Question regarding summer programs

<p>I want to apply for the second term of the 2008 year at Johns Hopkins and these are the following questions:</p>

<li><p>Does this help the application process at colleges? At all?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it possible to get a large amount of Financial aid?</p></li>
<li><p>How much does a guidance counselor rec. plays in the role of the admission process in the summer programs? I was just wondering because I barely know mine and I doubt her comments on the rec. will be eye - goggling. </p></li>
<li><p>Does GPA play a huge factor in this?</p></li>
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<p>Thanks for your time</p>

<p>are you referring to the summer term at JHU? is so, here are my answers:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Not really -- schools will ask what you did with your summer, but as long as it was spend productively (college program, working at pizza hut, taking care of your little sister, volunteering, travelling, etc) it won't make any difference at all. DO NOT attend a summer program because you think it will help you get into college. </p></li>
<li><p>yes -- some programs do give a good deal of FA. It depends on the program -- and your financial situation. Generally, large FA awards are reserved for those with combined family incomes of less than $50,000 and few assets. Special circumstances may alter that. Carefully read the website for the program -- and keep looking. You may want to apply to several different programs to see which one gives you the best FA.</p></li>
<li><p>summer programs usually only require one or two teacher recs, if any. plus a copy of the transcript. I don't think this would be an issue.</p></li>
<li><p>most programs are looking for two things when admitting students -- a GPA above 3.0 and no behavioral problems. Although names like Harvard, Columbia, JHU and others are known as prestigious universities, the summer programs are just basically money makers for them, so admittance isn't that difficult. I will tell you that if you are looking for FA, then they do look more closely at GPA, teacher recs and essays -- they are looking to add some top students or diversity with the FA money they give out.</p></li>
</ol>