10 Online Pre-College Programs Every High Schooler Must Check Out
Pre-college programs bridge high school and college, providing exposure to college-level academics and networking opportunities. Exploring your academic interests can help you narrow down your career interests, gain essential skills, and maybe even earn college credit. These programs may offer insight into the college admissions process, and some even offer courses that help you craft impressive application essays!
Online pre-college programs are ideal if you want to learn from home and have to work around a busy summer schedule. You also save on travel, boarding, and meal costs. We’ve compiled a list of 10 online pre-college programs that will boost your academic profile in preparation for college below.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Duration: Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Location: Remote — you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring.
Cost: Full financial aid is available!
Summer@Brown Online is the virtual counterpart of the university’s largest summer program for high school students, where applicants can choose from more than 100 non-credit courses. Your two to six-week-long learning sessions can be asynchronous, mostly asynchronous, or entirely blended, according to your convenience. You will engage with mentors and peers removed from the pressures of a formal grading system. The course catalog will be made available on Brown's official website on January 17.
Cost: $3,094 to $5,998 for the online program.
Eligibility: Students completing grades 9 to 12, typically 14 to 18 years of age by June 16
Location: Virtual, through Canvas, Brown University’s learning management system.
Application Deadline: May 10, 11:59 pm ET
Program Dates: June 17 to July 26
3. Veritas AI
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students who are looking to get started with AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and get a chance to work on real-world projects. Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,290 for the 10-week AI Scholars program | $5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase | $6,900 for both. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars. You can apply here.
Application deadline: On a rolling basis. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September) and Winter (November).
Program dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
More intense than the average pre-college program, Harvard’s seven-week SSP offers a minimum of 4-credit hours and a maximum of 8, which serve as graded college courses. Many past attendees have cited the program as being integral to their decision-making process regarding what to study in college. SSP Online organizes courses into Career Pathways, allowing you to drop a course along the way. As a part of the program, you get to access Harvard’s vast online library. You will also interact with peers from all over the world through social and college prep activities and events.
Cost: $3,700 for 4 credits and $7,400 for 8 credits, with a non-refundable $75 application fee. Financial aid available for US citizens and permanent residents.
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old by June 22 and will not turn 19 years old before July 31
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: February 14. The early application deadline is January 10.
Program Dates: June 24 to August 10.
A year-long, highly selective summer intensive, Princeton’s Summer Journalism Program is designed to prepare you for the four-year college experience as a journalism student. With a three-round application process, the program is Princeton’s first hybrid course. It culminates in a 10-day residential segment on campus. Its most attractive feature is that you get to report, write, and design your own newspaper, The Princeton Summer Journal, which is published on the last day. Although not entirely online, the program’s unique offerings, such as news coverage in the Princeton area, interaction with industry professionals, and seminars on every facet of the college admissions project, make it a valuable addition to this list!
Cost: All costs covered.
Eligibility: Students must be in 11th grade, have a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a scale of 4, and have a combined family income that either doesn’t exceed $60,000, or qualifies them to receive free or reduced-price lunch at their high school, or qualifies them to receive an SAT or ACT fee waiver.
Location: Hybrid, culminating in a ten-day residential program at Princeton University, Princeton, usually at the end of July.
Application Deadline: February 15
Program Dates: Year-long; dates for the residential portion to be announced.
Georgetown University offers an online course called Medical Research: Clinical Trials Resulting in Medical Discoveries. You can take the course for two or four weeks, depending on your preference. You will receive twenty to thirty hours of instruction and complete coursework with guidance from mentors. The course culminates with a Capstone Project, which involves a video presentation studying the components of the scientific method for clinical trials.
Cost: Up to $1,795. Scholarships available.
Eligibility: Open to all high school students.
Location: Virtual
Application deadline: December 31 for the January 7 program and January 14 for the 2-week January program.
Program dates: 4-week program - January 7 to February 4; 2-week program - January 21 to February 4
Columbia University’s Online Summer program offers synchronous live classroom instruction for their 40-course catalog over 1 to 2-week-long sessions. Upon completion, participants receive an official Certification of Participation and their course evaluations. You will engage in student life workshops and individual and group projects as well as attend seminars on the college admissions process. Students enrolled in the 2-week program can choose to take part in the Columbia Writers Workshop, which is dedicated to helping you develop effective college application essays.
Cost: $3,960 for a course in the 2-week program, with every additional course costing $3,850. $2,810 for the 1-week program. There is a non-refundable deposit of $1,000 to secure a place in the program.
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors, as well as incoming college freshmen.
Location: Virtual with faculty interaction via CourseWorks
Application Deadline: March 4. The early registration deadline is February 1.
Program Dates: July 1 to July 12 and July 15 to July 26
Yale Summer Online courses allow you to discuss your course topics with your peers live on a weekly basis. A blend of synchronous and asynchronous activity ensures that you have the time to engage with your course material while keeping up with the pace set by university faculty. You can choose from hundreds of courses offered both in the day and evening across two summer sessions. To view the course catalog, check out this link. These courses offer Yale College credit to high school students from around the world.
Cost: $4,850 per course with an $85 technology fee (based on last year’s figures)
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors and college freshmen
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: May 3rd and June 7th, depending on your session.
Program Dates: May 27 to June 28 and July 1 to August, depending on your session.
The Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences Program offers a five-week-long research program for high school students interested in neurological sciences. It focuses on cultivating an inclusive environment. You will receive mentorship from neuroscientists at the university and learn basic lab techniques and experiments. You will participate in professional development training. You will receive a $500 scholarship upon successful completion of the program!
Cost: Free. $500 scholarship awarded.
Eligibility: U.S. high school juniors and seniors from underrepresented populations
Location: Online or at the Johns Hopkins University Campus in Baltimore.
Application deadline: March 1
Program dates: June to August
GirlsWhoCode aims to bring more women and non-binary individuals to the forefront of STEM-based research. Its Summer Immersion Program helps high school students from Latinx, Hispanic, and other underrepresented communities engage with tech. You can choose between the 2-week immersion program or a 6-week self-paced experience. No prior computer science experience is required. You will learn to code through real-world projects in storytelling, arts, robotics, video games, websites, and apps.
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school girls and non-binary students everywhere.
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: To be announced. You can fill out their interest form here.
Program Dates: To be announced. Last year’s program commenced in July.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
Image Source: Veritas AI logo