I’m currently a sophomore in high school and am interested in attending a (hopefully prestigious) summer program next summer. I just learned about the benefits of attending these, so I have a lot of questions and would appreciate any help.
Firstly, which summer programs would be the most attractive to colleges (I’m looking to go to Stanford or an Ivy)? I read about programs like RSI, COSMOS, TASP, and SIMR.
Has anyone been to any of these programs? If so, how hard is the application process? I wish to go into the medical field in the future, so I’m particularly interested in attending a medical or science-based summer program.
If anyone has any additional info or advice on prestigious summer programs, it would be very appreciated!
It’s very hard to get into RSI, SSP, TASP as a sophomore. Most students get in as post-juniors.
I would recommend looking at a variety of top summer programs, and even then it will be a struggle to get in as a sophomore: RSI, SSP, TASP, Clark, NIH, HSHSP, COSMOS, SIMR, Simons, Garcia, etc.
There’s no way of answering your question as to which would be “right” for you. All are competitive, and they are very different. TASP (for juniors only, so you are not eligible; there is a sophomore version called TASS, which deals with minority issues) is a humanities program, the others are mainly science oriented, and a few are open (Clark). All are difficult to get into. Why are you interested in them - for the prestige, or because you have a genuine interest in something and want to challenge yourself? It seems more like the former.
You’re going about this backwards. Instead of identifying a prestigious summer program to which you probably won’t get accepted, identify what your interest is and how you want to develop it, and come up with a list of possibilities for the next 2 summers. Include a range of options, as the competitive ones may not pan out. Regardless, you will do something interesting and constructive with your summers, that will shine when you apply to colleges, and you will have grown as a person.
They are very, very competitive. Even if you were a junior, your odds of getting in are pretty slim. My advice is to apply to some less competitive programs this summer. If you do apply to some of these next year, have some “match” and “safety” programs identified, too. Like with your college apps.
One problem with summer programs is that they don’t have a uniform date for you to decide which to attrend. So you might get accepted to one and they want a response in 2 weeks with a deposit, and you haven’t heard back at all from others.
I participated in SIMR so if you need any advice on SIMR i would be glad to help 
I would strongly recommend going to a program that is significantly different from the environment you know most about. That will help you to make your future decisions. For many students that means going to a Summer Program on the opposite coast.
I don’t agree that geography matters at all. I think finding a program that helps crystallize whether you are or are not interested in a specific field of study is far more valuable. One of my kid tried a three week engineering program summer before senior year. It was (honestly) in the sticks location wise. In the end, she enjoyed it, but it helped clarify for her that she did not want to be an engineer. In turn, that informed her college choices ( and she was accepted to all she applied to, including some top schools). Don’t worry too much about prestige or location. Figure out what you want to explore intellectually and follow that.
If you don’t mind my asking what summer program did she do. My S is currently a junior this year and interested in doing a summer program to firm up what type of engineering he’d like to do. We are in Texas currently. Thanks.
Rose Hulman’s Operation Catapult. 3 weeks of a hands-on engineering project, and they have input on what type of project they get to work on. Quite a few students from her summer are her fellow students at Harvey Mudd now.
Hello was hoping I could pick some folks brains on what they would suggest. My D has got into Welch at UT Arlington and also been admitted to MSU HSHSP. We were trying to decide between the two and was trying to see if you would have some thoughts on them.
Below are the pros and cons of each.
Welch
- Free
- Smaller size so prob better direction
- Closer to home
- With 5 weeks it allows some time for D to work on her essays over the summer and also do a few college visits.
Cons
- Is more Chem focused while D wants to try more Bio related items ultimately wants to be a physician
- Not as prestigous for Ivy leagues
MSU HSHSP
- Better fit from a subject perspective, she wants to be a physician at this time who knows what it will end up but she has been pretty adamant about it the last few times we have had this discussion
- Larger group with more intellectual opportunities due to larger size of student pool
- Better known from a college perspective outside of Texas
Cons
- Money though the amount is not an issue for us so we can spend it
- Distance from home not a drive away but a plane ride away.
Not sure which one is more competitive but both seem to be pretty competitve though the first one has more of a chemistry flavor
I will start another thread and hope to get a few more responses. Was hoping to see what you would have done if it was your kid. Thank You for the help.