I think previously mentioned but FREE program boysstate and girls state . you have to google your own states program but a leadership program completely free for 1 wk sponsored by the American legion/auxillary. I know in Pa. they have not filled.
too late for this year but my son applied to FREE camp at WILLIAMS . ITS CALLED WILLIAM MATH CAMP. 10 days free room,board. not sure how comp. it is or if he will get in but posting for people looking at this link for next year
@kitkat231 - thank you. My daughter did eventually pick RISE to attend.
Ole Miss (u of Mississippi ) has a great summer college program, offering undergrad classes for credit. With decent ACT scores merit scholarship can reduce the cost dramatically. Even without, itās only $2,000 for 4 weeks including room and board. Students have a little more freedom than in other programs. We were happy with it, although my son isnāt applying there. I think they might still have spots for this summer.
Here are the full names of some of the ones that many have mentioned on this thread:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Minority Introduction to Engineering and Sciences (MITES)
Research Science Institute (RSI)
Telluride Association, locations in NY, IN, MI
Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP)
Boston University
Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS)
Stanford University
Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC)
Center for Talented Youth (CTY)
You can find current dates, links, fee, etc. through mysummeradvisor.com. Just type the name from the homepage. It will show all the programs at that college/institution. You may see other programs of interest.
Iāll do some more when I have time.
Thanks s16s18s21s25. My son approached U Mississippi Summer College Admission Office and they actually invited him to the 4-week Bio Technology Research program, which is highly competitive and all admitted students (believe less than 10) are paid full scholarship. My sonās SAT score made him scholatship eligible anyways if he wanted to go for the regular college-credit summer program. They are incredibly helpful and accommodating. Thank you for the reference. We are very excited.
CTY is not prestigious. Admissions requirements are extremely lax, and it costs a lot (which is a feature many, although not all, prestigious summer programs lack).
I agree with CTY comment. What started as a best of the breed academic program 40 years back is now another money making machine. No different than those āglobal scholarā brochures that jam your mailbox if you have a middle or highschool going kid in the household. Very disappointing! As a thumb rule, any program that is fully funded is always the best and most selective. Be it RSI, Telluride, U Miss research, Simons etc.
^ That is definitely true. Obviously, there are exceptions (SuMAC & SSP come to mind), but most free programs are the best programs.
Hi! Iām new to CC but just wanted to chime in with my two cents based on personal experience:
Why pay for expensive āpre-collegeā summer programs? Their flyers line the hallway outside the college guidance office in my school like lawn signs before an election. I looked at a few programs, and despite their āelitenessā and the myriad of ābenefitsā they offer, attending the program really says nothing about you other than the fact that your family can shell out more than $10,000. I understand there may be some merit-based programs with a competitive vetting process, but most of these āpre-collegeā programs are just expensive classes.
Iāve always valued internships even before I knew the term. Last year, after starting up a newspaper at my HS, I was looking for a summer job and applied to work at a newspaper in my area in addition to a few camps. I sent off my resume and cover letter along with a few clips (published articles) and honestly thought I had no shot as the internship was open to college juniors and seniors and graduate students only. To my pleasant surprise, I got an email back from an HR officer at the newspaper company who scheduled me an internship, and again to my surprise, I was picked for the internship and even given a paid gig as a freelancer during the school year.
This past year, I started an internship initiative with the Journalism Club I head at my school and got 7 of the top staff members and editor internship positions at newspapers, political offices and campaigns as well as marketing/PR firms. What Iāve discovered is that although internships are intended for college kids, nothingās set in stone. Why should a talented HS kid be considered any less than a college student? If you can show you have the skills to do the job, youāre an equal candidate compared to a college kid.
Finally, just because an internship says ācollege/graudate studentsā doesnāt mean a talented and skilled HS student wonāt be considered. If you donāt apply, you have a 0% chance. If you apply, the worst that can happen is being told āno thank you.ā Why not go for it?
That being said, itās obviously too late for internships this summer, but if anyone would like some help for next summer, Iām more than happy to help out.
What about COSMOS? Prestigious at all?
COSMOS is incredibly selective now
^ Eh, depends on the cluster.
But itās still selective, so yes.
What is a good program if you are interested in law and politics?
TASP.
Also, does anyone know how selective HSHSP (at Michigan) is? All the data I can find is from 2008ā¦ And seeing as it was quite selective back then, I assume itās even more selective now.
@topaz1116 why are you so obsessed with summer programs? You comment pretty much everyday
@topaz1116 HSHSP has less then 8% acceptance rate. Over 300 application for 24 spots this year. Average SAT about 2300.
I wish I did a summer program this summer. Out of my laziness, I didnāt apply to any. 
@GR8M812345 uh, I comment when I get notifications and I see something interesting/I know something about a topic. Iām not exactly obsessed, although I do hope to get accepted to one with a sub-10% acceptance rate next year (even though it is very unlikely). I happen to know quite a bit about programs through my own research for the programs I applied to this year.