Ivy League Connection

Pre-College Topics Summer Programs
1

<p>My district has a program called The Ivy League Connection, where they send selected students from the district to Ivy League schools, such as Columbia, Brown, Cornell, etc. for the summer to take college courses at the school’s summer program (such as Summer Program @ Cornell, etc.) . Everything is paid for by the sponsers of this program, including dorm, materials, airplane ride, etc. (which costs roughly $6,000-7,000) and they only select about 30 students from all 7 high schools in our district. The majority of the students they send are juniors, but there are a few sophomores that get to go two summers in a row (like me!). </p>

<p>(To be selected, you must have a 3.75 GPA of higher, have written an essay to the writing prompt they provide, and if selected, go through an interview process so that they can pick the final candidates.)</p>

<p>I have heard that taking classes at these types of summer programs doesn’t boost your chances of college admissions, but with this kind of interdistrict selectivity, is it considered a plus?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance,
Baloobear</p>

2

<p>Wow, that’s a good deal. When you think about it, even going to high school is not necessarily helpful in your college admission if you are not making good grades and taking the required courses. The moral is, what you make of the program is the most important factor. It would be a plus if you can weave it into your narrative and make it relevant to your personal experience. I bet you won’t waste your time for sure. The question for you is, what are your other alternatives?</p>