<p>so i'm currently a junior and my brother's a senior who got into boston university with like 15K or something.</p>
<p>i wanted to do harvard ssp but it already costs a lot to send my brother to college cause he didn't get as much as we hoped...ssp costs aroud 4.5K for a four week program. due to financial constraints i might not be able to attend.</p>
<p>would it alright for colleges if i just volunteered at a local hopsital this summer, worked on applications (early decision somewhere probably), and relaxed instead of attending some type of summer precollege or some other program for about 4 weeks? </p>
<p>for anyone who went to harvard SSP...HOW WAS IT?</p>
<p>Colleges understand that most people don't have a few extra thousand lying around for every summer program. Ddon't worry about it. As long as you do something with your summer, volunteering at a hospital included, it shows your doing something productive with your time.</p>
<p>You should definetly apply but request financial aid if you can get it. Otherwise as jakor said they colleges will understand as long as you use your time well such as volunteering.</p>
<p>I went to ssp last summer and it was a lot of fun. You truly get the college experience of being free. Depending on the class you take, you will have to do some work. It is a great opportunity meet new people and feel what college is going to be like. On the other hand, there are other kinds of programs than can benefit more. Maybe you could find an internship in something you are interested in doing in the future.</p>