“Each summer since 1959, highly gifted and motivated high school students have come to the Summer Science Program to immerse themselves in hands-on, experimental science, and to live and work with their intellectual peers for the first time. The experience changes their lives, and the benefits continue for life.”
FYI: this year, SSP will be expanding into Purdue and will include a SSP Biochemistry curriculum.
Students who are interested in SSP might also be interested in applying to the Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics (yspa.yale.edu), which has a similar model as SSP, but has more of a focus on modeling and data science.
Wow this thread is so dead. I went thru the old threads and this camp seems really cool but no one is talking about it now 
is it still alive?
@stopthistrain I know several SSP alumni and this camp is extremely cool and is totally worth applying to. It’s honestly the best summer of your life and I highly recommend it 
Also it’s well alive http://www.summerscience.org/ By the way please feel free to ask me questions about the program because I’m very familiar with it and the kind of people that it accepts.
My son attended the past summer and it truly was his best educational experience ever. I highly recommend applying. The YSPA program mentioned above is run by an alum of SSP and is similar to SSP in many great ways. In fact last summer the 2 SSP campuses and YSPA collaborated on a parallax observation.
Does anyone know anything about the Biochemistry program? Is SSP more well-known for its Astrophysics program?
SSP is a lot more well known for its Astrophysics program. The biochem program is new this year… I’m applying to Astrophysics just to be safe
@isFress you the bomb man:)
I read up on a bunch of the past threads and it seems so fun. My kinda camp. I hope I’ll get accepted, but lots of application stuff to go through. I think teacher recs will probably be my weakest point…
also, is anyone intimidated by the huge word count? I don’t think we’re meant to ever reach it, but still…
I saw that the essay portion was very heavy. Do you know, by your knowledge the program, what kind of student they are looking for? I am quite confused on how to write those essays. Also what is the acceptance rate of the program?
@isFress
The biochem program was successfully pilot tested last summer with a smaller group of students who had previously attended the SSP Astrophysics program, and so were able to judge whether the biochem program was up to the SSP standards. If you are more interested in a biology-type major than a physics/CS/math major, I’d apply to the biochem program.
Acceptance rate has been <10% for several years.
The essays are good practice for next fall… (That is, if you think this is a lot, just wait.)
Imo, the biology one just doesn’t sound fun… like MAPPING THE COSMOS vs meddling with some random fungi… just my thoughts though
Hmm so if a lot of my background is in bio rather than physics, would it be better to do bio? Or is it ok if I say I want to try something fresh with the astrophysics program? I’ve taken AP physics and calc bc, but my extracurriculars (like my research project last year) are mainly bio-oriented. At this point, I think I’m also going to major in something more bio rather than physics too 
Super excited for the new biochemistry thing!!! I’m applying as a sophomore though so I have like a 0% chance of getting in, but this is the only year I’d be able to do it so no harm in trying, right? @isFress I’m definitely going to be needing you!
@holycrayon if you are more passionate about bio then I would say to apply to the bio SSP. You should follow your true scientific passion, and if you do major in something biology/chemistry related, then the biochemistry SSP will be a great thing to have under your belt in terms of both giving you the skills to succeed and also being a prestigious program that looks good on college apps 
Hey guys, so I’m an international student and I’m applying for SSP astrophysics. I’m so intrigued about the whole idea of researching and working on asteroid orbit determination, even if I don’t know anything about it. I have had budding interest in astronomy since 7th grade and I’ve been studying the basics of it. Now I hail from a third world country where I don’t have much opportunities to flaunt my potentials. So I haven’t done any research before, nor have I any amazing credentials other than good school result. So am I a lost case for the SSP? Or what do you think guys, should I apply even if I have nothing stellar other than passion? Because this whole summer study on Astrophysics sounds really tempting to me, and I’d love to do it.
@florencewelch666 apply, just be sure to bring your passion into the short answers.
What are some other programs you guys are applying for (I’m doing the Biochem SSP), so more biology related?
I’m applying SSP biochem as well! Do you guys think that fewer people would apply to biochem bc it’s new this year and not much people ? If that’s the case, will the acceptance rate for biochem be slightly higher?
@Calipg Ah yes, I am going to apply no matter what.