YouTube Deep Summary

## Intro—Do You Need a Summer Program? [00:00] one. What's up everyone? Coach Tony here. In this training, we're going to talk about which summer program is the best for my student. If it's a very first time meeting my uh my name is Coach Tony, I was a former UC Berkeley admissions read, so I was behind the scenes when students submitted their apps. I went ahead and read it, recommended yes and no to a lot of students. And doing so, you start to see trends, right? Why the yes kids get a yes, why a no kid got a no. So that's kind of the big thing that a lot of our recommendations and frameworks will come from for our coaching families is understanding what a reader is trained to look for and giving them just that. Right? And in my time as a reader and working with so many students uh over the years, right? Summer programs has been one of the topics that keeps coming up year after year after year. So we're going to go ahead and talk about it in this session. It's just kind of almost like a brainstorm of figuring out different options and how to find programs for your child specifically. Okay. So, I'm going to go ahead and share my screen with live uh to some folks over here in Zoom. If you guys can see my screen, uh go ahead and let me know. Yes, let me know the font is big enough uh as well. Boom. Maybe that's a little better. Uh as well, too, just so I know we are good to go. um there. Alrighty. Fantastic. All right. Cool. So, let's go ahead and talk about this. So, first off, let's talk about some theory, right? Some theory as well. So, first off, where where does this fit in? Where does this fit into the entire process? Because one of the first things I hear a lot when parents talk about summer programs is that uh which one does which one does my child does my child need to do? Right? That's that's the big question we hear a lot. The word need and then uh the good news bad news uh there's nothing you need to do. Right? When it comes to the admissions process, uh when it comes to the process, when it comes to the admissions process, uh there's nothing that you need to do. So, when it comes to programs, could you do a program? You could, right? We have students uh who do these programs. At the same time, we have many students uh who do not do any of these programs. And ## Where Summer Programs Fit in the Admissions Process [02:30] guess what? Both of them all get into top colleges, right? So, when it comes to the program, the first question is, do you need to? I'll answer really quick. The answer is no. You don't need to do this. Right? So, first off, where is this kind of fit into the whole picture? So, when it comes to the admissions process, right, admissions process, there's three things are the most important. There's the academics, the activities, and the application itself. So when it comes to summer programs where this falls under this falls under the activities section right falls under the activities section itself right so this is the big thing that you you can use to help highlight in your activities and those who been following us along right the academics I would say is probably the least important factor in admissions process the activities is more important and later on when you're a senior the application itself is really important as well too so this This is going to be one of the more important topics to to make sure your child gets right in this journey here. Okay. So, when it comes to the uh activity section itself, activities is meant to do one of two things, right? Activities uh activities it uh helps with one of two things, right? The the first thing activities is really good with is helping you taste your major, right? So, uh tasting your major means trying it out, right? We we think of this as a uh when it comes to tasting your major, right? Most of your kids, what they're like 14 years old, 15 years old, 16 years old, they have no clue what they want to do yet, right? Is the key, right? A lot of you guys say, "Oh, my kid wants to be an engineer." I'm like, "Do they really? Do they really?" And an easy way is like, "Have they how do have they talked to an engineer yet?" And the answer is usually no. like okay how do you know you want to be an engineer if you don't even know who an engineer is is the biggest thing so you kind of want ## The Two Buckets—Tasting Your Major vs Personal Interests [04:30] to know where you want to go towards is the big key uh itself right so when it comes to your major right you want to taste it I call it the thing is tasting and I use the word taste on purpose right is uh the word taste on purpose right is because there's there's there's a big uh misconception with a lot of our students that they feel like they have to commit, right? Uh students feel like they have to commit uh to their field uh as well too. And the answer is no. You definitely don't have to commit. And an example of this, if you guys go to YouTube, right? Go on YouTube, look up uh Eagle Lockupen, right? Look up Eagle Upupen, right? And we'll have one of our interviews with one of our students. Uh she got to UPUPEN this past year. She's one of our 2025 seniors. Uh she got into UPUPEN. One of the things that she did, her stories was very interesting, right? She got in, she got in as a business and nursing major, right? She got as a burden business and nursing major. However, when she started with us, she was a computer science major, right? In ninth grade, right? By 12th grade, right? So, whoa, she started here and she end up here. Nothing related. So, you looked at her