<p>I have seen a number of people saying that schools don't care about this program; I wanted to add another POV. </p>
<p>I know several students on the board attended SSC last year (Ashveer comes to mind). My son went. He was a rising Junior. He had been accepted into the NASA SHARP program, but chose to go to SSC instead. </p>
<p>I have basically no income, so we used fundraising and donations to help fund the thing. There are scholarships offered, but they basically only cover the cost of the room and board, not the tuition. I was able to get a lot of ideas from the admissions folks about how to help fund it, though. </p>
<p>Was it worth it? Yes. My son would go further and say, "Hell, yes!" The experience was important for several reasons: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>It gave him an opportunity to make sure that he <em>loves</em> Stanford and is certain about it as his first choice. </p></li>
<li><p>It gave him experience in what being in college is like, so that he was able to see areas he needs to work on to prepare and excel. </p></li>
<li><p>It gave him a chance to feel academically challenged and further his study of a field that he's passionate about. </p></li>
<li><p>He has 12 hours of "A's" at Stanford now, which many schools will accept for transfer credit. He's got a 3.85 GPA at Stanford, even though he's not been admitted as a regular, which means a great deal to him.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Now, that being said, I think that how valuable the program is for any given student and how much it helps them get into Stanford or any school depends on that student. My son saw some students who used the opportunity to take challenging courses and immerse themselves in a "life of the mind". On the other hand, there were also students who took the minimum classes required (8 hours) by having one "fluffy" seminar and 2 PE courses. I think a student like that, who chooses to take a minimum load, would probably be happier at some other summer program -- but again, that's just me. I also don't think you have to work yourself to death. </p>
<p>The Stanford admissions folks are up front that being at SSC doesn't help you get admitted, but they also make cleear that what you make of SSC <em>can</em> help you. I think that in my son's case, having the ability to write app essays about how he's integrated the things from SSC into his life, or showing him really immersing himself in his passions at SCC -- that can't hurt him. (Of course, what do I know?) </p>
<p>Yes, many of the students at SSC are very wealthy, because there's no tuition financial aid. But not all of the were, as I can attest. I think it's a good opportunity to match <em>with other summer activities</em>, in other summers. That is, matched with a summer spent doing community service, or working. </p>
<p>I'd be glad to answer any questions yall have about it. My son, alas, is tooooo busy to ever have time to be on CC.</p>