Do summer programs help in admissions?

[2prepMom]

If your high schooler is interested in math and science, nothing beats DOING math and science. The prestigious national summer science programs (see thread - summer programs that look good on college apps) like RSI, Clark scholars, Stonybrook, etc. are great, free, and very difficult to get into. Many such programs look for prior research experience.

Suggest you apply, but also find a local research mentor - local hospitals and universities will have professors interested in getting some help from students. Don't worry about pay (sometimes there is min. wage), it is the internship experience that matters. Put together a cv, and get e-mail/snail mail addresses, (from secretaries, publications,hospital and university websites) and send mail to individual researchers, offering to meet to discuss interests. My daughter has worked most of her vacation time the last 2 years in a genetics lab at out local university, and is applying to NIH this summer. It's been a great experience for her, and didn't cost a cent.

Expensive programs simply prove to colleges that you have money. Admission rates are very high; these are cash cows for universities.

[xiggi]

I am torn because for the past two summers she has worked, volunteered and participated in pre-season athletics. In fact last summer she had two paying jobs and also completed an online course for her HS while completing AP work that was due at the start of school.

Your daughter will get a lot more mileage from CONTINUING those activities than from jumping into a summer program, safe and except on the most prestigigious ones.

Doing academic work that is verifiable (like an online course) will show academic dedication. Holding one or two jobs is demonstrating another side of the student, and might provide excellent background material when writing compelling essays will be needed. Summer sinecures and resume padding adventures ... not so much.

I would highly suggest taking a look at a number of current applications and see HOW your daughter would fill it in. Also take the time to prepare an "activity list" and keep it current in anticipation of meeting with your GC and seeking LOR from teachers. This list will be helpful to ascertain the application profile of your daugher and see how she projects herself. Many applicants are surprised that plenty of activities that appear important do not transfer nicely on paper, and simply appear like busy work.

The best advice is to stick to a small number of activities that reflect a commitment or a personal dedication.

PS As far as rewarding your daughter, you might want to consider doubling her earned income and use that to send her on a nice trip with her friends. And one that is purely for fun and not an academic pursuit.

[mommaof5]

My 2 oldest sons are in a scholarship program that pays for a special experience in HS. I have been to meetings where previous scholars explain the program they attended to encourage new scholars in choosing their experience. Two young ladies from 2 different years both did the National Youth Forums. They both did a medical one and came back raving about it. They said it was the best experience of their lives and solidified their interest in the medical field. I have no idea if it influenced adcoms, but both girls felt it helped direct them in their choice of major.

[colorado_mom]

OP - Your D is doing great things. The advise above echoes what I have read before. Mostly it is the free/competitive programs that give an admission boost. But certainly a summer program could help refine interests and college priorities. Nothing wrong with that, except the time away could interfere with ability to get a job.

[YoHoYoHo]

You D had 2 paying jobs over the summer and worked at the hospital as, I assume, a volunteer?

Working for pay is fantastic as it shows responsibility and work ethic. Internships are similar in that even if they r unpaid, the hours and set up are just like a job. Summer programs are great for a kid to learn or improve some skills or interest and to live away from home which makes them more independent.

Volunteering at a hospital is generally fluffy. Most kids get jobs directing visitors or very ancillary to the work of a Hosp, thus they dont really learn anything about medicine except maybe the layout of a hospital. A few kids really go for it a a can get more deeply involved but it's so rare that most people think of Hosp volunteer as a "candystripper" and it's hard to change people's perceptions even if this was untrue. Thus a "drs without borders" gig sounds much better both in terms of learning more about medicine and even in helping her resume. Not sure about the leadership programs that u mentioned.

As others have mentioned, there are also great summer science programs where she can learn about science as well. These help in apps only in that if she ends up taking a class and loving it (and u won't nec know which ones she will love) then it will direct her passions which gives her things to talk about on her app or starts a course of passion for her to pursue.

If her passion is truly medicine, then the process outlined by 2prepmom will give your D the biggest boost in admissions.

[BeanTownGirl]

That's "candy-striper", a "candy-stripper" is something entirely different ;-)

[thumper1]

Many college located and sponsored summer programs CLEARLY state that participation in them is NOT something that aids in applying to their college.

Both of our kids did summer programs. In DS's case, I believe two summers playing his instrument at BUTI...Boston University Tanglewood Institute WAS viewed positively by the adcoms.

DD attended one of those "expensive leadership conferences" the summer after 11th grade. We did NOT send her because we thought it would tip admissions in her favor. We sent her so she could spend a couple of weeks living in a dorm on a large college campus. For the rest of that summer, she worked. We felt it was worthwhile to send DD to this program...but then we also had the money to fund it. It was no more costly per week than the music camp she attended for three prior summers.

[mommaof5]

I'm curious, how do summer camps like Rotary Youth Leadership Camp and Boys/Girls State fall in all of this? Both are programs you need to be sponsored to go to. Do they impress adcoms or not so much?