activities. her activities looked like computer science stuff all ninth grade until you over the years you start to see the shift from computer science only over to the business and nursing things later on. So what I tell students to taste it's like tasting food right it's tasting food is a similar to tasting food you try it and if you try it right you either like it right or you don't like it you don't like it like it and if you really don't like it right if you really don't like it right you try something else right or sometimes if you don't like it enough right you would rather give it another shot Right? You would uh you would consider right giving it another shot and if you like it like it you just do more of it. You do you find you uh taste more of it. You taste similar things to it. Right? This is this is the exact example of how activities uh should be. Right? You're tasting something you're interested in. Right? And then right you taste it in and then right the more you do it the more you like it. the more you find things related to it. Right? Example here, let's say you're thinking about computer science. I tell students, taste it, right? Taste it means what? Maybe I want to join a computer science club. Maybe I want to you like do like a Corsera course about Java pro programming. Then I like it more. I'm going to do another another class on C++. Hey, I like similar things. I'm going to go ahead and build something on my own. Something similar to that. Oh, I'm going to go ahead and intern at this company. Right? versus let's say you do it and you're like, you know what, I tried that coding thing. I don't like it because I don't like it. I'm not going to give it. I I might try if it's that bad. If I really don't like it, I don't do it anymore. Right? Spoilers. This is one of the things when you talk about summer programs, right? Summer programs. This is a perfect way to taste your major. Right? Right. So, going back to the original topic, which is what how do you know how do you pick uh a summer program is that I always tell students think about things you can do to taste your major. What do you think you want to do? If you think you want to do it, like what do you think do you think you want to do? Right? And if you think you want to do it, cool, try it, right? Try it. If you try it, you either like it or you don't like it. That's pretty much it, right? Um is the biggest thing. So for example, if you the example is if you're interested in biology, right? If but then then let's find biology summer ## Why Unique Interests Make You More Memorable [08:30] programs is a thing, right? And and taste it out more is the thing, right? If you're interested in computer science, then let's find computer science program. If I'm interested in business, let's find business computer science programs, right? What if uh what if the answer is I like multiple things, right? Let's say you like biology and you like computers, right? Is okay to do you have this is example example number two now, right? Example number two, right? If you like biology and computer science, what do we do here, right? You have a few options. We can find biology summer camps because you enjoy that. You can find uh computer science summer camps and you can find biology plus computer science camps. And I think you'll find out that as you guys are doing your research, we'll talk about how do research in a little bit also is that the the first ones, the single ones a lot easier to find. When you get to these granular ones, these more difficult ones, these are combo ones, right? It's harder because less people are probably going to offer these types of things. Uh is the biggest thing there. So when it when it when it when it makes sense uh so I tell students you're interested in multiple things see there's one or the other first and if you get lucky if you get lucky there's something else too that's probably the best match for you because you want to integrate to the the inter uh segment of these two things itself okay so that's kind of one of the first things uh that I call tasting your major right so that's kind of one of the things about uh summer programs which kind of best for my student find ones that they're able to taste their major in going back to the other one right? Outside of tasting your major, it's the students personal interests, right? As well, too. Let's talk about personal interest, right? Personal interest. This is the thing that a lot of uh students feel like they don't do too much of because they're like, "Oh, if I'm going to be an engineer, everything I need to do needs to be re related to engineering, right?" But the key here is that uh if you only do things related to your major, you look like everyone else, right? People who are an engineer, they do engineering things. They do robotics, right? They're in engineering clubs. They're in mea. They're in all these kind of groups that like, hey, all that. So, if you're doing all the same things, how do you stand out? It's really, really hard. Spoilers. ## How to Research Summer Programs on Your Own [11:00] It's really hard to stand out with that. But are colleges taking you are they only reading your your background in this? No. Right. As a human, we do a lot of different things. So engineering just one piece of you, right? So again, think of it as bucket number one. Number one is just your major, but bucket number two is you, right? So what else do you do outside of that? Let's say, so example, for me, right? I always tell everyone, I think people know this right away. Uh Kush Tony is a huge is