I also think the programs are particularly useful for boys. Even though we are in a concentrated theater community, there are so few boys that is hard to get a feel for the talent level of a boy. Like if you always get secondary lead, does that mean you are pretty darn awesome and a 9 on a scale of 1-10, or does it mean, you rank about 2 on a scale of 1-10 but the other 3 boys who auditioned were 1’s? So I think summer programs really provide a good barometer for boys for where they fit.
But I have heard universally, going to one particular school’s summer program does nothing to help you get in.