My daughter will be a rising sophomore and would like to do a precollege program this summer. We poked around on the internet, and it seemed that Brown and Northwestern had programs that interested her.
Does anybody have experience sending their kid(s) to either of these programs, or other programs they recommend? She’s basically looking for a sleep-away program with interesting academic content and other like-minded kids. She’s somewhat STEM oriented, though an all-around strong student.
Our D attended summer programs at Stanford and Brown (pre-Covid). Both were STEM centric and she had great experiences. She made friends she is in contact with still - several from outside the US. Of the two she ranks Stanford as the best but she enjoyed both.
One of mine attended Brown Precollege, pre Covid and had a similarly great experience. They are extremely grateful to have had the experience and talk about it often.
My eldest son attended the Brown college program (he’s very STEM oriented). He liked the program even though he felt the academic component was a bit light. The best part of the experience for him was spending a couple of weeks in a college setting and having a taste of the college life; thought it did a great job of setting expectations for college.
Our oldest son did a 2 week pre-college engineering program at Duke. He enjoyed the program, had an opportunity to spend time at one of the schools he was interested in attending, and met friends. Absolutely worth it for him.
My daughter participated in a Smith College high school summer program that was outstanding. They offer programs focusing on: College Readiness; Creative Writing Workshop; Summer Science and Engineering Program; Sustainable Futures; Women, Gender and Representation.
My sister sent both of her kids to a Duke summer program, which they liked. I do not think they applied to Duke, but I am sure it looked good on their applications.
We sent our son to Rose-Hulman’s summer Catapult program, largely because he was very interested in the school and we thought it would be a good fit. Mixed reviews - the professors there were outstanding, but they engaged in some “enforced fun” reminiscent of a junior high summer camp.
Some of these can be great experiences for high school students to have a taste of being away at college and to help them think about what they are looking for in undergrad options.
Absolutely, do not fork over thousands of dollars thinking this will give a leg up in admission at T20 colleges. Brown AOs and other AOs are very clear it gives no advantage in admissions. An experience paid for by parents is not something they care to see on ECs.
The exception to that will be specific programs for URM and first generation students that clearly state they provide additional supports to participants down the road to complete college applications. Participation in those programs require more rigorous applications and are usually free or nearly fully funded.
Make sure the programs are actually with the university and not just “at” the university - beware of gold foil envelopes inviting your child to be a part of a “select” group of students if you are willing to pay up. Read the fine print about the organization convening the event.
All that said, DS went to WPI’s summer program and it helped him think about what was important to him for a campus, dorms, and academic program options. They were taught by WPI professors. Similar to prior post - he did not enjoy the forced fun, but others clearly did.
I know kids who did summer engineering programs at Olin and Cornell. Both had good experiences. Neither applied to the school where they did their summer program.