@tutumom2001 For those students who are specifically focused on attending Harvard the “Turning the Tide” guidelines would indeed apply.
For those students who have no interest in attending Harvard (I know that may be difficult to believe), summer enrichment programs can actually assist a student on gaining insight regarding a particular field of study.
To paint all summer enrichment programs with such a broad brush because Harvard has spoken doesn’t apply to all.
The problem is too many kids have their hopes set on Harvard only to have their hopes dashed in the end. As you so astutely pointed out, the acceptance rate is an wee but over 5%. That’s a ton of rejection letters.
While the ice cream stand gig would be great…I’m pretty sure my daughter’s experience at Yale was more applicable to her GW - Elliott School and University Honors Program admission.