Help/FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Application and Admission
- Who is eligible to apply to the Harvard Summer Secondary School Program?
- May recommendations from more than one teacher be submitted?
- Is there a class at Harvard on preparing for the SAT?
- Will attending the Secondary School Program guarantee admission to Harvard?
- Is financial aid available?
- Are you able to waive the $50 application fee for students in need of financial aid?
- May homeschooled students apply?
- I haven’t taken the PSAT, the ACT, or the SAT yet. May I still apply?
- For my writing sample, may I submit a lab report or a poem?
- I submitted my application three weeks ago. When will I hear from the SSP?
Academics and Registration
- Are any four-week courses available, or do all the courses last eight weeks?
- I understand that students living on campus must be full-time students. How do you define full-time academic status?
- May I enroll in one 4-credit course during the eight-week session as well as a 4-credit course in short session I?
- Are there any science research opportunities in the Summer School?
- When will I receive my grades?
- My high school begins in August before the end of the exam period. May I leave Harvard early to start the fall term back home?
- I’m making my travel arrangements. When may I plan to leave campus?
Transcripts and Transfer Credit
- I attended the SSP last summer and am now applying to colleges. How can I have a transcript sent to the colleges I’m applying to?
- I’m in college now and want to transfer the Harvard credits I earned while I was an SSP student. How can I do this?
Campus Life
- May we choose our roommates?
- May we know our roommates’ names and home addresses before Summer School begins?
- What should I bring to Harvard?
- I’ll be attending one of the short (four-week) sessions, and I play a musical instrument. May I perform with the Pops Band in their summer concert?
- May I audition for the chorus or the orchestra if I am coming to Cambridge in July for short session II?
- What is a “typical day” like for an SSP student?
Getting to Campus
- I’m flying to Boston, and I wonder how to get to the Harvard campus. Will someone pick me up at the airport?
- Where should I tell the cab driver to take me?
Privacy
- How do you protect the personal information that I submit online?
- Will you give my e-mail address to a third party?
- What are “cookies”?
For More Information
Application and Admission
Who is eligible to apply to the Harvard Summer Secondary School Program?
Current high school seniors, juniors, and sophomores may apply. To put it another way: if you will begin your university studies in 2007, 2008, or 2009, you may apply to the SSP.
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May recommendations from more than one teacher be submitted?
Yes. The application asks for recommendations from one teacher and one counselor or school head. If you wish to submit additional teacher recommendations, you may.
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Is there a class at Harvard on preparing for the SAT?
Although there is no course specifically geared to the SAT, SSP students may choose to enroll in Harvard’s noncredit course, Reading and Study Strategies. This popular and traditional course includes instruction on strategies for taking several kinds of tests, as well as guidance on many other topics (such as time management and in-class notes) designed to enable students to perform better both in college and in high school.
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Will attending the Secondary School Program guarantee admission to Harvard?
No, there is no relation between admission to the Harvard Summer Secondary School Program and admission to the freshman class of Harvard College. However, attending Harvard Summer School and performing well will strengthen your application to any college or university. Additionally, the Secondary School Program offers many opportunities designed to help students navigate the college-application process, gain admission to the college of their choice, and enhance their performance once enrolled in college.
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Yes, financial help is available to accepted students who are US citizens or permanent residents. But SSP financial aid is limited, so early application is strongly advised. Awards are granted on the basis of financial need, academic merit, and availability. Preference is given to high school juniors. Financial aid applications from admitted students will continue to be reviewed until SSP scholarship funds are depleted. The final deadline for applying for financial aid is May 1. See Financial Aid for instructions on how to apply for financial aid.
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Are you able to waive the $50 application fee for students in need of financial aid?
Unfortunately, we cannot waive the application fee.
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May homeschooled students apply?
Yes, we welcome applications from students who are being schooled at home. Where possible, teacher and counselor reports should be completed by educators who are not related to the applicant.
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I haven’t taken the PSAT, the ACT, or the SAT yet. May I still apply?
Yes.
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For my writing sample, may I submit a lab report or a poem?
No, your writing sample should be an essay written in English, and graded by one of your teachers. The topic of the essay is your choice.
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I submitted my application three weeks ago. When will I hear from the SSP?
