How to Get Into Competitive Summer Programs for High School Students

Jan 8
4 min read

Updated: Jan 8

Written by Dr. Jacob Vo, Founder of JV Admissions

how to get into competitive summer programs

I’m going to let you in on a secret from the other side of the desk.

There is a specific feeling admissions officers get when they open an application that is technically perfect—4.0 GPA, president of six clubs, varsity sports—but lacks a soul. It’s robotic. To be honest, it’s a little boring.

And then, there are the applications that make me stop and smile. The ones where a student admits they aren't perfect, but they show me exactly what they "nerd out" about.

With summer 2026 planning kicking off (yes, already!), I want to walk you through how to be that second student. Whether you’re eyeing prestigious programs like MIT’s RSI, COSMOS, or a niche mentorship, the strategy is the same. It’s not about checking boxes; it’s about building a narrative.

Here is how I help my students actually stand out.

The "Ick" is Real

Admissions officers have a very sensitive radar for what I call "The Ick."

The Ick happens when I see a student applying to a program just because the name sounds fancy on LinkedIn. I can tell when you don't actually care about the subject. It feels forced. It feels desperate.

Fit beats fame. Every. Single. Time.

I once worked with a student obsessed with Architecture. He could have fought for a spot at a $6,000 "prestigious" design camp at an Ivy League just to impress admissions officers. He didn't.

Instead, he spent his summer walking around his own city with a notebook. He mapped out every wheelchair-accessible ramp (and the lack of them) in his neighborhood and presented a proposal for better accessibility to the city council.

Was it a "famous" program? No. But it was real work. It showed me he actually cared about inclusive design, not just looking good for college. He used that project to land a spot at a top design school.

I Don’t Want "Well-Rounded." I Want "Spiky."

Stop trying to be good at everything. It’s impossible, and quite frankly, it’s exhausting. I am looking for students who are "spiky"—people who have a deep, jagged interest in one specific thing.

Here is what that looks like in practice:

The "Nerd Out" Factor (Curiosity)

You don’t need perfect grades to be interesting. You need curiosity.

Take a former student of mine, I’ll call "Sarah." She lived in a landlocked state but loved Marine Biology. Obviously, she couldn't volunteer at an aquarium. So, she spent her summer digging through public NOAA datasets on whale migration patterns online. She didn't have the ocean, but she had Wi-Fi and an obsession. That counts.

Depth > Breadth

Being a member of 10 clubs is fluff. I know you just show up for the pizza.

But taking a dying Debate Team of three people and turning it into a powerhouse that mentors middle schoolers? That is actual leadership. I’d take that over a "serial club joiner" any day.

Vulnerability (The "Why")

I worked with a student recently who wrote her main essay about knitting hats for premature babies.

It sounds like a quiet hobby, right? But her essay wasn't about the hats. It was about how the repetitive motion helped her manage her severe anxiety. It was honest. It was vulnerable. It showed a level of maturity that a list of awards never could.

A Note on Your Essays: Stop Using the Thesaurus

If you take one thing away from this post: Please do not sound like a robot.

I read thousands of essays. I can tell within three seconds if you used AI to write your opening hook. It puts a wall between you and the reader.

You don't need to be profound. You just need to be you.

One of the best essays I’ve read recently was about failure. A student spent months building a drone from scratch. On the very first flight, he immediately crashed it into a tree.

Most students would try to hide that failure. He wrote his entire application about the three weeks he spent figuring out how to get it down and the humility of fixing his own mess. That’s the kind of person a program wants in their lab—someone who can handle it when things go wrong.

Don't Ruin Your Teacher's Weekend

We are in the "Minor Leagues" right now. Summer apps are practice for the "Major Leagues" (college apps).

Deadlines are not suggestions. January is here.
Follow the instructions. If a program asks for a Word doc and you send a PDF, you’re telling them you can’t follow directions. That’s a bad look for a researcher.
The "Friday Afternoon" Rule. Do not ask for a recommendation letter on a Friday for a Monday deadline. You will get a rushed, annoyed letter. Give your teachers a "brag sheet" of your wins and give them time.

The Bottom Line

You don't have to be perfect. You have to be interesting.

