Hey everyone, I have been really interested in trying to find summer programs. I want to apply to a good amount of them (around 6-7), but I have no idea which ones to cut out because they all seem amazing. I am a California resident with high grades. I have not taken a standardized test yet, but I do have some really cool EC’s. I am very interested in research or hands on medicine.
I will paste my list below:
YSP https://ysp.ucdavis.edu/program-description (UC Davis)
HSHSP http://education.msu.edu/hshsp/ (Michigan State)
JKCP UPenn https://www.jkcp.com/program/penn-medicine-summer-program-for-high-school-students.php
Summer Term http://www.bu.edu/summer/high-school-programs/research/ (Boston University)
YYGS http://globalscholars.yale.edu/about-us (Yale)
COSMOS https://cosmos-ucop.ucdavis.edu (UC)
UChicago Ribs https://summer.uchicago.edu/high-school/ribs (University of Chicago
Cornell summer research https://www.sce.cornell.edu/sc/apply/statements.php (Cornell)
Rosetta Institute http://www.rosettainstitute.org (Berkeley or UCSD)
SIP https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/sip (Multiple places)
What grade are you in? Why apply to 6-7? Surely you will only have time/money for a couple at most. Are you hoping to improve your college app with these programs? That is misguided thinking. Colleges don’t care about a lot of these summer courses, because generally it just means your parents have enough money to spend on them. They will be just as impressed with a kid who works and volunteers during the summer.
If it’s just for fun, apply to the ones that interest you the most. Also, it is way too early to apply to most summer programs, IMO. If you are interested in competitive ones, it doesn’t hurt to think about which teachers you will ask for recs, but I can’t imagine any apps will be due before the end of December. Have you discussed these programs with your parents? Many are very expensive, with plane fares to boot.
This is very general, but summer programs in the northeast tend to be more expensive than summer programs in other parts of the country, except maybe California. My kid did two summer programs. The first was in the northeast, for two weeks, and was many hundreds of dollars more expesnive than the program she did the following summer. That one was in the Midwest, was three weeks long, offered college credit, and was very significantly less expensive, even with the plane tickets. Both programs had their merits, but in retrospect, we should have done more investigating before out daughter chose the program in the northeast. I think you should discuss things with your parents before you spend a lot of time investigating all these options.
I’ve attended summer discovery’s pre college program at U Penn and absolutely loved it. They’re another great company that oversees summer programs for high schoolers at various colleges across the US and internationally. I talked to a handful of people at Penn who were attending one of the JKCP programs while I was there and they all loved it, but thats just my recommendation. Some programs are more selective than others so I would check out what is required to apply since some have an age requirement. This is just based on my personal experiences but I hope it was helpful.
Cut out JKCP. That is run by an outside company and not by UPenn itself.
The other ones are good, but very competitive. I would prioritize them based on the schools you think you might apply to. These programs will give you an in-depth experience of the campus. So you would be killing two birds with one stone - having a great summer experience and deciding if you really like a particular institution. So, for example, you aren’t really interested in Yale, hold off and submit that one if you still have time to work on the application. You won’t get in to any if you don’t do a good job on the application/essay.
Like when applying to colleges, have a safety or two. Some of these are hard to get into. Also, unlike colleges, the day you hear back & have to respond varies. That adds complexity (you may get accepted to one and have to respond before you hear back from others). Also, probably all require letters of rec, and there is nothing like the Common App to make it easy for your recommenders – so plan that out so you aren’t overwhelming them.
Thank you all for the advice. I was keeping JKCP in as more of a safety. I have back up plans if none of these do work out, they are all the ones that look really interesting. I am not doing this for college at all, but my thinking is that they have to be hard to get into for a reason. I will probably start by cutting out Michigan State and COSMOS.
HSHSP is a highly competitive program right below RSI and 90% of attendees from the past years ended up in the top 10 universities.
Does anyone have any thoughts on the programs offered by the Rosetta Institute of Biomedical Research as a summer program and its value on a resume.
What kind of programs actually offer value to a resume
Does anyone have any thoughts on the programs offered by the Rosetta Institute of Biomedical Research as a summer program and its value on a resume.
What kind of programs actually offer value to a resume?
@Lindagaf sorry for my previous rude comments 
@BelleofAmherst lots of programs are run by outside vendors. My D attended Launch at MIT a few years back and it also run in a similar fashion. As is ENDEVVR at Georgia Tech! Some are directly sponsored in house and some are connected by outside routes. ALL are great programs.