<p>My extra curriculars and work experience arn't too impressive, so I could use all the help I can get.</p>
<p>go to a “smart camp”, do a “habitat for humanity”, here or abroad, study abroad for a 3 credit course in a foreign language, volunteer! here or away. problem is, if you’re a junior, you may look like the "i’ve-got -to-do-community-service -for-college-apps-which-i-didn’t-care-to -do-before!</p>
<p>Get a job. Hike the appalachian trail. Maybe try something you’ve never done before? Remember that your academic qualities are by far the most important. As long as your EC’s are above a certain level, they won’t be too distinguishing. You won’t stand out unless you do something truly unique or prestigious.</p>
<p>Cav hit the nail on the head. If you can do something uniquely creative with yourself, like do research and get published, or get a job normally held by an adult. Come up with something that the admissions people have never seen before it would be really awesome to do something that you are passionate about. Honestly though, since I don’t know your passions, anything I could tell you is going to be generic, so your options are going to be things that have been seen before but are still amazing (RSI, research, etc) or something creative that only you could think of. Otherwise you are just going to be better off getting a job, so you can make money and you will break even with respect to admissions.</p>
<p>“smart camp” probably wont help unless you get into something great like RSI. Otherwise you probably will just be spending 3 grand on something no one will care about, look into it a lot first.</p>
<p>i respectfully disagree in part with my esteemed UVA friends on this, but since none of us know your stats, it’s hard to say. OF COURSE, your academic stats are the most important, but i think a solid attempt at a good summer experience, what ever it may be will be better than the weak ECs you’ve described. i don’t think this part of your app should be all or nothing. and altho I greatly appreciate the importance of a job, it would appear, un fortunately most schools do not put great emphasis on it.</p>
<p>do something that relates to your intended major and shows your passion for the subject. If you really want to be a psych major, considering volunteering for the epilepsy foundation. If your really looking into business, see if local businesses would be willing to give you an internship. </p>
<p>And smart camps: they really won’t help you and they cost a LOT of money. If you have the cash, then go ahead and attend a summer program at a university. This really and truly isn’t necessary however. I attended a program at a very prominent university and I completely forgot to put it on my UVA app (there was no place for it so I forgot) but was still accepted. If you really, really, want to do this, I can help you on this and give you some advice. I went through the process two years ago and I did a lot of research into the programs. As I look back, I don’t think the experience was worth the 10k I spent. And I wish I had my money back.</p>
<p>Again, the best thing you can do is cement your passion for whatever subject you want to major in and truly show admissions that you want to pursue that subject by devoting your summer to it. Passion and interest is what admissions look for so show it to them.</p>
<p>I’m with cav and db on this: smart camps won’t help, cost a LOT, and actually are not that competitive/prestigious.</p>
<p>Cav definitely got it right :)</p>
<p>db123…we are from a small town, son wants a 10 - 21 day summer program - interested in medicine and/or engineering - but mostly interested in the experience of a big city or university, with other motivated and social kids…we are not worried about “application building” but we do want to know that the experience itself will be worthwhile…what did your research tell you?
He’s looking at NYLF, CSLC, Brown mini courses…</p>
<p>a 10-21 day program is a good choice PROVIDED that you are willing to pay the $2-5k for it. And if I was paying that much, then I would want it to strengthen my application. Having said that, I think NYLF, CSLC, and all those other bogus programs would be a waste. Everyone gets an invitation to attend those programs and it holds very little prestige. I would lean more towards a program run by a university that houses applicants on campus and provides an educational experience and gives your son a taste of college life. </p>
<p>There’s also another factor you may want to consider when picking a program: classes for credit or just the experience? If your son wants to go the precollege route, then he would be taking classes with other undergraduates of the school and the classes would be for credit. Hopkins, Brown, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and a few other colleges run these programs. I participated in one of these programs and it was rewarding but also a LOT of work. The class is run like a college class. I took a science class and it was lab once a week and lecture three times a week. I learned quite a bit from this program but most of what I learned had nothing to do with academics. For example, if you don’t understand something, then go to your professor’s office hours and someone will help. I also learned the importance of sleep as I stayed up late into the night and had class early in the morning. Most of the mistakes that a first semester freshman makes, I made. And I learned from them so it’s unlikely that I’ll make the same mistakes again in college. </p>
