Tip: According to everyone who has spoken 'on the record' with usummer, the answer is "no." But 'off the record,' many admissions counselors admit that "it depends."
Many parents and students think of pre-college(pc) programs as a way to secure a spot on an admissions list. The truth is, everything varies from school to school(especially this year) and a pc program can be the icing on the cake or the weight holding you back.
With internal programs like JHU's center for talented youth, attendence in the program could help. While going to a tech computer camp that rents rooms on a campus could be neutral... at best.
The best thing to do in the summer is whatever you're into. Period.
At 16, many students don't want to be at a pc program in the summer, or working towards their eagle badge, or assisting at a nursing home and that's ok. It's good, actually, if they aren't ready for it or inspired about it.
Just because a student would like to spend their summer with friends doesn't mean they won't be successful down the road. Almost all admissions counselors can see through the pc program that was forced upon a student.
That being said, at one of the programs I ran in Pennsylvanie a couple years ago, I was introduced to a student whose parents had signed him up, and he had no intention of having a good time or getting anything out of the program. Bottom line: Elliot loved the school so much that he applied early and was accepted.
The moral being: teenagers rarely know what they want, so we should rely on our experience to guide them. BUT when we come acroos a teen who is passionate and inspired about something, we need to go with the flow and let them be who they are.
Should they burn their time at a pc program or spend it brainstorming entrepreneurial ideas on Facebook apps while playing video games with friends? Only you and the student know, so don't rush into a pc program between junior and senior year because you think it will help with college admissions.
However, make sure students remember to document what they do in the summer including all the anecdotes and lessons learned. A notebook of those will come in handy when it comes time to write an essay or two!
But, the truth is, the number of college applicants is only going to go down over the next ten years, leaving students in a buyer's markets. So everyone needs to stay on-point, but should relax a bit too.
Authentic growth, experience and passions is what admissions counselors are truly interested in, not what mom and dad signed us up for.
Ah the college tour... schools have spent untold hours trying to get them right. A few years ago the big thing at NACAC(National Association for College Admission Counseling) was worrying if your tour guides were walking backwards. This was the all the talk at the national conference!
A marketing firm had done a study that showed people responded better to guides who walked alongside them rather than in front of and facing them. So now most guides walk with you instead of backwards because schools want you to think the guides are your friends. Sweet, right?
It's an interesting story because it illustrates how carefully crafted all college tours are, not to mention their marketing materials. Consultants make millions each year helping colleges craft the perfect visit experience... they call it experiential marketing... so is this really the best way to figure out if you're going to like a school? That's for you to decide.
There are a lot of great ways to get to know a school but sometimes you have to think outside the box. An internal pre-college program can be a great start but it can also be a dead end if it's not a well run program. Unigo is a great user-generated content site, but should you only base your decision on such a partisan crowd? Probably not.
If you're getting ready to invest money and time into your education start early and take it seriously... but have fun too. Take the tour, goto a camp, check out unigo... hire a current student to hang out and tell you their thoughts over lunch. There is no Consumer Reports for colleges, nor do I think there should be... but there are thousands of "consumers" who are uneducated about what they are buying. Don't be one of them.
And check out this decently amusing video from Dartmouth.
Tip: Many programs have discounts they don’t advertise. Sometime you can get the “early-bird” discount months after it has expired. Or, if you’re staying more than one session, be sure to ask about any multi-session discounts.
Well, money is tight for a lot of families this summer and I’ve spoken to quite a few program directors who are feeling the pinch.
Much of it has to do with the constricting credit markets. Whereas parent used to quickly drop $3000 on a program in January and pay it off over the coming months, many families have seen their credit limits reduced by thousands, making it impossible to charge a more expensive program.
One important thing to remember is that many programs will help you arrange a monthly payment plan so you can use your card.
Also, many schools are willing, or could soon be willing, to negotiate tuitions. Think of it this way. A school will run a program with 50 students, but has capacity for 100. If only 60 students are signed up by June 15th, the profit on 40 spaces is in limbo.
More expensive programs can run a 50% profit margin. What does this mean? It means that those 40 spaces that cost $2000(that would gross $80,000) are losing $40,000 in profit.
Call your programs. Don’t ask for scholarships. Ask if they’re flexible on their price. Remember they set these tuitions in the fall and a lot has happened since then. And until a program actually runs, and a school knows how many staff, rooms and food will be used… the true cost is never really known.
Remember, schools do want to meet you and your student. Generally, pre-college programs are purely benevolent in nature, but there is no doubt that they are recruiting tools too.
JBL
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