[1214mom]

It sounds like your child is doing things good for her college resume already. I say let her lead the way. If she wants to do something, let her, but working and volunteering are great experiences that will help in college admissions, especially if any of the experience is related to her potential major. I wanted my son to go to whale camp, or scuba camp or insert " fun" activity here camp for multiple summers. He picked going to math and related sciences, computer camp, a college program on genetics, then actual college classes to get ahead in math and science. Guess what... He's happily a math major at a respectable "STEM" college, with lots of credits already under his belt. He had absolutely no interest in working, so I figured thes activities kept him out of trouble and helped prepare him for college. My younger son wants to get a job next summer, and I will support that for him. I don't think there's a "right" or "better" answer, it just depends on the kid.

[OHMomof2]

Stonybrook

Didn't know about these programs, we are in Ohio but have lots of family on LI.

The web site doesn't say the student has to be a NY resident (except for WISE which is only for local girls), anyone know if they do and it is just assumed?

SummerSessions

and

Stony Brook University - Working at Stony Brook

PS: D'15 did Summer@Brown last summer for 3 weeks, studied neuroscience, loved the experience. There is no neuroscience offering in our HS so it was cool for her to study something different. She also loved living in a dorm, meeting kids from all over the country and world, and being a city (we are in a small town). It helped her decide that she really loves science and would like to do more of it in HS.

This summer she'd like to do a similar program. Since she is so far a STEM kid, I think an engineering program would be a good idea because it might help her determine if it's something she wants to pursue further. There's a big difference between colleges that end in -poly or -tech, where she might do well if she truly wants to be an engineer or study math or cs, and LACs and big Us where she'd have more options for a major. It'd be nice to get an idea if those "techs" should even be on her list.

D also has preseason athletic stuff but doesn't HAVE to be back for that until early August, leaving most all of June and all of July available for other activities. Since she'll only be 15 next summer, most "real" work (not babysitting etc) is difficult to obtain, as is volunteering in a hospital or lab - all of which seem to want teens who are 16+. So it's a great summer to do another "pre-college" experience...the following summer she may be able to do an internship of some kind instead.

I say all this because I think the programs, even the not-that-selective ones can have great value, if not for college admissions then for other reasons. Hers certainly did.

[YoHoYoHo]

While driving thru UC San Diego, I saw a program called COSMOS. I don't know anything about the program except that it is science-based and attendees are competitively selected, but thought I'd include it here if you wanted to research it.

[intparent]

If you want to look into specific programs, there is a Summer Program forum here on CC. Just to avoid this turning into a thread listing every possible program, it has already been done and then some.

Summer Programs - College Confidential

[itsv]

I am a big proponent of summer programs that are selective and free or at a reduced cost. Such programs are great because they are "test runs" for actual college applications. The type of program I am speaking of usually involves an applications-log of activities and hours-essays-transcripts and recommendations. I have found when it came to the time to actually fill out a college application the previous experience went a long way to helping my children and the children I counsel in the process. I prefer free or reduced costs programs because colleges adcoms tell me that such programs differ from where an affluent family "buys" an experience for their child.

In addition I have found that summer scholarship program are great for helping a student find an area of study and whether they can handle living far or close to home and in a dorm. My oldest was never homesick at college because in his words "if I added up the time I spent in summer programs and away from home it at least equaled a quarter of college so why should I be homesick." Students might think they want to study a certain subject in college and then when they study it over the summer they may discover it is not for them.

My children also made great contacts in their summer program. The Dean of the Business at Northwestern where my son did a summer program wrote recommendations for my son for scholarships. My son ended up winning and I think it had something to do with the great recommendation.

For your daughter who likes science and premed there are a ton of free or reduced costs programs for her. Look on CC and do a google search. One thing to keep in mind is that she doesn't have to be gone the entire summer. She could possibly do both. Caltech's admissions officers told my DD (where she did a summer program sponsored by Google) that they cared most that a student have "breath" of interest-it doesn't have to be only a formal organization but rather that it demonstrate actual interest in something.

In terms of the programs you mentioned I want to share with you an article from the New York Times about full pay programs. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/ed...pagewanted=all
Now I am not 100% against full pay programs. It it presents an interest that is only available to the student in that form then I think it is okay for a parent to pay for it provided the parent can afford it. Just remember it might not carry the same weight in the admissions process. A child doing something over the summer is always better than a child just sitting on the couch doing video games (trust me a lot of student I counsel do that).

[OHMomof2]

There are at least a few pricey pre-college programs that offer partial to full scholarships based on need, merit or a combination of the two.

It is not an either/or, free/expensive choice, necessarily.

There are also outside organizations that competitively award scholarships to attend summer programs that do not offer them institutionally.

[MaterMia]

We were just on a tour at a school that has a med school - and they have a six year bs/MD program and a seven year program. They said they would want a list of "health related" activities for the applications. shadowing a doctor counts. Talking to one does not. Health camps count. Volunteer work at a hospital counts. FYI