<p>hey guys
I'm just wondering if any one could tell me how much colleges look at SSP (e.g. harvard summer school program or stanford) for admission to that school?</p>
<p>I've heard a many different responses from different people, but I'm hoping someone here could be a bit more clear.</p>
<p>Thanks guys</p>
<p>You have money and were (hopefully) successful in a college program. </p>
<p>I don't believe it is considered any different from any other college program unless you can get a glowing recommendation from a professor there or can write an outstanding essay about why you want to go to the school that you attended. </p>
<p>Then too, a big importance is the level of classes. Math 21a and B at Harvard (10k) vs. 534 Number theory and 540 Linear Algebra at State u (2k) would be a big difference to me.</p>
<p>impacts positively in that it shows you spent your summer productively and can handle college level work. But doesn't significantly help because it is not at all selective and simply requires the money to attend. </p>
<p>So better than doing nothing at all all summer, but no better than taking classes at a community college or organizing a service project, volunteering extensively, or any other summer activity that requires significant dedication. </p>
<p>Harvard and Stanford don't look at those who attend their summer programs as any better than those who attend any others (from the admissions officers).</p>
<p>^Also, second the above post. It can help significantly if it had a significant impact on you that you can convey in your essay. And it was also a helpful life experience hopefully!</p>
<p>It shows you have academic passion and interest in getting to know colleges i guess. I think it's simply something nice to add, but it's not a huge big deal.</p>
<p>alright thanks for the input</p>
<p>actually I haven't attended one of those programs myself, however, I was thinking along the same lines in that the financial aspect of the program won't make it very selective and, therefore, not a major factor when applying</p>
<p>Thanks Tyler
I've been attending other summer programs and I was just thinking if I was making the best choice</p>
<p>Last summer I attended Cornell Summer College and Harvard SSP. And yeah at first I was skeptical about going through with them because of the money and I wasn't sure how much of an impact it would have on college admission. </p>
<p>My Harvard professor is a famous journalist and investigative reporter and she was an incredible teacher. I've learned so much from her class that it was reward enough. Following the course, she offered to write me a recommendation and sent it to all of my schools. She even wrote a personalized one to my first choice school (Cornell) since she knew that is where I wanted to go.</p>
<p>Took Math21a+b at Harvard SSP</p>
<p>Total waste of money. Though it was a good experience, taught me good study habits, it was just ridiculously expensive. Your in it for the brand name, Harvard knows it, thats why they charge 4.4K for one summer class alone....</p>
<p>It would be looked positively if you took a hard class.</p>
<p>Since not all students around the nation can take advantage of an opportunity like this because of the cost, this is only reserved for RICH kids, Admissions won't give extra weight to this since its not fair for everyone else who can't afford it. Straight from an Adcom's mouth.</p>