<p>Attending a really academic summer program indubitably gets a student better ready for a top college than watching TV all summer. The causation gets confused when looking at the very most selective programs because they select based on some of the same attributes that colleges select on, so maybe the subsequent good admission results of alumni of those programs is mostly because of characteristics the students already had rather than a treatment effect of the program. But, yeah, if you like what a particular program has to offer, you might as well apply.</p>