This may be news to you, but your summer is valuable time. It isn’t valuable because of all the fun and mischief you can get up to during your time away from high school, and it’s not valuable because of all the rest you can enjoy from the pressures of study. Of course, those are good ways to spend your summer, and you are entitled to fun, mischief, and rest. But your well-spent summers can set you up for admission to great colleges.
Let’s look at some of the best summer programs available in New York for high schoolers.
Related: The 10 Best Summer programs for Acting This Year
The 10 Best Summer Programs
What to do with those long, lazy days of summer? Here are 10 of the best summer programs we could find to explore your interests and talents and to expand your knowledge for future career aspirations.
1 Summer Leadership Academy
Right off the bat, consider honing your leadership skills at Mercy College’s Summer Leadership Academy. This action-packed, week-long program aims to build entrepreneurial and leadership skills in 11th-grade students. Nominated students will learn marketing, personal branding, career mindset, careers in finance, accounting, team building, and more. The students will also have opportunities to visit Fortune 500 companies and the college’s Manhattan campus.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: June 25 – July 1, July 9 – 15, and July 23 – 29, 2023.
- Cost: $595 for food and activities
- Application Deadline: Rolling (spots are limited, apply soon)
- Application Process: Nomination
2 Parsons Summer Intensive Studies
Do you have aspirations for a career in art and design? This program may be perfect for you. You will be instructed by the world-class faculty of Parsons Academy in this full-on, three-week, three-credit summer intensive. Their immersive, skill-building courses are project-based and include portfolio preparation (plus reviews), field trips, and guest speakers from the art and design industry. You will learn the technical and creative skills for a career in this industry, as well as three college credits to jumpstart your college career.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: June 12 – 30 and July 10 – 28, 2023
- Cost: $4,675
- Application Deadline: May 15 (1st Session) and June 8 (2nd Session)
- Grades: Students 16 – 18 years
3 Exploring Entrepreneurship
You may prefer a less traditional path and would like to explore entrepreneurship. Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers an exciting summer opportunity for those with big dreams and the passion for making them come true.
This intensive will leave you with a deep knowledge and understanding of how to use design thinking, create your minimum viable product (MVP), find the money for your startup, and learn how to pitch your ideas to investors, along with many other things.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: June 26 – 30, 2023
- Cost: $1,000 (minus the $50 application deposit) – Need-based discounts available
- Application Deadline: April 1 (priority), then rolling after that
- Grades: High school juniors and seniors
Are you looking for exciting opportunities for your teen? Visit us to learn more.
4 Writer’s Week: A Creative Writing & Performance Arts Workshop
Sarah Lawrence College offers a Creative Writing & Performance Arts Workshop for the writers and thespians among us. During this week-long immersive experience, you will participate in writing and theatre workshops led by performers, writers, and poets. Guest artists and program faculty will also teach mini-workshops. The week will finish with a celebration of your work.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: July 10 – 14 (Virtual) and August 7 – 11 (On Campus)
- Cost: $825 (virtual) and $1,225 (on campus and includes lunch)
Related: 10 Best Coding Camps For High School Students
5 Ithaca Summer College for High School Students
If you’re considering a career in finance, you might benefit from Fordham’s Finance Institute. This three-week program will introduce you to college, and at the end, you’ll earn three college credits. You’ll choose from courses in environmental sciences, natural sciences, health, and communications. You will be invited to participate in conversations around race, antiracism, and inclusion.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: July 3 – 21, 2023
- Cost: $3,900 (commuter) and $5,480 (residential)
- Application Deadline: May 15
6 Young Women’s Leadership Institute
Barnard College offers a Young Women’s Leadership Institute for 9th through 11th graders. As you learn about gender and leadership, you will focus on Writing and Literature, STEMinist, Urban Studies and Architecture, Political Science and Economics, Sociology and Gender Studies, Art History, or Dance. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to meet with women in workplaces in the city to learn firsthand what it takes to be a leader today.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: June 25 – July 14 and July 23 – August 11, 2023
- Cost: $7,772 (commuter) or $9,058 (residential)
- Application Deadline: April 15
7 Skidmore College Summer Pre-College Program
To gain experience in college-level courses, participants in this five-week program will study subjects like physics, calculus I, anthropology, sociology, etc., for the in-person courses and microeconomics, macroeconomics, earth systems science, landscape photography, and many others for the online sessions.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: July 5 – August 4, 2023
- Cost: $2,410 – $3,880
- Application Deadline: April 1
8 NYU High School Summer Art Intensive
You might enjoy NYU’s High School Summer Art Intensive if you’re an artsy student. The renowned intensive admits just 54 students into three groups who will experience several studio courses. You will create a new body of work, learn about new materials and technologies like textiles and laser cutting, and hear from working artists about what it means to work as an artist in New York City.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: July 10 – August 4, 2023
- Cost: $7,683
- Application Deadline: March 1
9 Stony Brook University | Research Experience for High School Students
Talented students will learn independent research during the Stony Brook University Research Experience. During this seven-week program, you’ll receive direction from the Garcia Center faculty and students in designing original research projects. You’ll also have the option to continue with the Mentor Program during the academic year.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: June 26 – August 11, 2023
- Cost: $3,700
- Grades: 9th – 12th
10 Adelphi Pre-College – Psychology and Pop Culture
Clever students will explore the creative expressions of the human mind in the Aldelphi Pre-College Psychology and Pop Culture program. You’ll learn about basic psychology principles to critically analyze social media, youth culture, contemporary music and television, advertising, and the internet.
Important Info:
- Session Dates: July 9 – 29, 2023
- Cost: $3,000 (commuter) or $5,200 (residential)
- Application Deadline: May 31
Related: Picking Colleges: How to Choose the Right College
The Positive Impact of Summer Programs on College Entrance
In addition to your grades, colleges look to see that potential students have invested in themselves in other meaningful ways. Show them you have taken the time to grow yourself personally, intellectually, and emotionally. Using your summers for self-development and knowledge expansion will help you to stand out among other applicants.
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