As East students look ahead to sunny days and fun trips, many have also started preparing for summer programs—a long process that often entails essays, letters of recommendations, and interviews. These programs offer enrichment opportunities that allow students to explore a specific area of interest, gain hands-on experiences, or discover a new passion. Stepping out of the classroom and into real-world situations allows students to broaden their perspectives and further develop skills that prepare them for life after high school.
However, attending these programs isn’t as simple as just signing up. Students face rigorous application processes, where in most cases, it requires them to complete lengthy submissions that evaluate multiple aspects of their character. With summer fast approaching, many East students find themselves balancing their academic responsibilities, extracurricular activities and the demanding application for the program they hope to attend.
For students at East, staying on top of their schoolwork along with completing their applications can cause stress or overload. Finding that balance between several commitments is difficult, so it’s necessary to figure out a system that helps students to manage their time. Aniket Chintapalli (‘26) reflected on a period of time when he juggled application deadlines with school assignments and extracurricular activities.
“I split up the entire application like essays, uploading information and [getting] letters of recommendations into chunks and I would do the chunks throughout my application cycle,” said Chintapalli.
This allowed him to successfully complete his summer program applications without falling behind on his academics. Additionally, he created a structure in his schedule, designating specific days and times for him to complete the application.
Chintapalli said, “I only worked on sections of [the application] on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings.”
Despite these challenges, many East students view summer programs as a chance for an impactful opportunity. Summer programs are designed to target specific interests, ranging from biomedical sciences to creative writing. Students can find a second home at these camps—connecting to others with similar interests, networking with people from different backgrounds and finding a community based on the thing they love doing the most.
On the other hand, in a competitive environment like East’s, the pressure to attend a prestigious summer program can contribute to the reason why many East students choose to apply. The desire to stand out on college applications often pushes students to pursue these programs, even if it means dealing with additional stress. Additionally, social media can be attributed to the growing idea that summer programs are absolutely necessary to put on a college application. Sonia Yuen (‘26) realized that many of the programs that social media accounts promote have no substance, only serving as a filler spot on a student’s activities list.
“I feel like there’s pressure from online college prep social media accounts that [say] we should apply to summer programs [because] they will help make us stand out in college applications…there are many other ways someone can utilize their time in the summer that don’t involve summer programs,” Yuen said.
Between the rigorous application process and the pressure that many students face, it might be hard to decide whether or not these programs are truly worth it.
But for those who apply to summer programs for the right reason, getting the chance to explore interests and making connections is an invaluable experience.