Should my teen “Pay to Play” to help their college applications?
What are “Pay to Play” programs, and are they worth the price to improve my teen’s college admissions chances?
If you have a high schooler at home right now, your email or feed is full of advertisements for summer enrichment opportunities — everything from STEM camps on college campuses to original research projects with “Top Professors” or “Alumni from College Ivy.” The price tag for these programs can be steep, and they often come with the implication that participation will give students a leg up in their college applications.
In the admissions industry, these programs are called “pay to play” — marketed as opportunities given to a select few (sometimes including a mini-admissions process for effect), most are open to all who are willing to jump through their hoops, and, most importantly, pay the bill.
In the current, overheated college admissions environment, these enrichment programs raise three important questions: A) Are they worth the price?; B) Do they really help a student’s college application?; and C) Should I send my kid to any enrichment program at all?
A. Are “pay to play” activities worth the price tag?
You probably already guessed the answer — it depends. Some are long-standing programs with good reputations for enriching student’s academic, artistic, leadership, or service experiences. Others are riding on the coattails of such programs, offering very little to students that they couldn’t get on a road trip — a week in a dorm with bad food and late night “social skills development” with students from other regions. There are borderline scams, and there are a whole lot of options in between.
Because of the uncertainty of the product, it is important to evaluate programs carefully. Some questions to start with:
- Who runs the program?
To many parents’ confusion, many of these programs are on college campuses but not actually run by the college; the program just rents the space on campus. In fact, some are franchises which run on multiple campuses. Much like summer camp chains, these camps vary in quality based on the local organizers and resources; one program at one campus can be good while another of the same name is run poorly.
Programs run by schools tend to be better designed (or at least more interesting), and, in some cases, cheaper because they are not for profit. Schools run programs differently, too, though— some are led by outreach and others by the academic departments themselves.
Even if the organizer is promising, continue your inquiry.
2. How long has the program been around?
Not that longevity is a deciding factor, but businesses that are hoping to make money off of the current climate of admissions anxiety tend to be newer. New isn’t always bad — it can bring innovative ideas and interesting program design. It can also bring staff instability and a distracting business mindset to an educational endeavor.
3. How aggressive is their marketing?
Some may disagree, but I find that aggressive marketing campaigns are a red flag that a program is spending more energy drumming up business than creating quality experiences for students. I’m sure this blog will be pulled if I name names, but I will say that I have had to ask one of these to back off after aggressive attempts to contact me to solicit business. While this may not directly reflect the quality of a program, it will most likely make an unpleasant customer experience for a family.
4. What do previous students say?
We read a dozen reviews before we set foot in a restaurant; we should be as diligent when purchasing experiences for our kids. If outside reviews of a program can’t be discovered online (a red flag in itself), ask the organization for contacts of prior attendees. The higher the price, and the more you’ll be expecting of the program (if it is an overnight, for example), the more I would insist on feedback from legitimate, independent, prior customers.
Like the purchase of a college education itself, “worth it” is a subjective term. Certainly a few programs are provide rare experiences for carefully selected students while some are well-known for being a poor use of time and money. I also see a lot in between; conversations between consultants about particular programs often result in one saying that their student enjoyed a program while another says that their student hated it.
For those programs that have neither huge recommendations or warning signs, the most important question must be:
5. Does the student want to attend?
If we think back to the days when we sent our young kids off to summer camps and classes, we know full well that the child’s own interest in the activity drives how much they get out of it. Teens are no different; the pitch that a camp will be “good for your application” usually produces a lackluster experience. Always consider fit first — Will your budding hard rock guitarist hate science camp? The answer might not be obvious (just ask Brian May of Queen), but we should at least ask the question and listen to the answer, knowing that buy-in determines, in part, the quality of the experience.
B) Do “pay to play” programs really help a student’s college application?
Good quality programs will make very clear that their camp or activity does not guarantee any given student’s chances for admission at any particular school, including at schools that run them. If a program makes any promise to the contrary, put your checkbook away and run.
In this I speak from personal experience: I used to work with one of these programs at a top college in my area, long before they were as popular as they are today. Even then, our administration had endless conversations with parents to undo deep presumptions that attendance at the program was sure to create a back door to admissions. This magical thinking persists, perhaps even more so today, despite the program’s adamant and public declarations to the contrary.
Indeed, college admissions offices are quite familiar with these programs, especially those that operate in their service area; they know that “pay to play” comes with a price tag only some families can afford. Thus, colleges make conscious efforts not to rank students with these activities on their record above students who, for example, spend their summer babysitting younger siblings or working to support their families.
C. So is it better not to send my kid to an enrichment program at all?
While these programs are problematic, they are not without value. What is important to understand is that it isn’t the attending that matters; it is the result of the experience.
Such a program helps if the child is, in fact, enriched by the experience in a meaningful way. After all, what colleges really want to see in a student is not much different than what parents want to see — a teen who is developing their academic, social, emotional, and civic skills, taking incremental steps to becoming a capable, thoughtful adult who can make their own way in the world, perhaps even do some good. Teens need new experiences to make this growth happen. Any experience outside of their homes is likely to do this, from getting their driver’s licenses to being a counselor at the local summer camp. Broader experiences, like those offered in these programs, can also provide unique opportunities for growth.
If students do choose to participate, they should know that colleges can see through a bought experience that the student learned little from. Essays along the lines of “I built houses in poor places and learned that I’m really lucky because some people are really poor” or “I studied astrophysics with a professor at This College so I’m ready for (better than?) your school” are commonplace on applications, and neither demonstrate characteristics that colleges seek in an incoming student. A thoughtful essay on what they learned volunteering at the local library or caring for their grandmother will go further.
There is one caveat — for a handful of the most selective colleges, normal developmental experiences may not be enough. While a student does not have to “pay to play” to show their readiness for a really big academic stage, they will need to demonstrate their early talents somehow, whether through state or national competitions, independent projects, or, yes, even research. “Pay to play” programs know their target market, and actively craft experiences which will “look right” on these most selective applications. It will be up to the student to turn that opportunity into a real growth experience for themselves, or (perhaps better still) create their own experiences which demonstrate their talents and their ability to compete and perform at the very highest levels.
Rather than buy into the hopes that a program’s name will hit the right note when dropped, seek experiences that
- help the student explore their majors or careers of interest so they can explain their goals more clearly in their application;
- help the student give back to their community in a way that develops their own interests and skills;
- give the student leadership responsibilities, especially in communities they are already a part of or that have meaning to them;
- cultivate their talents in art, music, drama, or other interests that they have not had the opportunity to receive instruction, or to expand on that instruction to take those talents further;
- have a positive answer to question #5 above: Does the student want to participate in the activity?
Only when the student is interested in the opportunity will the experience be meaningful. There are certainly programs that students take part in just to “check a box”; colleges will know this just as the student does. Truly meaningful experiences will cast a different light — because the student will continue with an activity for multiple years, will become a leader in the activity, turn it into a service project, or even discover their major or career through it. Student can then write about it meaningfully in their applications, going beyond “this is what I did” to “this is how it made me who I am.”
