<p>I'm being heavily recruited by a lot of the top schools(hyp, mit etc) for their summer session programs. One of them even offered me a scholarship. I'm still deciding whether or not to go. However I wanted to know whether these are given any merit in the college application process.</p>
<p>I don’t know what you’re getting in your mail, but at my house I’d say “getting a lot of mail from” is a more accurate description than “being heavily recruited by.” Maybe your mail is different.</p>
<p>As for the value of these programs when you apply to college, they are something productive that you did with your summer. They are not particularly better for your college prospects than anything else productive that you do with your summer. They are better than sitting on your backside all summer. But Harvard Summer School doesn’t give you any better shot at Harvard College than learning Italian would, or spending the summer doing some kind of outdoor-adventure program, or even earning money. </p>
<p>If you want to do one of these programs and you can afford to do it, then do it. If you want to do one of these programs so that you can gain a genuine advantage at fancy colleges, then you’re not going to get a good value for your time or your money.</p>