Would going to a summer program at Stanford be good for my college application?

Applying to College
1

Hello all,

I’m going to be a rising sophomore, and I recently set a goal for myself to try to get into the top colleges in the U.S.

I know that it sounds like I only want to do these programs so it will look good on my college applications, but I actually want to know what it feels like to be in a college environment, and I want to challenge myself to my utmost potential. Visiting the campus made me fall in love with Stanford even more, and I’d love to spend four weeks there as a “student”.

Side Note: I have many colleges that I want to go to, but Stanford tops the list, being one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, and it is great in the business and engineering field, which I want to major in. If business doesn’t workout I’ll switch to engineering which my cousin majored in, and he attended Stanford. Don’t know if that counts as a legacy, since he’s my cousin. He’s my first cousin? haha. I also attended his wedding which was set at the Stanford church.

They only let Juniors and Seniors apply, so I’m going to apply for the summer of 2017.

I want to do SUMaC, since I’m pretty good at math, but I’ve never really competed in math competitions so I guess that’s not really a plus.

My point being, this program is for most of the summer, and I live in Texas, so it’s not like I’m going down the street. I will be away from my parents and family, and there are many factors that can play into this like vacations, camps, etc. that I will miss out on. Would it be worth it?

All in all, I still have to apply. I probably won’t even get into the program. Just wanna know if it’d be worth my time to even apply. (Would it be a HUGE plus on my application) Yes, I know you have to pay a lot of money for the summer program. My parents would be willing to do that. But hey if I don’t get into this program, I’ll apply to another summer program. Maybe Rice (I live a good 40 minutes away from it), if they have any.

2

I have some who have attended that program and the report is that the vast majority of the participants do not later end up at the school, if that helps.

3

For a school like Stanford, seeing that you’ve been to one of their programs won’t be that big of a deal BUT in terms of gaining experience, it’s a wonderful way to expose yourself. If you have many different exposures in the field that you want to go in (as a HS student of course) and then have that Stanford Program to cap it off, colleges will love it. I’m going into the medical field, so in high school i shadowed doctor after doctor, applied to medical programs, and volunteered in clinics. To top that off, I went to the Johns Hopkins Healthcare and Medicine Conference which did cost a lot but it was definitely worth the experience. I mean, where else will you be allowed to help a med student dissect a cadaver as a high school student? So you see what I mean? If you use your experience at Stanford to basically say “hey, I’m serious about this if you haven’t noticed so far so I’m worthy of this college” then they’ll take your application into serious consideration.

Bottom line: take part in that program

P.S. I’m aiming for Stanford Medical School so let’s hope our dreams come true! :slight_smile:

4

Stanford takes all applications seriously.
If you look carefully at the common data, the admissions office quite clearly says that the “Level of applicant interest” is NOT considered.

5

Read “How to Be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport. It won’t hurt your chances, but there may be more productive ways to spend your summer than that.

6

Going to a summer program at a college will not be a “HUGE plus” for your application.

7

The program itself isn’t going to help. But, if it helps you discover a new interest or add depth to a current interest, that is certainly a positive. It’s not the name or the prestige of the program that matters. It’s what you take away from it.