The Founder of Ivy Coach, Bev Taylor, has an article up today on “The Huffington Post” entitled “Summer College Enrichment Programs Are Sleep-Away Camps” in which she discusses how summer college enrichment programs are essentially a waste of one’s time and money. So many students and parents believe that attending a summer program at a school like Harvard or Cornell will improve their odds of getting into Harvard and Cornell. Not so. So many students and parents believe that attending one of these such programs will help differentiate their candidacy from all of the other applicants. Not so. So many parents and students believe that these programs are a great way to show admissions officers that a student loves to learn. Heck, they’re spending their summer at college to take classes. It’s not like they’re tanning on the beach, right? It’s not much better.

These summer college enrichment programs are a money-maker for universities. Universities love money! That doesn’t mean that they’re going to admit you because you gave them a few thousand dollars though! In fact, these programs can indeed hurt your chances for admission. These programs express to admissions officers that you weren’t creative enough to come up with something to do on your own all summer. You didn’t show initiative or drive or passion. Instead, you used mommy and daddy’s money to attend a fancy sleep-away camp that happens to be at Harvard, Yale, Cornell, or any other highly selective college.

Don’t fall victim to the marketing. Don’t believe another parent when he or she tells you that going to a summer enrichment program at Harvard was the reason their kid ended up getting into Harvard. That parent is just plain wrong and perpetuating a common misconception in highly selective college admissions. That parent should keep her day job and leave college consulting to Ivy Coach. So check out the piece on “The Huffington Post” and learn for yourself why these summer enrichment programs are a total waste.

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