How to Choose the Best Summer Programs for High School Students

Do you how to choose the best summer programs for high school students? Summer is about rest! After a long year of hard work, a break is well deserved. But even rest can get excessive or boring. Adding productivity to summer is a great way to have fun, learn, and improve your overall standing towards college. Here’s a look at how to choose the best summer programs to help you maximize your time and learn in-depth material while helping you get into great private colleges and the best public universities in the US.

Find the Right Price

Summer programs range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to over $10,000. The ideal range is somewhere between $500-$3000. Anything past that warrants close scrutiny; what exactly are you paying for, and are you actually getting extra quality for all that extra cash? Unfortunately, many private (for-profit) summer programs don’t offer high-quality education—and colleges know that.

Are you getting the quality you're paying for out of your student's summer program? Our experienced educational consultants can help you find the best fit to maximize your student's summer potential. — Photo by Robo Wunderkind on Unsplash

Choose 1^st Party Programs, Not 3^rd Party Programs

1^st party programs are those run by the university directly. Examples of this include UC COSMOS, UC Berkeley ATDP, and John Hopkins Pre-College. When it comes to bang for your bucks, 1^st Party Programs are undoubtedly the best. Not only do they look better for college admissions, but they are also usually less expensive relative to 3^rd Party Programs. The overall quality control and depth of experience is better and more enjoyable for students.

Many 3^rd Party Programs exist, so be careful! Not all summer programs are created equal. If given the opportunity to attend a 1^stParty Program, this should absolutely be your first choice.

The Best Summer Programs for High School Students Represent Your Student’s Interests—Not Yours

Rather than starting the conversation with the summer programs you think your student should do, start by asking your student what their interests are. This may seem counter-intuitive, but parents are often all drawn to the same trendy subjects, like computer science, which then become overcrowded majors leading to extra low acceptance rates. Why set your student up for failure by pushing the exact same program and subject that everyone else is already studying?

It’s not just about which program your student is enrolled in; how well they do there is just as important. Listening to your student’s input in choosing a topic that fascinates them will lead to more engagement, better learning, and a stronger college profile.

No matter which types of colleges you're considering, choosing the most strategic summer programs will increase your chances of getting in. — Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Also consider combining your student’s various interests, like finding a niche program that combines business and the arts or signing up for more than one program or course.

Ask What Problems They Wish to Solve

This can span from social issues, like homelessness, to scientific challenges, like genetic diseases with no cure. Starting conversations about the real-world problems your student would like to solve is a sure way to find the best fitting programs for college.

Pro-tip: A common mistake parents make is pushing their students to do programming in the summer. Rather than telling your student to learn the skill of programming, base your conversations around problems that programming can solve.

This way, the conversation won’t lead to a disinterested student whose only takeaway from a boring summer program is that they don’t like to code.

Choose the Program You Will Likely Continue Afterwards

Going to a summer program itself isn’t very helpful unless the student either learns a lot or enjoys the program. You can achieve both of these goals by choosing a program that relates to your student’s interests, goals, and past education. This way, they will likely use what they learned from the summer program in their other endeavors, fostering an ongoing journey of both learning and doing.

Personalized Educational Counseling for Your Needs

Ask your students what problems they would like to solve or about the interest they have. Once that is clear, prioritize your search for university hosted programs like those from the UC’s, Stanford, Johns Hopkins University, etc. Lastly, encourage your student to use what they learn towards other endeavors.

Remember, these programs are what you make of them. Go with a positive mindset to learn, grow, and enjoy.

Schedule your free consultation today to get started with our mentors, who come from university admissions offices and have 12+ years of experience in getting students into Common Application colleges, plus top UCs and CSUs.

See you soon!

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Sarah Gooch

Essay Editor

Q:How many total years of experience do you have in your current role, including but not limited to ReadyEdgeGo?

A: I have five years' experience in coaching student writing, but this is my first year with ReadyEdgeGo.

Q: What about working with students do you most enjoy?

A: I love helping students find depth and meaning in their own stories—but I also just love it when they make me laugh!

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: In theory, I enjoy painting and writing poetry, but these days I actually spend most of my free time socializing or watching movies with my husband.

Q: What is your one piece of advice for high schoolers?

A: Don't just focus on achieving top grades and credentials because they look good on applications, or your education will be meaningless. The numbers and awards have their place, but stay connected to your sense of curiosity, discovery, excitement, and wonder so that the content you're learning is constantly transforming you—it's something you care about, something you remember after the final exam. Work on the aspects of yourself no one can measure, like integrity, wisdom, kindness, and compassion, so that you're not only developing your academic and career potential but also investing in the type of adult you're going to be, the person you'll have to live with after you clock out every day for the rest of your life.

Doing the hard inner work of building your character and learning deeply instead of just earning grades will set you up for a satisfying, well-rounded life. Strange as it sounds, it will also put you ahead in your academic and career goals, because colleges and hiring managers aren't looking for an empty set of data on a spreadsheet; they want a fully fleshed-out person marked by passion, creativity, and a story no one else has lived.

So go on studying hard for tests, but also spend some time asking yourself what matters in life and who your role models are. Read up on topics that amaze you, and build something incredible just for fun. Cultivate that spark of joy you feel when you're immersed in a subject that fascinates you. If you can hit that balancing act of doing your homework and meeting deadlines but also investing in the kind of person you want to be, then trust that all the rest will follow: schools will recognize you as a dynamic, all-star person, and you will also build a life of happiness, close relationships, and peace.

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