<p>So I know that colleges like to see students spending their junior to senior summers wisely and I was wondering how good it would be to take a couple classes at and Ivy League school/Stanford?</p>
<p>I intend to apply to these schools but I want to make sure that before I commit and apply for these classes, that I know it will be worth both the money and time I spend at the college I choose to go to.</p>
<p>(By the way, are there any colleges that you suggest I go to for these classes?)</p>
<p>Another option I have is to be a paid intern at a financial company (which I did my sophomore to junior year). Would this be better?</p>
<p>Of course the intern is better! Things you do that you are paid are always better than those you pay a lot of money to do. I wish I had chance to do that. Can you give me some idea how to apply for intern, maybe for next year?</p>
<p>Summer schools at ivys are not bad though, depends on what you are trying to get out of it. Are you aiming at taking rigorous courses or getting a sense of college life and meet new people?</p>
<p>If you truly want to have fun, meet people, and get a preview of college life, then sure, spend a summer at an Ivy. I always thought Brown’s program looked really great. However, if will NOT help you get into that college…I mean, maybe a little bit, but not enough to make a different. It won’t push you “over the edge” so to speak.</p>
<p>If you’re thinking taking classes at an Ivy/Stanford is going to help you admissions wise at those schools, you’re wrong. The schools would like to see you do something meaningful during your summer. For me, paying the $10,000 price tag for a summer program is not worth it, especially since the programs aren’t even that competitive to get into and colleges know that. I think doing the paid internship would be much better.</p>
<p>Nopurpose: My dad really helped me out with the intern thing. He knew a company that wasn’t really looking for an intern but were willing to take one if they liked him or her. What I did was show the boss my transcript and made a resume of my extracurricular activities and they accepted me.</p>
<p>If you don’t have connections like that, then you can always try submitting your transcript to companies assuming you have good grades.</p>
<p>Thank you collegehappy and anagenesis for responding!</p>
<p>When you come from an affluent zip code and your internships reflect that, they are far less impressive to colleges. If you live in poverty and have an impressive internship, it’s noticed.</p>
<p>A kid can only do so much with his situation. A paid internship will be much more valuable on a C.V. then summer courses at an Ivy League school. </p>
<p>Nothing wrong with summer courses to get a sense of whether you like a school but if you think that an Ivy League school is going to impressed that you attended their summer program - you’re drinking the Kool-Aid.</p>
<p>It might not help AT ALL, but I doubt it will hurt your chance though. After all, doing something is better than sleeping and playing computer games everyday. Also there are a lot of people go to college summer school to socialize and have fun; there’s no point of punishing them of doing that.</p>
<p>There are ways besides the FAFSA to guess a student’s financial situation. </p>
<p>OP, summer programs do not have a significant impact on the admissions process. As limabeans will probably jump on here to say, the best thing these programs do is indicate you have an extra $X000 lying around. But because admission to these programs isn’t particularly selective, it doesn’t provide an admissions boost. The internship might not either, but it won’t drain your parents’ wallet.</p>
<p>I did a pre-collegiate program like the one you described, and honestly i have to say i had the time of my life. BUT i did more to get a taste of what it would be like living away from home while picking up a few college credits, not to boost my resume. </p>
<p>i think it looked nice to have a college transcript next to my high school one, but i don’t think it helped me all that much. and the only reason i did it was because i was offered a full ride scholarship, these programs are SO expensive. are you sure to want to spend that kind of money?</p>
<p>i think the fact that you landed a paid internship as a high school student is very impressive, i think this would stand out in your admission packet more than a college program that anyone could have done.</p>
<p>I’ve interned at Columbia, and spent my summer at Northwestern University and I must say that spending my summer at Northwestern is better. I’ve gained so many experiences and met a diverse amount of people. And, to top it off…I earned myself a college credit. It’s like a heads-up before you go to college. You also learn to be much more responsible and independent. </p>
<p>I was also accepted to Harvard Summer School Program, when I realized that going there just increases your chances of getting in by 1%, I turned it down. So, choose the schools you want to spend your summer at wisely.</p>
<p>@canttouchme: depends what you want to do later in life. I would choose based on the assumption that you’ll be leveraging your existing experience to get better internships once in college and not so much to get into a college.</p>