This summer, many PHS students will go to Harvard (or Yale or UPenn). But they won’t be attending Harvard College — instead, they’ll spend around $5,000 to join Harvard’s pre-college summer school, a two-week program that offers non-credit college level courses for around 2,800 high school students.

Pre-college programs are offered by most elite universities, including all Ivy League schools, with the exception of Princeton University. The programs are marketed as opportunities to explore academic passion and experience life on a college campus, though many students are also swayed by the belief that attendance will help them in the college admission process.

Although attending a pre-college program from a prestigous school sounds alluring, it’s not worth it. In addition to being a waste of both time and money, these programs present serious ethical problems.

PHS students as is are already in an elite academic environment, just a couple blocks away from one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The last thing we need is even more time in this bubble of exclusive academia.

First, consider who else is attending: likely wealthy students with the means to spend thousands on programs that generally offer little financial aid, with interests that fall within the limited range of courses offered. Being surrounded with such similar students, in such a similar academic environment, presents little new challenges or experiences.

This isolationism, or “Ivory Tower” seclusion, has been brought to attention in every recent major election, particularly since the rise of Donald Trump and his crusade against elite institutions for “indoctrinating students” and being “out of touch.” Though not necessarily correct, Trump’s claims do reflect a widening gap between college-educated and non-college-educated voters: in 2024, Trump secured non-college educated voters by 28 percentage points, but fell short of support from college educated voters by 8 percentage points.

It’s critical that as high school students we don’t continue to revel in this polarization, but instead work to engage with a bigger world — the real world. It’s admittedly difficult to do this in the school year, but the summers present a strong opportunity.

Further, many of the courses at pre-college programs are simply not effective ways to learn material. This year, Harvard is offering a two-week course called “Happiness and the Meaning of Life.” The topic, while interesting, is simply not something that can meaningfully be covered in such a short time frame. And, though most pre-college programs advertise a rigorous environment similar to what can be expected from an undergraduate course, most programs are taught by graduate students, not professors.

Finally, as an added benefit: not going to pre-college programs, but instead spending the summer engaged in the real world community, will make for a more interesting individual. Princeton (and the broader Mercer County) offers so many opportunities for true personal growth. From volunteering at a local organization to working a summer job, there are so many experiences that present a chance to learn in a new way, to face a real challenge, or to encounter a new perspective.

That’s something a pre-college could never teach.