The vast majority of elite colleges and universities “invite” thousands of high school students – and sometimes even middle school students – to spend a portion of their summer living on campus, attending classes, and experiencing the life of an undergraduate.
Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Brown, The University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, UCLA, NYU, Duke, Boston College, and scores of other colleges and universities open their campus each summer to teens who later dream of returning for their college experience.
The problem is that the admission process for most summer programs can barely be considered competitive, while the admission process for undergraduate acceptance is truly daunting at many of these same institutions. Often students, and their parents, are under the false impression that attending a summer program for high school students at an elite school will ultimately help them gain acceptance for college. A Washington Monthly article, titled “The Pre-College Racket,” reported that, according to professional admissions consultants, attending a pre-college program seldom offers a special benefit or is particularly prestigious on college applications.
These summer programs are often quite costly. Harvard’s fees for the summer of 2023 total $5,300 for high school students to live on campus for two weeks, earning a Harvard transcript upon successful completion of a non-credit course.
The cost at the University of Miami for a three-week, six credit-program is $8,996, while the cost at Boston University for a three-week non-credit program is $6,775.
Of course, there are also good reasons for students to attend pre-college summer programs. If there is a college to which a student is considering applying “early decision,” spending a few weeks on the campus during the prior summer can often affirm or refute that it’s the student’s ideal school.
Summer programs are also extremely beneficial in familiarizing students with academic fields that they are considering for their college major. For example, students planning to enter the field of medicine might benefit from several courses that will be offered at Johns Hopkins University’s 2023 Pre-College Program: Anatomy, Physiology, & Disease, Introduction to Neuroscience, and Introduction to Surgery. The two week program offers one college credit and costs $6,063.
Similarly, students seeking to familiarize themselves with different fields of engineering might do well to consider the pre-college engineering programs hosted at University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers, and Stevens Institute of Technology.
As long as students and parents have realistic expectations of the benefits of pre-college summer programs, they can certainly offer an exciting experience for students looking forward to their college years.
Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review that, for the past 25 years, has offered PSAT/SAT® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362
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