<p>for example, if i decided attend harvard summer school and i apply to harvard, would it boost my chances? i've heard many different answers on this so please help me out.</p>
<p>okay...I did the Yale Summer Program in my Junior to Senior summer (I'm currently a Senior). It was probably one of the best decisions of my life to apply to this program. I met engaging people and the courses I took were incredible, quite unlike high school. Because I was with only 10 high schoolers (the rest of the students were mostly from Yale, Princeton, etc) we had tons of freedom, which was very refreshing in my opinion. The other high school kids I was with were very intelligent (1540 SAT(+) and with 99%'s in their Yale-ivy-college-level classes). </p>
<p>So anyways, three of my friends, from the summer program, applied EA to Yale (I did not apply). When decisions came out in December, all three ended up being deferred. The admissions people said in the summer our presence there in no way boosted our chances of admission in the fall. None of them really bought that in June, nor did I, but after December, we all came to terms with Yales statement. </p>
<p>I'm sorry to break it to you, but ivy summer classes seem to be a way for the school to boost its popularity among eager high school students. This tactic has the potential to increase their applicant pool, which simultaneously drives down the acceptance rate. Such statistics are desired when college ranking come out for the year. Also, the revenues from the classes are spectacular - another bonus for the school.</p>
<p>With all of that said, I still strongly encourage you to attend Harvard's summer school, or another Ivy of your choosing. Don't do it for the bettered admission odds, though. Do it for the amazing experience, chance to meet a new and diverse group of people, and opportunity to demonstrate your sincere dedication to academics when you apply to colleges in September. The initiative taken to enroll in a summer program is what will probably have the most influence on your candidacy at the schools to which you apply.</p>
<p>I hope this helps let me know what you think/decide. J</p>
<p>How do I find out about a college's summer programs. I'd like to do something with science in colleges.</p>
<p>Diet Coke - I was @ JSA this summer too (I was in RH, and set up the website afterwards...)</p>
<p>I think you have to put the statements of the Yale people into perspective. As they pointed out at graduation, while most kids spend their summers on the beach, we were taking classes. Just because they were at Yale does not mean we have an edge, though a good essay topic would be our experience on campus and the fact that we have challenged ourselves. On the other hand, you have to ask, what kind of weight is given to this sort of thing? If you have a 3.4GPA and 1400SAT and you are competing against people with 3.9 and 1590, having this on your application won't help you any. If you had a 3.85 and 1550 but had JSA on your app with other [stats, recs, essays, scores] similar to the other applicant, I think you would gain the upper hand. </p>
<p>It does not hold a great weight, but it is still a factor, and a good way to show the college you have a genine interest in it, plus first hand experience of how it runs - even long-term, since you didn't just visit overnight</p>
<p>Texasmathwhiz :</p>
<p>Just go onto the college's site (ie. yale.edu). There, they should have a link to summer programs, admissions, school, etc. Every ivy probably has some version of the summer program, so just look on the site of the school you are most interested in attending. Perhaps MIT or Cornell Engineering would be good for your science interests.</p>
<p>good points anarchy24. It definately looks better to have done something challenging with your summer time rather than tanning on the beach. And if your application comes into a situation where the stats are similar to another applicant, I wouldn't be suprised if your attendance at school x for five weeks gives you the competitive edge.</p>