Does anyone know if taking Washington University’s summer STEM course would help increase my daughters chances of admission to the undergraduate program of Washington U?
My personal opinion is that summer programs help in two general ways: 1) student chose an academic activity during break, and 2) student has been to campus and liked it (this speaks to level of student interest).
Simply being in the program - no. However, she might learn some skills/grow as a person which could be an advantage in the admissions process. Of course, she could also gain that from doing something that does not cost a boatload of money.
On the other hand, if she really bonds with a college in the summer, and doesn’t get in, she will be heartbroken.
I am a real fan of pre-college programs. My daughter is too. She did her first at the University of Pittsburgh after 9th grade during the day. Tissue Engineering. She could commute. Very affordable.Then as she got older, she really liked finding the program for her interests. This past summer, she attended Was U’s Pre-Medical Institute. It is a 3 week, non-credit program, and she studied within the biology realm. What a fantastic program. She was doing her own research for a presentation assignment and she also had a group project on pharmacogenetics. She worked hard on her academics! They also offered optional college readiness seminars that were helpful. She wentered to all of those! They took the students into St. Louis for planned activities, and she had her own social time to get to the Delmar Loop with several new friends from different parts of the U.S. The whole thing was very empowering.
Wash U was not her first choice as she left for the program. But she was able to delve deeply into what college life could be like there. We had not previously visited, but it was on her list of possibilities. She knew she loved it while there, and we allowed her to apply ED.
Now, I will advise not attending a program solely to boost admissions chances because I don’t think they are designed to guarantee anything. However, on Wash U 's summer program website, it states that 90% of summer program attendees do apply there. And out of that 90%, 35% were admitted, so attending does not hurt and could boost. But even if my D isn’t admitted, that program has served her well regardless. That’s the key, I think.
Also, don’t be afraid of applying for financial aid for these programs. I completed the paperwork, and D got $1,600 off of the tuition. Yes, expensive, but we think worthwhile in the big picture of exploring, testing a major academic area, being independent, and possibly helping admissions. She certainly knows why she wants to study at Wash U now.
My daughter attended Wash U’s two-week PNP program this summer. After our official visit to Wash U last fall, it rose to the top of her rankings. She expressed interest in applying either to Wash U ED or another one of her top schools. We then looked for a summer program at those two schools so she could develop a greater knowledge of the school environment before making such a definite commitment. Of course, she ended up loving Wash U and had a wonderful experience in the program.
Time will tell if it will help her with admissions. But they do tell the students that anything you complete during the program (she submitted a 10-page paper) along with your professors evaluations will be added to your admission files. They also held various admissions programs during the two weeks that they tracked her attendance at. I would imagine as long as you do well in the program, it can only help you but obviously is not any guarantee.
That’s great news, @colscook . I was not aware that their projects / papers and evaluations were kept as a part of their records. Good to know.
@Winky - That is at least what her professor told her - or maybe she was using it as way just to motivate the kids to be involved in class ;)!