<p>It’s one thing to say RSI > Ross as you can do math research at RSI and I agree that the prestige and connections gained from going to RSI are meaningful. That being said almost no summer programs have a meaningful amount of prestige outside their area so I’m extremely skeptical TASP > Ross or some biology lab > Ross for a math student without interests in either of those fields which one of your posts basically implied. Not only will an aspiring mathematician learn more at a math camp among math people even a math camp that is considerably less prestigious overall than TASP or the bio research program will have more respect in the math community (they probably won’t have heard of the others). The connections you get at TASP won’t be very useful if you end up studying math at MIT either.</p>
<p>Also while colleges like Yale have well known brands and the associated prestige will help you find a job and various benefits throughout life what does the prestige of your summer program get you? Some (small) boost in college admissions? Anything else?</p>