a huge WWE pro wrestling fan, right? Pro Wrestling fan as well too. So I I watch all the shows. I I go to the events. I have the gear. I have the belts. I have all the things, right? So I'm a huge fan myself, right? What else do I do? Oh, I'm also uh Coach Tony is a Let me do it here. Is a um I also uh collect Pokemon cards, right? Pokemon cards as well, too. I have like three full collections so far. Uh they got kind of I kind of stopped as well too. I also collect uh I don't collect the right word, but like Nike shoes, right? Jordans, right? Specifically Jordan. I have like four pairs now, right? As well too. I have that one. Um what else do I like? Um I'm also a huge um uh game show nerd, right? Love watching the game shows with like the the thinking ones as well too, right? Cool. So these are me, right? So let's say for example the example here is if I told you guys um and if you're probably here that means you probably clicked on my face once or twice right and then you somehow got evolved and now you're in our ecosystem as well too right if you look for college admissions right you see a lot of people does that make sense you look up and I'm sure how the algorithm works you hit one ad now you hit with every ad out there is number one right so that's that's the first piece right you see a a lot of people. But if I told you right, if you filter for only uh college admissions uh in California or from California from California, uh that's me. I'm from California, right? There's less from a big pool, there's now a smaller pool, but it's still a lot of people, right? But if I told you if you filter now for WWE, I'm looking for a college admissions person who's from California, who watches WWE, who has a mohawk, right? If you filter for has a mohawk, look at my head. Mohawk, right? Uh if you filter for Pokemon, right? If you filter, if you filter for game show, right? It gets smaller and smaller and smaller and smaller until right you end up with coach Tony is the key. Why did I tell you this story? This is how admission works, right? This is how admission works, right? The big pool is everyone who's smart, right? The the grades the classes grades the classes that you take. It's really hard to stand out there because everyone's doing the same classes. Everyone's getting the same grades, right? inside of that, right? They're doing the uh the the major related activities, right? All the bio kids are in HOSA. All the business kids are in FBLA. They probably start their own business. All the engineering kids doing robotics. They're all doing the same things, right? Computer science, they're all doing hackathons, they're building their own apps, right? You're doing the same things. A mock trial, the the lawyers are doing mock trial. Debate club as well, too. They're all doing the same things, but then there's still a lot lot of them where you stand out. This is the personal activities number one. The personal activity number two, personal activity number three. So when you view yourself as I am doing these things and I'm also a dancer, oh, I'm also in scouts. Oh, I'm also in a I'm a ## What to Know About Paid vs Free Programs [15:00] engineer. I'm in a food club. This and that. I'm all these extra things. That's what makes you unique. It's the combination. It's the combination of the personal activities, personal activities that helps you stand out in the admissions process, right? It's not one thing. It's no longer one thing. Admissions is so competitive. No one thing can get you in anymore, right? It's a mixture of things that you do in conjunction. That's the thing that you do to help you stand out. So, going back here, what are these things? What's the personal? What's the two? That was the three. So for me, I'd also filter out, hey, is there any right any wrestling camps out there? Is there any Pokemon camps out there? Is there any game show camps for example out there? Right? I think this is the other kind of area you can filter for uh when it comes to uh camps and programs as well too, right? Or let's say you're interested in science, right? You're interested in uh you're interested in astronomy, right? If your interest interest is astronomy, you want to find astronomy camps as well. So the idea is what else are you interested in? Let's go ahead and find those. And again, that's that's where the the camps will kick in again is to figure this parts out. Okay. So summer camps also allows you right allows you to explore more of your personal activities right. So last thing how do we find these how do we find these uh programs right so the the first thing uh is the easiest way is Google is probably the one of the fastest way to find a lot of this stuff and it's pretty straightforward people people think it's so complicated I'm like not really. Uh so really quick in the chat for those who are here, we have 109 people who are here. Can some of you guys name me either uh majors that you're interested in or interests that you have? In the chat, let me know either some majors that you are looking for or some interests that you have. I'll show you what a few of them will look like. Um as well, someone say computer science. Very easy, right? So let's do computer science real fast. Say example, right? Oops. Example computer science, right? So if we're doing computer science itself, right, I'm going to go look for computer science summer program high school summer summer program high school, right? And then I can just look for these programs in these websites themselves. Right? So first one I see I see UCLA, right? UCLA has a summer