Start exploring now. Look for the programs that actually excite you, not just the ones your parents heard about at a cocktail party.

And if you’re staring at a blank screen wondering what your "story" is, let’s talk.

At JV Admissions, we help students find that narrative every day—whether it’s for a research scholar program, a startup internship, or a passion project you haven't invented yet.

You’ve got a story. Let’s make sure they actually hear it.

Written by Dr. Jacob Vo, Founder of JV Admissions

I’m going to let you in on a secret from the other side of the desk.

There is a specific feeling admissions officers get when they open an application that is technically perfect—4.0 GPA, president of six clubs, varsity sports—but lacks a soul. It’s robotic. To be honest, it’s a little boring.

And then, there are the applications that make me stop and smile. The ones where a student admits they aren't perfect, but they show me exactly what they "nerd out" about.

Here is how I help my students actually stand out.

The "Ick" is Real

Admissions officers have a very sensitive radar for what I call "The Ick."

The Ick happens when I see a student applying to a program just because the name sounds fancy on LinkedIn. I can tell when you don't actually care about the subject. It feels forced. It feels desperate.

Fit beats fame. Every. Single. Time.

I once worked with a student obsessed with Architecture. He could have fought for a spot at a $6,000 "prestigious" design camp at an Ivy League just to impress admissions officers. He didn't.

Instead, he spent his summer walking around his own city with a notebook. He mapped out every wheelchair-accessible ramp (and the lack of them) in his neighborhood and presented a proposal for better accessibility to the city council.

Was it a "famous" program? No. But it was real work. It showed me he actually cared about inclusive design, not just looking good for college. He used that project to land a spot at a top design school.

I Don’t Want "Well-Rounded." I Want "Spiky."

Stop trying to be good at everything. It’s impossible, and quite frankly, it’s exhausting. I am looking for students who are "spiky"—people who have a deep, jagged interest in one specific thing.

Here is what that looks like in practice:

The "Nerd Out" Factor (Curiosity)

You don’t need perfect grades to be interesting. You need curiosity.

Depth > Breadth

Being a member of 10 clubs is fluff. I know you just show up for the pizza.

But taking a dying Debate Team of three people and turning it into a powerhouse that mentors middle schoolers? That is actual leadership. I’d take that over a "serial club joiner" any day.

Vulnerability (The "Why")

I worked with a student recently who wrote her main essay about knitting hats for premature babies.

It sounds like a quiet hobby, right? But her essay wasn't about the hats. It was about how the repetitive motion helped her manage her severe anxiety. It was honest. It was vulnerable. It showed a level of maturity that a list of awards never could.

A Note on Your Essays: Stop Using the Thesaurus

If you take one thing away from this post: Please do not sound like a robot.

I read thousands of essays. I can tell within three seconds if you used AI to write your opening hook. It puts a wall between you and the reader.

You don't need to be profound. You just need to be you.

One of the best essays I’ve read recently was about failure. A student spent months building a drone from scratch. On the very first flight, he immediately crashed it into a tree.

Most students would try to hide that failure. He wrote his entire application about the three weeks he spent figuring out how to get it down and the humility of fixing his own mess. That’s the kind of person a program wants in their lab—someone who can handle it when things go wrong.

Don't Ruin Your Teacher's Weekend

We are in the "Minor Leagues" right now. Summer apps are practice for the "Major Leagues" (college apps).

Deadlines are not suggestions. January is here.

Follow the instructions. If a program asks for a Word doc and you send a PDF, you’re telling them you can’t follow directions. That’s a bad look for a researcher.

The "Friday Afternoon" Rule. Do not ask for a recommendation letter on a Friday for a Monday deadline. You will get a rushed, annoyed letter. Give your teachers a "brag sheet" of your wins and give them time.

The Bottom Line

You don't have to be perfect. You have to be interesting.

Start exploring now. Look for the programs that actually excite you, not just the ones your parents heard about at a cocktail party.

And if you’re staring at a blank screen wondering what your "story" is, let’s talk.

At JV Admissions, we help students find that narrative every day—whether it’s for a research scholar program, a startup internship, or a passion project you haven't invented yet.

You’ve got a story. Let’s make sure they actually hear it.

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