, I think that as long as you don't waste your summer, you're fine. I don't know what the LeadAmerica thing is, but I did get quite a few letters from the People to People program in the past. I was interested in it, because it sounded a lot like fun, but a friend of mine told me that one of his friends did it and thought that it wasn't worth the money.</p>
<p>kMz: First question: you just list it on your extracurricular activities section on your college applications. That's what you do for all of your activities. When I applied, I put down that I participated in the math team, which was true. I didn't have to verify that I was in it.
Second question: I think that you should honestly go out and do what you feel would be the most fun and enjoyable. I mean, it's summer! Those choices all sound fun (except the internship at the bank, for me). I think that if you choose to participate in the activity that you would enjoy the most, later you won't regret it, or you'll regret it the least.</p>
<p>3365: everyone gets these. I honestly would not waste that much money on a program that has, really, no selectivity whatsoever and reduces the prestige and impact of the program. A friend of mine did the program and she thought it was a complete waste of time. Save your money and do something else. If you really, really want to do a summer program and don't mind the cost, then you may want to look at the precollege summer programs. Many colleges offer them including UPenn, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Hopkins, and Georgetown. I did one of these programs so I can answer any questions relating to this with some background knowledge. </p>
<p>Also, I think you may want to do something over the summer than just study and workout. On the college app, they ask what you did over the past few summers. You may also want to look into helping out a local nonprofit organization or some other volunteering activity that helps your community. This will strengthen your application and will also give you more material to work with when applying for scholarships.</p>