Are Selective Summer Programs for High School Students Worth It?
Last Updated on July 26, 2024 by Jill Schwitzgebel
Each year, thousands of high school students are flattered when they receive an invitation in the mail to apply to various competitive pre-college summer programs. Or maybe they’ve even gotten an email from the college itself, suggesting that they should apply to their summer program. And each year, I am left to explain to families that these selective summer programs for high school students are not completely what they seem to be. In some cases, the programs are not even run by the colleges where they are held. But, when Stanford or Yale is suggesting that your student is a perfect candidate for one of their programs, it’s hard not to be enticed.
And in the summer of 2024, the University of Chicago made an announcement that is likely to change the landscape for these programs. I suspect we will now see other colleges follow their lead.
What They Are
I am specifically referring to programs at the top 30 or so most selective colleges in the country. Every one of these schools runs really engaging-sounding high school summer programs with topics ranging widely, from literature to trial law to computer programming. Some of the programs might be a week long, while others may be ten weeks. They may be at a college nearby, or they may be across the country, depending on where the student lives and what their interests are. The one thing that they all have in common is that the invitation makes the program sound like it will have huge benefits to your student when it comes time to apply to college, if they are able to get accepted to the summer program.
But, there is a downside.
The Price Tag
As you dig a little deeper, you are likely to learn that these programs come with a hefty price tag. For instance, just one course at the University of Chicago will cost as much as $4,400 – and that’s when it’s offered as a remote-only option. (They do also list some scholarship and financial aid options.) At Harvard, a two-week program for high school students is $3,200, when offered online. You can imagine that the costs increase dramatically when students are living on campus.
Despite that expense, you may be asking yourselves whether it might be worth the price tag to give your teen an extra boost on their college applications?
When Is It Worth It?
This is going to vary depending on the family’s own judgement about their finances. If a family can comfortably afford the costs, the added enrichment may very well feel worth it for their student. There is no doubt that many, if not most, of the programs are really engaging. It’s a good way to show that a student spent some time exploring their academic interests in-depth over the summer, rather than sitting at home doing nothing. If a family typically budgets for a summer camp, a pre-college program might be a good substitute. For some families, maybe it’s a good opportunity for their teens to try out living away at college.
In June 2024, the University of Chicago announced a new admission program beginning in Fall of 2024, for students who have attended UChicago’s summer program. High school students who have attended their summer programs have the option of applying “Early Notification” by October 15th, and receiving a decision within three weeks. Stay tuned to see if this becomes more common.
When Is It Not Worth It?
For colleges outside of the U of Chicago, it may help give your student a boost from the perspective of demonstrating interest – if a student that applies has attended a summer program there, a college may see them as more likely to attend, if accepted. However, the Ivy league colleges don’t generally consider demonstrated interest anyway.
If a student has a summer job, or an ongoing volunteer commitment lasting a few weeks, it is going to be viewed as just as valuable as one of these summer programs at application time.
And, I hope that it is obvious that it is not worth it if it will require any financial hardship to your family. Save your money for college instead.
The Bottom Line
When your family hears about one of these programs or receives an invitation to apply in the mail, it’s tempting to feel like attending one will give your student a special edge. And lots of parents naturally want to feel like they’ve given their kids every possible advantage at application time.
Beyond that, getting into one of these programs can even feel like a way to gauge whether or not a student is likely to be accepted to a highly academically competitive college. Except it’s not. Many of these programs are just not nearly as selective as their application process might cause you to believe (though this is surely about to change pending results of U Chicago’s new program). One consultant, Andrew Belasco, says there’s a reason for the “elaborate” admissions process with these programs. “It gets people to buy in. You’re more likely to commit if you have to invest something beforehand and more likely to think it’s a legitimate program.”
In an article about summer programs for high school students from the Washington Post-
“Most of our programs are not super selective,” said Liz Ringel, chief marketing officer for Summer Discovery, a company that runs pre-college programs on 14 campuses, including the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins and other top-tier institutions. “We want to make sure that students are in good academic standing, they haven’t been expelled, they don’t have any disciplinary action against them, and they are going to enjoy the experience on campus.”
The bottom line is that there is no advantage to attending one of these programs. And of course, there is no disadvantage either. Just don’t feel guilty if you can’t allow your child to attend one. There are plenty of ways that students can spend time over their summers that can be equally, or maybe even more, productive. There are opportunities ranging from jobs to volunteering to community college classes or even attending other, cheaper summer programs in an area that is of interest.
See also: What Does It Take to Get Into an Ivy?
