Half the adcoms who read your son’s application will say “Bravo, a kid following his own interests (learning for fun, language immersion, “little studying”) to Europe, and half will say “Pay for Play, affluent family curating their kid’s live”. And nobody can predict which adcom will have which reaction.
My point is don’t overplay the difference between a kid taking chemistry over the summer, living at home, and a kid taking “networking overseas with kids with similar interests”. Because the adcom’s are likely not going to see the difference (nor will they care). Summer travel is fantastic- as is working at a yogurt store, taking care of an elderly family member, washing cars, lifeguarding at the town pool, etc. Paid travel programs will not move the needle either in the US or overseas, except to subliminally check the “these are full pay parents” box.
But I’m curious- you’ve worked at places like Goldman. Why not call in a favor and ask a former colleague to set you up with a 30 minute phone call with the recruiter who handles LSE, Bocconi, Dublin, etc. and have THEM explain to you how an American kid can help themselves in the hiring process? Why leave it to a bunch of strangers on the internet when you’ve got “juice” as the kids like to say? Hear it from the horse’s mouth- “It’s too hard hiring an American with a European degree. They want to live in London, not Manchester– or Paris and not Lyon.” OR- we love hiring American kids. They are well traveled and cosmopolitan and that’s what we look for.”