The admissions committee reads application files only after all completed forms, including the teacher report, the counselor report, and the most recent transcript, have been filed. Once an application is complete, it takes approximately two weeks for a decision to be made and recorded. Please be patient.
Academics and Registration
Are any four-week courses available, or do all the courses last eight weeks?
Most SSP students enroll in Harvard Summer School classes that meet over the course of the regular eight-week session. However, a few courses scheduled for the short sessions are available to SSP students.
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A student enrolled in the equivalent of 1 credit over one week is considered full time. Thus, a full-time student is enrolled in a 4-credit course in either short session I or session II, or 8 credits over the regular eight-week session.
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No. That would create an academic overload during short session I.
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Are there any science research opportunities in the Summer School?
The new Summer Seminars offer research opportunities. Also there are laboratory science courses offered that will give students the necessary backgrounds to do research later.
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When will I receive my grades?
Grade reports are not automatically mailed to students. Grades are available online via Summer School online services about two weeks after the close of the academic session. Students need their Social Security numbers or student identification numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs) to view and print copies of their grades. Official transcripts are mailed to students only upon request.
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Students may leave campus immediately after their last exam. In exceptional cases, students who cannot be in Cambridge at the time of a final examination may petition to take the exam in absentia.
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I'm making my travel arrangements. When may I plan to leave campus?
Students often leave campus within a few hours of their last final exam.
Transcripts and Transfer Credit
Order a transcript for each college to which you would like one sent. Transcript request forms may be downloaded from the forms page.
You will need to check with the registrar’s office at your college or university. That office will almost certainly ask you to provide them with an official Harvard transcript.
Campus Life
No. We try to make the SSP experience as much like a first-year college experience as possible, and part of that experience is learning to live with new people.
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May we know our roommates’ names and home addresses before Summer School begins?
No, because housing assignments are being made and changed right up until the time students arrive at Harvard.
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What should I bring to Harvard?
Dormitory rooms contain a bed, mattress, pillow, dresser, bookcase, desk, and chair for each student. Students provide their own linens, desk lamps, wastebaskets, and other desired furnishings. There is one telephone with local service per suite. Students may make long distance calls using credit or calling cards and may purchase prepaid cards at reduced rates during Opening Weekend. Students may rent bed linens from the campus linen service. Coin-operated laundry machines are available in many dormitories, and laundry services may be purchased. Students may also rent answering machines, fans, computers, and refrigerators.
Members of the Pops Band must attend five weekly rehearsals. Thus, unless students enrolled for just one of the short sessions live nearby and attend rehearsals during the session in which they are not enrolled, they may not perform in the concert.
Due to the intensive rehearsal schedule of the chorus and orchestra, students attending either short session may not audition for these groups unless they are able to attend all scheduled rehearsals.
What is a “typical day” like for an SSP student?
Good question! Read about a “typical day” in the Campus Life section to see what a day might be like for you.
Getting to Campus
Students are responsible for getting themselves to campus. Transportation from Logan Airport to Harvard is safe, fast, and easy. Taxi is the preferred carrier, especially for those with heavy luggage. The cab ride costs $25-$30 and takes only 15 to 20 minutes. The subway takes longer, but costs only $1.70 to $2.00 —a shuttle takes you from the terminal to the Blue Line, and later you transfer to the Red Line; or the Silver Line bus will take you from the terminal directly to the Red Line. (The subway involves several changes, which is why we recommend a taxi.) Also see Directions.
Where should I tell the cab driver to take me?
Details on where to go once you arrive on campus are included with housing information. Also see Directions.
Privacy
How do you protect the personal information that I submit online?
When you browse or enter information on our website, we store that information on a different system apart from where our website resides. Once you register for courses, the privacy of your educational record is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
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Will you give my e-mail address to a third party?
We do not sell, trade, or rent any of your personal information to others.
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Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your hard drive so that the web server can “remember” you the next time you visit a website. The cookies created by Harvard Summer School websites do not contain any personally identifying information and therefore do not put your privacy at risk.
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For More Information
Additional questions? Contact the SSP Office.
Call the SSP Office at (617) 495-3192 or send us an e-mail. Our e-mail address is ssp@hudce.harvard.edu.
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