program uh as well too. You can go through and see is a deadline June 13th. Hey, I can still apply here if I wanted to uh as well, right? and see the requirements on what it is. Can I do that? Uh looks like I I need to apply right to these as well too. Applying you can see the syllabus and see what it ## How to Avoid “Pay to Play” Name-Only Traps [18:00] looks like uh as well especially if it's like an online program. You can see am I going to make a class? Do I need to make up the classes as well too? That's going to be the big thing uh here uh for this section right now. Okay. So you look through here like oh yeah I can probably do that. Awesome. So it helps you kind of filter this way right. So you can go through and try to find oh there's a Harvard one as well too and you can see oh there's a summer program uh class you can take um as well fantastic you can go through and you can apply for these there right so just go through here pick poke them and see there right so one of the big questions that comes up right is what about paytoplay programs pay to play programs as well too right people people always ask that all the time when it comes to my programs comes out that topic always comes up. So my two cents when it comes to pay-to-play programs, there isn't uh as long as you're focused on exploring the activities, right, you won't fall into this trap because what what is paytoplay is? People usually say, "Oh, if you're paying for like a $6,000, $8,000 summer program uh at Harvard as well to is that uh really really good?" And the question is it is relative, right? Going to just a note for anyone, right? Note for anyone. Going to any summer program at any college, right? Does not increase your chances uh not even 1%. Nothing, right? Cuz again, a lot of these programs, by the way, if you notice, are not offered by by the school is number one. And if it is, that that's just the program. It's not the school, if that makes sense. as two different groups of people uh as well. It's like if at work you you work in one department as well too and you you have a good vibe and you go to a different floor, right? It'll be different because that's a different group of people. They don't know who you are as well too. So again, the summer program people might know you, but the admissions doesn't know you. They know you all you part of the same building. Cool. But that's that's it. That doesn't mean anything, right? So don't ever so the takeaway here is do not right do not do not attack any program just for the name of the program or to put the program name on your application that is definitely not the right way and if you're doing that that's not going to end well usually for a lot of students right so the idea is that's why I went through this process in this way I go to summer programs. What I what I do first guys, I went through activities, right? Tell me about your activities. Is it one of these first? Then once you identify this, then you find the programs. Because for most people, they look for the program first, then they try to match it to them. No, no, no. You find the things. Hey, I want to explore this. Cool. Let's look at the programs they ## How to Write About a Program in Your Essays (30/70 Rule) [21:00] have that lets me explore this. That's the right approach because now you have a why. Because later on if you talk about this, right, uh a little spoiler real fast when it comes to applications, right? So for seniors, incoming seniors, this is good for you, right? Spoilers, right? Is that when you write about these programs, right, you want to follow the 3070 rule. The 3070 rule states that 30% of your prompt, right, is the what what happened, aka the program and what you did, right? is the what 70% is not that people are like oh I did I got to dissect a frog I got to do this I got to do that I got to do that that's all stuff that you did stuff I can see right aka stuff I can see that you did right instead that's not what readers are trained to look for us readers are trained to look for why how and who right basically why did you why did you attend the summer program? If I can't answer that, if you can't give me the answer, I assume it's cuz you want to look good for college. Is it number two, how did this experience uh shape you? Right? Because again, you went there and then now you're a different person. If you nothing changed in you, then that's the it was paid program. It's a lot of money gone, right? So everything should shape you in some way. And again, as long as you go through this approach, it's going to shape you in some way. You're going to fall in love with it more. Again, like the tasting of something, you're either going to like it or you're going to find out you don't like it, right? Either one's good. You can't just be meh. Nothing nothing changed, right? And last one is who who have you become as a result of uh the experience, right? The experience as well too. That's going to be another big key uh to consider as well is understanding uh understanding uh who have you become is another key metric of all of this. Okay. Um that's pretty much it on this training. Again, when it comes to which summer product is best for the student, again, there's no one right answer. If there was one, I give it to you guys. But the answer is it depends on the student depends on who they are. But ultimately what you're trying to figure out and optimize for is going to be the activity section. Right? Answering does this summer program help you taste your major or is this one of the students personal interest? And if it