<p>Also, I had a bad start to high school (let's leave it at that) so I'm in the top half (not quarter of my class). I am interested in Math/Science. Overall I am a fantastic student. </p>
<p>Are there any summer programs I can still look into that don't require much and actually look decent on a college app.</p>
<p>I got into that People to People thing but it is a joke apparantly. Go figure.</p>
<p>Anyway, can you guys help me out or am I screwed? Tell it to me straight.</p>
<p>Hmm… By “don’t require much,” how much are you willing to go? Around $2,000? And although there are quite a few programs whose deadlines are up, I can try recommending a few:</p>
<p>[Penn</a> Engineering: Summer Academy in Applied Science and Technology (SAAST)](<a href=“Summer Engineering Academy”>Summer Engineering Academy) – Deadline was March 25ish, but they’re still accepting applications and they have financial aid.</p>
<p>[High</a> School Programs | College of Liberal and Professional Studies at The University of Pennsylvania](<a href=“http://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/highschool]High”>http://www.sas.upenn.edu/lps/highschool) – Rolling applications til May 1, but its $6,300 for the academies and the scholarship deadlines have already passed.</p>
<p>[UCLA</a> Institutes and Special Programs](<a href=“http://www.summer.ucla.edu/Institutes/GeneralInfo/highschool.htm]UCLA”>http://www.summer.ucla.edu/Institutes/GeneralInfo/highschool.htm) --That’s a list of UCLA courses that you can take over the summer</p>
<p>[Johns</a> Hopkins Engineering Innovation: A Summer Program for High School Students](<a href=“Home - Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation Pre-College Programs”>Home - Johns Hopkins Engineering Innovation Pre-College Programs) – Deadline is May 15, but I’m not sure how “decent” this looks on college apps</p>
<p>Right now, these are what I can think of at the moment that have deadlines that technically haven’t passed yet. </p>
<p>But if all else fails, there are always internships and jobs, which look grrrreat on college apps! Colleges are always interested in students who think of their futures and yadada. Personally, I think I’d go for the internship/job, because it shows colleges you’re pretty serious. Another option is taking community college classes over the summer if you have one or two nearby; that’s also good for apps. So if summer programs are a no go, you can seriously consider getting an internship, a job, AND take college level classes-- at the same time-- which is pretty nice. AND you can volunteer a bunch and get some extra hours in :)</p>
<p>Anyways, don’t let grades and etc bother you; I’m sure you’re a smart person, and smart people get places in life 
Good luck for the summer!</p>
<p>SAAST looks interesting. Thanks for the info!</p>
<p>Are internships still available for students who want to do research or engineering? I know most of the deadlines have passed for internship programs. I was hoping I could volunteer assistance or somehow observe in a lab at a university or something, but I have no idea how to go about contacting the right professor and convincing them to let me volunteer/intern. </p>
<p>Advice anyone?</p>
<p>Just email them!</p>
<p>None of these programs is anywhere closed to $2000, plus they have application fee. I am not sure I would pay to apply to a place that require a fee where deadline has passed. To get in with financial aid assistance makes it much more difficult to be accepted also.</p>
<p>If you are interested in math, a lot of really good math programs are still available, and the price is much more reasonable; promys, hccsim, and ross. But you really need to be good with math and able to show it on the math test they give you to complete as part of the application.</p>
<p>Instead of going to a summer program, you can always do something that shows you are a responsible, interesting person. You can volunteer at the local soup kitchen (and pick up some cooking skills), or teach computer skills to the elderly, or start a neighborhood dog walking business this summer for your neighbors who are away on vacation. And it also looks good if you have a regular summer job, and save your money for college.</p>
<p>Last summer, my son went to Operation Catapult at the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology (Indiana and we are from New Jersey) - its about 2-1/2 weeks residential and he loved it. Lots of math and science. I think it is about $2000 in full.</p>
<p>[Rose-Hulman</a> Institute of Technology](<a href=“404 | Rose-Hulman”>Operation Catapult | Rose-Hulman)</p>
<p>[Rose-Hulman</a> Institute of Technology](<a href=“404 | Rose-Hulman”>404 | Rose-Hulman)</p>