<p>The 2-week type program is more for the experience than learning college basics. This shows that you’re interested in the college and the subject of the program so choose carefully when picking a program. These are short but show you what college life is like (provided you don’t pick any NYLF type trash.)</p>
<p>[JHU</a> Summer Programs](<a href=“http://www.jhu.edu/summer/]JHU”>http://www.jhu.edu/summer/)</p>
<p>Hopkins runs three types of programs: Discover Hopkins, Engineering Innovation, and the Precollege program. Discover Hopkins are two week programs that have a specific focus of study and they range from epidemics to the 2008 election. They also run an Engineering Innovation program that exposes you to the basic concepts important for engineering and the necessity of teamwork. I eventually chose JHU because it was closer to home and the precollege program was only 4 weeks as opposed to 7-8. If you have questions specifically relating to this, I can be of service.</p>
<p>[University</a> of Pennsylvania’s College of General Studies | Summer Programs for High School Students](<a href=“http://www.sas.upenn.edu/CGS/highschool/index_summerhighschool.php]University”>http://www.sas.upenn.edu/CGS/highschool/index_summerhighschool.php)</p>
<p>UPenn runs multiple types of programs. Their website explains everything in detail and all the costs/tuition is clearly labeled.</p>
<p>[Summer</a> at Stanford University - High School - Overview](<a href=“http://summer.stanford.edu/highschool/overview.asp]Summer”>http://summer.stanford.edu/highschool/overview.asp)</p>
<p>Stanford’s program is a Precollege program. It lasts 8 weeks and you can pick from a variety of courses.</p>
<p>[Secondary</a> School Program Overview : Harvard Summer School 2008](<a href=“http://www.summer.harvard.edu/2008/programs/ssp/overview/]Secondary”>http://www.summer.harvard.edu/2008/programs/ssp/overview/)</p>
<p>Harvard’s program is a precollege program. The program is also 7-8 weeks.</p>
<p>[Yale</a> Summer Session | Yale University](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/summer/index.html]Yale”>http://www.yale.edu/summer/index.html)</p>
<p>Yale is also precollege. 6-8 weeks.</p>
<p>[Summer</a> & Continuing Studies@Brown](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Continuing_Studies/pc/index.php]Summer”>http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Continuing_Studies/pc/index.php)</p>
<p>I’m assuming you’re familiar with Brown since you mentioned it earlier.</p>
<p>Those are the ones that I looked at and, as I said, I eventually chose Hopkins because of it’s reputation for medicine and also because it was closer to home. Many more colleges run programs and it’s up to you to find the right one. One last piece of advice: look at the calendars for each program to see what your son will actually be participating in to get a better sense of the program. The schedule can really help when trying to choose the right one.</p>
<p>Excellent response, Cav.</p>
<p>excellent response db123 as well</p>
<p>Do you think that a program at Georgetown related to my field of interest (Business) that also provides college credits in a course of my choice, would be good (It costs about $3000-$6000 and its 5 weeks long) Georgetown is one of the only colleges that I can commute to.</p>
<p>Definitely volunteer or internship. I don’t think those college summer program will help that much because eveyone can participate as long as you pay for it. I never participated in those program and got accepted to UNC and UVA.</p>
<p>the Bamf~ looks like volunteering in some form will be the quickest, cheapest thing for you to do. studying abroad for college credit costs as do the aforementioned programs; but if you can afford a good one that will offer true college credit, AND if it’s not too late to register, i’d go for one. as far as the “smart camp” thing, i guess i wasn’t specific enough. i meant those offered by universities, with JHU being a popular one that comes to mind. beware the scams!</p>
<p>BAMF, </p>
<p>If you’re commuting, then I think you’re missing the best thing precollege programs have to offer: the experience. Having said that, I would strongly discourage taking those classes at Georgetown. It’s a waste of money. I would take classes at your local college (if you live in Northern Virginia, then go to NOVA or Mason) and take business related classes there. The credit can still be transferred to the college you choose to attend and you can save a LOT of money. By taking classes at your local college, you can also volunteer during your free time. If you are interested in business, then you can focus on the business aspect of charities: what it takes to run a charity, how money is handled, etc. Contact someone from a charity that you are interested in and see if you can help out. Also, you could spearhead an initiative to raise money for a worthy cause, whether it be local or national. And a worthy cause could be for just one person. You get the opportunity to meet some amazing people who truly give you a different perspective on life.</p>
<p>You don’t need to change the world. Just change one life at a time.</p>
<p>I’d try the famous “bike across France” thing.</p>
<p>nice, db, one life at a time. :)</p>