How to Tell If a Summer Program Is Worth Applying To

Hundreds of summer programs market themselves to high school students as a way to stand out in college admissions. If you are applying to T20 colleges, the top 20 national universities, three questions will tell you which programs belong on your list. A program that earns a yes on all three is worth your application.

It Lasts at Least Five Weeks

Five weeks is about the minimum time it takes to move past orientation and background reading into work that is your own. A program of that length lets you finish with a concrete result, such as a research paper, a poster, or a presentation of original findings. That result is what you describe on your application, and admissions officers know how long each program runs, so length tells them how much you could have accomplished.

Its Enrollment Is Capped by a Fixed Number of Mentors

Look at how the program matches students with mentors or advisors. The strongest programs assign each student, or each small team, to a specific faculty member, postdoc, or graduate student, and they have a set number of mentors each summer.

That number puts a hard cap on how many students the program can admit, so it has to choose among its applicants. An acceptance from a program that has to choose shows admissions officers you were selected from a competitive pool. It also means you spend the summer working closely with someone who knows the field.

It Offers What a College Course Cannot

Ask whether you could get the same experience by taking a class at a community college or a four-year college. Many summer programs are built around coursework, and colleges teach that material for credit, usually at a fraction of the price.

The programs worth applying to give you something only they can offer, such as original research in a working lab under the guidance of an active scientist. If coursework is what you want, enroll in the college course directly, where it earns credit and appears on a transcript.

Two Exceptions

Two kinds of programs earn a place on your list for reasons beyond these tests.

The first is a program you attend as a freshman to build your resume. It can give you skills and a project to point to when you cold email professors, meaning you write to faculty you have never met to ask to join their research. That research is what makes you competitive for selective programs in later summers.

The second is a program whose value is concentrated at the school that runs it. Examples include UChicago's Pre-College Summer Session and Columbia Engineering's SHAPE, a three-week program of engineering courses taught by Columbia faculty. Programs like these can give you a real advantage at the host school if it is your first choice and you plan to apply Early Decision there.

UChicago makes that advantage formal. Students who complete a Pre-College Summer Session program can apply through Summer Session Early Notification, a binding option under Early Decision I that accepts applications from September 1 to October 15 and returns a decision within about three weeks. Applicants can also reuse a teacher recommendation from their summer application.

When a Program Passes All Three

If the answer to all three questions is yes, the program is worth applying to for T20 admissions. RSI, SSP, and BU RISE are well-known examples, and many others meet the same standard.

Cosmic's admissions consultants help students find summer programs that pass all three tests and prepare competitive applications for them. Schedule a consultation to plan your summer.