Summer Programs
What you do with your summer matters a lot for college strategy. If you’re aiming for the ivies, the summer isn’t a time for rest. It’s a time to get research opportunities, push ahead in your sport or academic subject of choice, get into prestigious programs that you can add to your resume, and more. This is my resource to help you find the right summer programs and get into the college of your dreams.
Keep in mind, there are plenty of local programs that can be really amazing. I list the big ones in each page below, but feel free to send me any local camps, courses, etc. that you think sound cool! I’ll look it over and let you know if it seems worthwhile.
Some General Tips
Before we get into topic-specific pages, I want to give you a broad idea of what you’re looking for in summer programs.
Prestige
Prestige is great for all the obvious reasons. It’s also hard to get, by definition. So, build your resume with the prestigious programs in mind. Apply for the prestigious programs. But, if you don’t get them, your world isn’t over. Prestige is part of the plan, but it’s not the whole plan. 100 students get accepted to RSI every year, and around 2000 students were accepted to Harvard in 2022. Getting into RSI is a golden ticket, but it’s not the only path.
Deliverables
So, if you don’t get into the most prestigious program in the country (or if that program is located somewhere you can’t really travel to), what do you look for? I always look for deliverables. Are you going to do actual research in this program? Will you write a research paper and present your findings? Are you going to walk away with a completed artistic creation (music, writing, video, etc.)? Many programs just offer classes. Classes are great for some purposes! But, you usually don’t want to spend top dollar on just classes. (Though, there are a few exceptions.) Look to see what you will produce and accomplish in this program.
Pursuing Your Interests
Next, you want to consider if this program or course will help you answer a very common college supplemental essay question: How have you furthered your interest in [your intended major]? This is a big principle that I want you to internalize so it can guide you in all your efforts.
If you say you want to do engineering, but you’ve never built anything, done any robotics, taken anything apart, done any coding, or even looked at a wrench in your life…do you think MIT is going to take you seriously? If you say you want to go into politics, but you’ve never done debate or model UN, gone to a rally, written your congressman a letter, or participated in any part of the political process outside of taking a required course in Government…do you think Harvard is going to take you seriously? You say you want to be an artist, but you’ve never created a single bit of art. You say you want to study science, but you’ve never engaged with the scientific process beyond getting an A in AP Bio.
No one is going to take you seriously.
So, if you want to pursue a field…pursue that field!! Take classes in that field both inside and outside of school. Read a lot of books in your field. Several colleges and elite summer programs will ask about your reading list. Summer math programs will often ask about your favorite math books specifically. Ask your teachers for extended work in that field. Join school clubs in that field. Find groups outside of school that are actively pursuing that field. Try to get independent research with professors in that field. Earn awards in that field, if you can. Pursue service opportunities in that field. Do as much as you possibly can in that field.
This becomes even more important if you want to apply pre-med, but it’s very important for everyone. If you want to be taken seriously as an applicant, then you need to be a serious applicant. I want you to have a list of over 10 things to answer the question of how you’ve furthered your interest in your field.
A final note here: if you’re pursuing many things for this purpose, they don’t all need to have high prestige. They also don’t all have to have deliverables. Aim for those types of summer programs for sure. But, for this purpose, we’re also going for quantity.
Getting Prerequisites
Many of the most prestigious programs will want you to have prior experience in the very thing you’re trying to get experience in through their program. It’s the classic conundrum, and it’s silly. But, you need to plan ahead so that you have prior research experience before applying to summer research programs, prior math competition experience before applying to summer math programs, etc.
Some of the things you do won’t have as much prestige, and might have smaller or no deliverables. But, they’ll help you climb the first few rungs on the ladder. Don’t discount activities that are lower prestige when you’re in middle school through 10th grade! These are your stepping stones, and a very crucial part of the process. They also show sustained interest over time.
Fun
Finally, always apply to programs you think you would actually enjoy. Do some summer camps just for fun. Take an art or history class, even though it’s not for college credit. Go to an adventure camp and try rock climbing. You probably can’t carve out 6 weeks of your summer for purely fun, non-strategic activities. But, save a week or two for yourself.
Field-Specific Programs
I’ll add to this list over time. If there’s a field you don’t see covered here that you have questions about, please email me!