Summer School: Increase or Decrease Admissions Chances?

I was recently accepted into an academic enrichment program at a prestigious private school. I will only be taking one class (Introduction to Arabic), and I am hoping to use it to prepare myself for college-level Arabic classes later on in high school so I can continue my study with the language.

Though, I was reading an article that said selective colleges do not view such summer programs favorably. It stated that it shows colleges that couldn’t come up with anything creative to do over the summer. I brushed it off because I only intend to take a summer class this one year. I want to spend the other summers focusing even more on things like volunteer work and sports. Would this improve my application, do nothing, or decrease my chances of getting into one of the colleges I’m interested in (Tulane, Rice, UPenn, Washington University)?

Is it for college credit? If it is, it might look marginally better on your app, especially if your app reflects your interests in Arabic elsewhere. Not because it gives you an advantage, but because it shows your willingness to study in the summer and pursue the things that interest you. To an extent, anything you do during the summer is good for a college app, except probably sitting around doing nothing. I actually think a summer job is better than most other summer activities. They like jobs.

I don’t believe summer programs are viewed unfavorably, but they are not going to give you a boost over another applicant, with perhaps the exception of courses that help show your interest in a particular area, as I previously mentioned. Example, my kid did a summer course in psychology, but not for credit. However, she also studied AP psych on her own, took the test and got a 5, and put psych as a possible major. She mentioned psych in some supplemental essays when possible. She showed clear interest in psychology. As part of her “package” I think that was useful, and she had a pretty successful round of acceptances.

@Lindagaf it is not for college credit as it is merely an introductory course. Though, this fall I would be taking an Arabic course that is credit-bearing because of this. Thank you for your response.

Sure, go for it. But a job, volunteering , and other summer activities are good too.