WPI Frontiers: decision timeline and competition level

Pre-College Topics Summer Programs
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  1. Anyone have experience with how long it takes to hear back from WPI Frontiers (once application is complete)?

  2. is it at all competitive (if willing to pay)? From what I gather it isn’t that competitive, but then realized I could be wrong!

Trying to navigate a bunch of summer plans and curious if we will hear in a few days, or a few weeks or what!

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If memory serves, it couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks? I think we submitted the application in April (and teacher recommendation wasn’t in until later part of April) and I have records of paying tuition in the second week of May.

I have no idea how competitive it is but we loved the program and I’ve heard anecdotally that it strongly enhances one’s chances of getting into WPI (which happened for my son).

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Thanks for this!! very helpful:) I did some googling and reviews are consistently glowing, in a kind of surprising way honestly - lol. I feel like a lot of summer things are hit or miss given staffing, etc. I could totally see my kid falling in love with the school, too. I think it will probably make their list (they are in 10th at moment).

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For Future readers:

My kids decision came in 3 business days after uploading transcript. (In!)

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Here’s what I loved about that program:
a) unlike a lot of other summer programs, it doesn’t feel like school. Yeah, they’re doing academic stuff most of the day but they don’t have homework and the evenings are social and fun.
b) you’re exposed to the dorms, the dining hall, the campus, and the WPI students (because all the counselors are current WPI students).
c) everyone does a humanities minor. My son loved his Tolkien class.

I don’t think he will end up at WPI but he’ll turn down a bunch of schools that are higher ranked before he lets go of that one. It’s a special place.

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That makes tons of sense..and one of the things I hope 27 gets out of it. And thrilled to hear it sounds way more fun than work! (27 goes to a very intense HS, so that is needed).

I am realizing now, with my '25, who never did a summer program like this just how entirely new college is going to feel for them! It is easy to forgot all the unwritten norms and such of sharing a bathroom and having a roommate etc.

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