<p>Yes, although I'm unsure where you're going with this.</p>
<p>My point is that if the only ECs on your app are the things colleges want, they can tell that you're just telling them what you think they want to hear.</p>
<p>Example. Last year a girl from my HS with a 4.5 GPA and near-perfect SATs and ECs...and everything else...was rejected from UCLA. When she petitioned it, they told her her application lacked focus and personality. There's irony for you.</p>
<p>Depends on the program. I have experience with the Harvard and Penn programs, and I can tell you that they're quite different. Harvard SSP's classes are largely high school students, and most profs are either grad students or brought in from elsewhere. Meanwhile, Penn Precollege has classes with at least as many actual college students as high schoolers, and the faculty is largely the same as year round classes.
An unspoken advantage of summer programs at the school you're applying to is that you can probably write a much better "Why Harvard" or "Why Penn" essay if you've lived there for 4-8 weeks.</p>
<p>my best friend did Harvard SSP and had a great time and learned a bunch. it sounds like any kid with parents who can pay big bucks will go though...</p>
<p>The "minimal" SAT score needed for CTY or TIP is actually quite high. As a ninth grader, you need to score in the top 15-20% of college-bound HS seniors on at least one section of the SAT in order to qualify.</p>
<p>I would say that attending CTY or TIP, especially in 7th-10th grade, is equal to spending the summer working or volunteering.</p>
<p>I would have to disagree that CTY and TIP are particularly impressive on college applications and that they fit the criteria for this thread. First, summer programs before freshman year are irrelevant for college admissions. And, the minimum score of 15-20% of college bound HS seniors is not that high for students considering one of the very selective schools. Also, depending on what you are doing, work or volunteering may be much better than CTY or TIP, for instance work in a field that you are interested in or volunteering on a project that has a substantial impact.</p>
<p>I would also disagree that expensive programs such as Harvard's SSP meet the criteria of this thread. While good learning experiences, they are not helpful on college applications.</p>
<p>I don't agree that programs such as CTY, TIP and Harvard SSP are not helpful on college applications. I think that any "good learning experience" would be helpful. There are certainly more and less prestigious programs, but showing an interest in learning is never a bad thing. You could be going to the beach every day. Or worse...the mall. Given the competitive nature of programs like RSI, they are clearly not options available to everyone. Fortunately, there are other programs that are easier to get in to for kids who want to learn something and have experiences that are likely not available at their regular schools. I think they would look "good" on college applications, though I would hope that that is not the reason why someone would attend one.</p>
<p>I attended Harvard SSP last summer, and i had a great time. However, i didnt take it mainly for college apps. I mean i did consider that it might help but that wasnt the PRIMARY reason. At Harvard i chose astronomy, and it was great. I am planning on majoring in astronomy/related area so I used this to help me build my basics and fundamental.
I think for college apps this is where it might help. If you plan on becoming lets say ... a biologist, and you decide to do to community service and help the poor then colleges it wont have large impact. However if you did a pre-college program in biology, it would tell the colleges this person has a passion toward his field.
So really I think it comes down to what really interests you, and how you pursue it. And summer is the perfect time to do it, so dont waste your time doing something which doesnt interest you.</p>
<p>btw is MITES hard to get into?
Does anyone know when the dealine is for summer 2008?</p>
<p>Rather than starting a new thread, is anyone willing to compare the Oxbridge programs with TASP? With TASP I'd go to the Cornell II program (I believe it deals with the global economy), and with Oxbridge I'd major in Politics/Economics and minor in Speech/Debate, if accepted of course. I'd only go to an Oxbridge program if I get the scholarship, and even then the plane ride to/from might be pushing the costs a bit too much. So yeah, anyway, with something like social sciences or humanities, which is more prestigious? I realize TASP is held in higher regard, but I personally think that I could have a better overall experience at Oxbridge. Again, this is all pending acception into the programs. So what do you guys think?</p>
<p>I'm a big proponent of international experience, the more the better, so if two programs look approximately equal to you, and one is in another country, I would advise going to the other country. Colleges seem to think that way more and more too.</p>
<p>How about MIT Women's Technology Program (WTP); is it good as it is a paid program?</p>
<p>Is SSP very difficult to get into?</p>
<p>jets91, you can check the SSP thread on the front page, it has the stats of people who got in last year.</p>
<p>it's alot less competitive than RSI but still only about 30% of the applicants get in. it is a very self selective program.</p>
<p>degoutant -- TASP is such a completely different program than Oxbridge. Both are excellent -- and only colleges know what looks better to them, TASP or a scholarship recipient that attended Oxbridge. TASP participants will tell you it is TASP -- but you just don't know.</p>
<p>Both are so difficult, I would suggest you apply to both -- and some back-up programs.</p>
<p>My son was awarded a scholarship to Oxbridge last year -- and he loved it! The classes were great, the experience in another country was great and the kids had a blast. </p>
<p>However, the scholarships are very competitive -- over 350 kids applied and they only selected 10 kids to award a scholarship to, and at least half of those scholarships were for specific categories (french, spanish, classics and african-american).</p>
<p>I don't know how impressive CTY looks to admissions officers, but I would argue that the "minimal score" is not actually minimal. While the top 10 to 15 percentile score of college-bound seniors may not seem very high, you also have to consider how <em>much</em> the SAT scores of those middle schoolers will typically increase by the time they are seniors. As a CTY qualifier, my Verbal/Math score increased 420 points between seventh and twelfth grade. Also consider, most seventh graders simply haven't the basic math classes (i.e. algebra) that the SAT assumes testers have taken. I also don't think anyone who has not attended CTY can comment on the intensity and rigor of the program. Finally, while CTY may be expensive, it does not nearly approach the expense of many college preparatory and leadership programs, many of which are nearly double the cost (per week) of CTY.</p>
<p>if you lived close to Houston, Texas, you can try Baylor college of medicine S3 program for high school senior. You will do topnotch research project and also get pay. you can check the link
Summer</a> Science for Seniors Program - SMART - Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas</p>
<p>RSI is doing very well in the early round. So far, I've heard of 35 acceptances to MIT, Caltech, Yale, Stanford, and Harvard (recruited) and 2 deferrals (and those 2 were really random)--0 rejections, of course.</p>
<p>I am looking for summer programs in Philadelphia, PA. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Okay, I have something to say about LEAD.</p>
<p>Although it may be presitgious, I don't think colleges can really base their thoughts on it. It wouldn't be fair to base their thoughts on a program that generally only accepts minorities, with few exceptions. So with that said, are there any prestigious non sciencce or math programs that I can look into? I'm interested in business, and I'm not minority so LEAD is outta the question.</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure LEAD is not ONLY for minorities. I've seen many WASPs who applied, got in, and had great times.</p>