<p>@IvyBound2015
I went to Harvard Summer School last summer. It was definitely the BEST summer of my life. The professors were awesome. The people were awesome! Harvard and Boston were awesome. It was like a Harvard undergrad life. There were lots of Harvard undergrad students in class, etc.</p>
<p>@ CollegiateDreams
I did Stanford EPGY last summer. Personally, I donāt think itās as hard as SSP or HSHSP and definitely not RSI or MITES (not that iāve been to any of those, from what i hear)ā¦
But itās a blast, the stanford undergrads that are your supervisors are freakinā awesome.
Youāll make a lot of international friends (I had two from Shanghai, one from Beijing, one from Macedonia, and two from India). Iād say you get a lot more social stuff done than the academics, which are kind of like just using what you know (I was in 20th century science and technology, which was a lot of reading and basically seminar type class). I donāt know about the physics and other classes, but I heard that they had a lot of work and supervisors checked on them regularly. Cost is a bit high, but the experience is just awesome if you really want to go. Plus if you want to go to stanford. Also, my SSP (summer science program) friend told me that a lot of the SSPers went to EPGY. It is not as prestigious as SSP, RSI, MITES, HSHSP, because it is a lot more general and offers a lot more courses. It is meant as a pre-collegiate program, not focused on one area like the ones mentioned above ^^. But you will get a lot out of it, and this will definitely change your mind about where you want to go for college (it did for me). The food was really good as well. Pasta everyday, fries everyday, lots of cereal, bagels, fruits, eggs, bacon, you name it, they got it.</p>
<p>Is Garcia considered good in college applications ? Will it be treated as a plus considering it is selective ?</p>
<p>Is Garcia considered better than an out of state research opportunity under a well known material sciences professor ?</p>
<p>Whoās heard of lead America?
Is it prestigious and all?!</p>
<p>^It is a paid program.</p>
<p>yeah I knowā¦ But a worth-it paid program?
Arenāt most programs paid? especially those that allow internationals?!</p>
<p>Anyone heard of the Summer@USC program?</p>
<p>I attended UCSC COSMOS. I believe it helps if you want to attend a UC. My SAT scores were low, but I got into UCSC ( where I did the program), and UCSB. I got into Pre-Biology at UCSB.</p>
<p>@Cpraf104 did you feel that Stanford EGPY was too structured and was aimed at underclassmen? Looking online, I felt that the schedule and the large amount of supervised time made the program seem too confined in comparison with other pre-collegiate programs. Did you feel that the program was useful academically and that you learned a lot or that it was more of a social experience? Were the other students academically inclined or did they come for the social aspect of the program? Although you may not be able to answer this question, do you know if most of the science classes are lectured based or if there are other lab components? Thanks and sorry for the multitude of questions!</p>
<p>Does anyone know anything about the IUP Cook Honors College Summer Program?</p>
<p>Is RSI that prestigious? I mean, can RSI be considered a scientific achievement itself?</p>
<p>how prestigious is LBW? i know its a really good program but its also really expensiveāalmost $6000ā¦</p>
<p>I have heard LBW is definitely one of the top programs in the country for business especially but also in general. I got in, and Iām not 100% sure if Iām going, but from what Iāve heard from people who have been there in the past its not only really prestigious but also really worthwhile!</p>
<p>@ thehistoryfan Although EPGY had a strict schedule, the schedule is pretty flexible, and itās actually not that confining, because the time slots are very large and isnāt like planned out for every minute. Trust me, you get used to the schedule very quickly. The supervised times are just so that you actually do work instead of just play frisbee or stay on the computer the entire time. Academically speaking, you will mostly utilize what you already know in another course, pretty much, and for me, it was just having huge debates with my classmates. The people are very smart and knowledgable while also being very sociable. They can be very deep thinkers while also being ready to have a blast. The people that I met came to have a good time at Stanford. There were a good portion of soon-to-be seniors, some soon-to-be sophomores, and some soon-to-be juniors (like me). Definitely more upperclassmen, though. I did get a peek at some of the other, more taxing classes, and they were mostly lectures as far as I saw.
To sum everything up, you donāt really learn much new, unless youāre in the science/math courses, you just utilize what you know to be active in a course with other people like yourself interested in the same areas. I really got an expanded scope of what I was interested in, though. You really learn a lot outside of the classroom, because the diversity is just so great.
Oh, and, you get a pretty bold-but-not-really-encouraging admissions person lecture towards the end, where they tell you about the college admissions process and try to impress on everyone that they have a chance. Three of the people I was fairly close to in the program got into Stanford, two Caucasian, one Filipino (I think). Final words: If you are coming to EPGY, youād better be ready to hang out with a large group of people and be comfortable with them, or youāre gonna be that one guy who no one really likes. And on the weekends we got to go places; we went to Capitola Beach and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Hope this helped!</p>
<p>SSP or HSHSP? Already admitted to SSP, waiting on HSHSP.</p>
<p>Garcia or HSHSP ?</p>
<p>@whostolemycookie - Only apply to USC if you can afford to pay the tuition. I requested their maximum financial aid when I applied, and my family hovers around the poverty line. Of the $2100 I requested, I only received $400.</p>
<p>Iāve heard positive things about the program, but beware of the program if you have a sticky financial situation.</p>
<p>Iām rather surprised that the Summer Science Program hasnāt been mentioned more in this thread, as it is definitely the top program in the country, and arguably the world, for Math/Physics/Astronomy. Perhaps this is because the program revolves around a project that doesnāt interest many; orbit determination, astrophysics. </p>
<p>This year the acceptance rare was just over 9%, with 740 applicants, and about 70 accepted. It is extremely selective, and stats alone will get you nowhere. It offers full financial aid to anyone who needs it, and repeatedly states throughout the admission process to not worry about paying for the program. Even at full price, the cost is well below what is actually spent. It is taught by some incredible professors, many of who attended SSP themselves. Anyone looking for prestige would be well advised to keep looking, because that isnāt the point of the program, however, the prestige of isnāt to be questioned; itās one of the oldest and most successful programs around, after all, it was founded by Caltech and MIT.</p>
<p>I cannot speak from personal experience yet, because I have only just been admitted myself, however, judging from how helpful and awesome Mr. Bowdon (the director) is in accommodating my unique circumstances, I already know Iām in for the best summer of my life. SSP is for anyone who wants to work hard, and play hard; be challenged intellectually in ways impossible anywhere else, and bond with 35 of the most brilliant scholars in your class, from around the world. What really makes it stand out though, is the fact that it looks for intellectual spark and passion in their applicants, NOT SAT scores and stats. I guarantee far over half the students on this thread would put my stats to shame, truly, yet I was admitted because thatās not what itās all about, itās about who you are and what you can bring to this incredible community. If anyone reading this is obsessed, passionate, masochistic, about their studies and pursuits, APPLY TO SSP, whatever your stats! APPLY. That is all.</p>
<p>Anyone applying to UofTās DEEP Summer Academy? I live in Canada so a lot of the programs in the US are off limits for me 
I was so sad to find out that HSHSP was only open to US students <em>cries in the corner</em></p>
<p>Any good programs besides RSI and CSSI that is open to international students?</p>