Resources
Resources
Practical advice on planning, choosing, and making the most of summer programs, drawn from our own experience navigating the process.
Planning your summer
Practical guidance on structuring the summer and timing of decisions.
- Research vs. Pre-College vs. Enrichment Programs: What's the Difference?
- Summer Program vs. Internship: Which Makes More Sense?
- Do Summer Programs Help With College Admissions?
- What Comes After a Great Summer Program?
- When Should You Start Applying for Summer Programs?
- What Should a 9th Grader Do Over the Summer?
- What Should a 10th Grader Do Over the Summer?
- What Should an 11th Grader Do Over the Summer?
Choosing a Program
How to evaluate and compare different options.
- How to Tell if a Summer Program Is a Good Fit for Your Student
- Online or In Person? Choosing the Right Summer Program Format
- Are Expensive Pre-College Programs Worth It?
- What Does "Selective" Actually Mean for a Summer Program?
- How to Evaluate an AI Summer Program
- How Much Do High-School Summer Programs Cost?
What We've Learned
Lessons we've learned from navigating summer programs firsthand.
- What Does the "College Experience" at a Pre-College Program Really Look Like?
- What Makes a Great Summer Program? What Students Remember
- Fitting Programs Into Family Calendars & Budgets
- Supporting Student Independence Without Over-Managing
- When Summer Plans Don't Go as Planned: The Value of an Unexpected Detour
- When a Summer Program Changes the Question
Popular ways to explore
Start with one of these ready-made searches, then adjust the filters to fit your student.
High schoolers
- Tech & AI programs for high schoolers
- Science & STEM programs for high schoolers
- Pre-college programs for high schoolers
- Marine Science programs for high schoolers
- Writing & Humanities programs for high schoolers
- Traditional Camps for high schoolers
- Wilderness & Adventure programs for high schoolers
- Global & Language programs for high schoolers
- Leadership & Gifted programs for high schoolers
- Math programs for high schoolers
- Pre-Med & Life Sciences programs for high schoolers
- Arts programs for high schoolers
Middle schoolers
- Tech & AI programs for middle schoolers
- Science & STEM programs for middle schoolers
- Pre-college programs for middle schoolers
- Marine Science programs for middle schoolers
- Traditional Camps for middle schoolers
- Wilderness & Adventure programs for middle schoolers
- Global & Language programs for middle schoolers
- Leadership & Gifted programs for middle schoolers
- Math programs for middle schoolers
- Pre-Med & Life Sciences programs for middle schoolers
Also from Explore Summer: See what we learned from analyzing our 2026 catalog in Summer Programs by the Numbers.