I know this is a tad bit too early right now, but what are your thoughts on applying to multiple summer programs at once to increase your chance of getting into a good summer program? This is recommended, correct?
Do you think it's worth it to apply to multiple ones where you pay for? So let's say like a non-refundable application fee or down payment or something like that.
I applied for a few that had application fees last year (BU, SIMR). Most summer programs (or at least, research programs) don't have application fees, though, as far as I'm aware.
You absolutely should do that. My daughter applied to six programs last summer, and was accepted to only two of them. The two she got into happened to have application fees (they were programs that cost money to do; the rest that she applied to were free or were internships with small stipend); she ended up losing part of one of them, but that was okay (we figured that might happen). If she had not applied to a couple of "paid" programs, she would have been hunting for something else to do with her summer around our hometown.
Definitely do that if you are applying to multiple programs. I applied to 8 last year and was accepted at 2 (ended up at SIMR! PM me if you want more info). Try to apply to a range of selectivity with regards to the programs - programs that cost money to go to (i.e. BU, UF SSTP, while still awesomely amazing experiences, are generally slightly easier to get into, while programs that pay you tend to be more selective.