is the answer is that's go for it. That's a great program. Right? Price aside right going back to the the the thing I'll add one more one for you guys to consider. Right? is like the filter uh filter questions, right? I was I would like to think of quotes like, hey, can you answer this? And if you can answer it, the answer is yes or no to you, right? The filter question number one of summer programs is um can I afford this is the first one, right? Some programs are free, then you don't worry about it, but some programs do cost money, right? There's nothing bad about a paid or free program, right? There's nothing uh the paid versus like low paid versus free, right? They're all going to be different experiences, right? it. So at the end of the day, there's nothing good, bad at all, right? Just know what you're going to walk into and is that does that match with you? Number one, right? And if the answer is yes, we are good. We don't have to take a loan for it. Don't take a loan out for for program, right? You're good. Number two is uh first off, this is for the parent. Parent, can I afford this? And for the ## The Final Filter Test—Would You Go Even If It Didn’t Go on Your App? [24:30] student, if you attended, right, and coach Tony did not let me write this on my uh activities or application, would I still want to go? Ooh, what a good question. Right. If you got to attend the event and you did not share it at all on your application, would you still want to go on the event? And some of you guys are like, "Wait, no. Why why would I want to come to come there and not share it on your application, right? And then that if that is you, then I'm telling you that you're doing this because you want to look good for college admissions." And that's the truth of of how it is as well too, right? Students who truly want to do something. Again, parents, you're adults, right? There's things that you do every day you're not getting graded anymore for for school. You're doing because you want to. that's something you want to do. There's no some of the things we do, our hobbies, our interests, they're just things we enjoy there. There's no payoff to the to some of the things we do, right? But we still want to do it. Same thing with this program. Same thing with any program, by the way, right? If you could not write it on your app, would you still want to go? Because the answer is no, that means you're doing it because you want to look for college. That's probably not the right program. Find something else. However, if you were to do it and be like, "Yep, even if I didn't write it on my apps, I still want to go for me, then ## Next Steps for Summer Planning [26:00] that's a perfect answer as well." Then I say, "Go for it. Go go go apply. Go get it." Because again, a lot of these you still got to apply, right? There's some some programs you apply uh and you pay, you're good. Some of them you get to apply and you're good. Either way, again, it's all good or bad either. It's up to you uh as well. So I think at the end of the day ask you first right is does this fit with your goals as you the student students goals right even if I couldn't put on my app do I still want to do it if the answer is yes and it matches the family budget go for it there's no wrong answer here as well right that's pretty much it on this session over here we do have a question I don't think it is uh directly related to this topic so we'll answer a little bit as well too but for those who are interested uh for those who are watching this live uh in about 30 minutes uh we have a special encore training for you guys related to summer programs so one of uh we have a Harvard innovation lab mentor uh talking about summer programs in relation to building a business so if you guys are interested in that one that is a free call that's starting in 30 minutes live if you're watching the replay of this it's it's live already by the time you see this one so ask our team to grab you the replay or you guys can dig for it uh as well. But the answer is that training is live. You guys can go ahead and check it out and then um see if that's an option for you guys. So, but it's perfect for students who are interested in business and computer science and AI is the the interest, right? AI is the interest there. Okay. Uh let's go ahead and answer this question in the chat is a little unrelated to I believe to this to this m to this training call, but we'll go ahead and answer as well too. What if you get accepted to a major and you want to change your engineering? Is it possible at Berkeley LA? Some people say yes, some people say no. It depends on the school. It depends on the school depends on the college and the school. I would reach out uh reach out and ask their admissions that their their department not their admissions their department right as well too. Statistically uh no, right? Statistically no. uh because these are impacted colleges where they would rather want students to transfer out and it's the only room you get in is if students trans there's there's a limit to how many how many students they can each college can take right so that's the big thing there uh these uh these are impacted colleges so again statistically no but again some schools might say yes uh might have room for you so again definitely check it out uh at each of the schools and they'll let you know the exact answer there but as a blanket statement the answer is usually no um there especially because it's a compet competitive college, competitive major there. Okay, that is pretty much it for this training here.