<p>So far my summer has been pretty boring, academically. I'm a rising senior and I have never participated in any of these "prestigious" summer programs, let alone any at all. I was wondering how much do elite colleges actually care about these programs? I also heard many of these programs are clearly not selective and very expensive. I volunteer and play a sport in my spare time, and I have good grades/scores. I'm praying my bland summers won't prevent me from getting into a school such as Cornell :-< </p>
<p>Depending on the college, they care that you do something interesting in the summer and make productive use of your time. You don’t have to go to some fancy expensive program, but summers spent volunteering, working, building some kind of skills that take you far in your ECs, etc. are good. </p>
<p>Most of these “elite” programs play no factor whatsoever in admissions. Some do look impressive, but most are just a big waste of money unless you feel you have actually learned. </p>
<p>Like everything else, your summers are only a small piece of the puzzle. If you get involved in ECs it will be good enough, and hopefully you can make some other part of your app stand out. Having boring summers won’t be the thing that keeps you out of Cornell. </p>