<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I know it’s pretty early to be thinking about this, but the early bird gets the worm (sometimes), right?</p>
<p>There’s so many exciting summer programs for high school students out there, and it’s really difficult to choose just one that I like the most. That being said, is it possible to apply to multiple summer programs and choose one to attend later? Or is it more along the lines of you HAVE to go if you get in?</p>
<p>I hope this isn’t a silly question. College Confidential, immerse me in your knowledge!</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Yeah. I haven’t heard of a single program that demands that you commit to them from the get-go. I do know that some require you to commit and pay a deposit at some point, and most research ones require you to sign a work or project agreement in accepting your spot.</p>
<p>You absolutely SHOULD apply to multiple programs. A lot of the more popular programs are VERY selective (some more selective than Ivy colleges…). You never HAVE to go if you get in, although they may require a decision fairly quickly for some. As shadowyams indicated, you may need to pay a deposit for some once you are accepted, and it may not all be refundable. So… like when applying to colleges, I would recommend the following:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Make a list (spreadsheet is great – if you don’t know how, this is a great opportunity to pick up a few Excel skills!). List each program you plan to apply to, cost, application due date, when you think you will hear back, whether a deposit is due, and what the rules are for getting the deposit back if you don’t go. This will give you a clear picture of the order the apps are due in, where you need deposits, what you need to do to avoid losing them, etc. You could also track info on recommendations needed (that way you can make it simpler for those writing recommendations by clumping your requests together, or at least telling them what requests are coming).</p></li>
<li><p>Just like with colleges, it is good to have a couple of “safety” summer programs. My daughter (who has very good stats and put in timely applications) applied last year to TASP, NIH summer internships, Lillehei Summer Scholars, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Carleton Summer Science, and Rose-Hulman Operation Catapult. She got into two (Carleton & Rose-Hulman).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It is definitely not too early to start on these! Some of the summer programs have apps that are a HUGE amount of work (cough - TASP…). Applications start coming out around November/December, so have a list of programs in mind and watching for them is good. Also… if you need recommendations, some of the apps come out right around the start of winter break. Just watch out for those, as it is hard to request recommendations over winter break, but you want to get your apps in soon for competitive programs. You don’t want to hassle your recommenders, but have to keep them moving 
One thing to consider is asking teachers who might not be as busy with college recs to do these summer program ones (eg, my daughter used 9th & 10th grade science/math teachers because they do have as many requests for college rec letters to work on).</p>