Hi,
How good would a summer program such as UChicago’s high school summer session look on college applications?
That is, would it be necessary to do it? Would I still be able to get into a highly-ranked college (ex. ND) without doing it?
In my opinion summer programs are only worth what you get out of them. Some are helpful in career selection, some in preparing you for the kind of thinking that you might be encountering in your college experience. The only way I could see it helping your admissions to any school is if the experience could be related to why you chose to apply to a particular school or perhaps affected you in some way and you could express that in your essay. The fact that you participated in a summer program would have no bearing on their decision.
It would look good to UChicago, but still it is not a deal breaker.
What do you think other colleges will say when they see you chose UChicago’s Summer Program?
One never knows if one can get into a highly-ranked college even if you do all the “right” things.
Colleges want to see that you use your summer time productively…be it working at a summer camp or learning or whatever. High School summer sessions are for people who can pay for it…but i don’t think that is looked at more highly than someone who worked at Dairy Queen.