Hi, anyone know if the Harvard Open Bio summer program is prestigious? It’s probably a good opportunity but does it really improve your application or do colleges find it actually prestigious? Do you actually get to perform independent high-level research?
I do not know anything about this specific program. Given that you have not had any responses, I thought I would suggest one way to think about summer activities in general.
First I think that you should read the “applying sideways” blog on the MIT admissions web site.
Then think about it. Then understand that the same approach works for other highly ranked universities in the US.
The point is: Do not do anything with the intention of impressing university admissions. Instead, do what is right for you. Whatever you do, do it well. Treat people well. Be kind. Be sincere. Be genuine. Be responsible. Do well in your classes.
In terms of evaluating any program or activity for high school students, think about whether it is right for you.
One other thing that might be worth mentioning. I have had the good fortune of meeting a few people who had at some point done something that you might call “prestigious”. None of them ever thought about what they were doing as “prestigious”. They were all way too busy doing whatever they were doing, and way too interested in trying to get the details right. They believed in whatever they were going and just focused on doing it. In most cases this took quite a bit of time and effort, and when part way through they would for quite a while have very little idea whether what they were doing was going to end up being widely adopted.
Past thread on this may be of interest to you