10 Summer Programs in Oklahoma for High Schoolers
What’s Covered:
There’s a lot to think about when planning for college, such as your GPA, standardized test scores, and extracurriculars like athletics, music, and clubs. One aspect of college preparation that sometimes gets overlooked is how you spend your summers. Pre-college summer programs are an excellent way for you to build valuable skills, improve your college readiness, and give your college admissions odds a boost.
10 Summer Programs in Oklahoma
1. Oklahoma Christian Honors Summer Academy
This one-week residential college experience provides promising high school students the chance to pursue coursework in Engineering, Bible, Humanities, Sciences, and Business and Finance. Participants earn two hours of transferable university credit and gain confidence in the core skill areas necessary for success after high school graduation.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Christian University
Grades: 9th, 10th, and 11th
Cost: $600
Deadline: 6/1/22
Application requirements: 20 ACT, 1040 SAT, 20 preACT, or 1020 PSAT (a letter of recommendation from a high school teacher or counselor is acceptable for students who have yet to take a standardized test)
2. Sooner Discovery
This four-week-long program aims to offer a full college immersion experience to talented high schoolers. Students take classes from distinguished faculty in the mornings and afternoons, live in dorms, and participate in exciting extracurricular events, activities, and field trips.
Affiliate Organization: University of Oklahoma
Grades: 11th and 12th
Cost: $2,970-$5,604
Deadline: 5/1/22
Application requirements: 24 ACT/1160 SAT or a 3.0 GPA and in the top 33.3% of their class
3. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Acting
This elite performing arts program at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center is open by audition only. It provides a two-week immersive experience consisting of professional training from faculty artists, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the Academy, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Awards. Acting students study character development, motivation, and analysis of intentions and objectives and their work culminates in a live performance and/or film screening.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident and an in-person audition
4. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Chorus
Members of this elite two-week residential chorus program at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center are led by internationally recognized conductors and expert vocal teachers/coaches. Only 60 students are accepted and participants receive individual and sectional coaching along with supplemental study and ensemble work, culminating in two chorus performances.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident and an in-person audition
5. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Creative Writing
Only 15-16 students are accepted to this two-week-long residential writing camp held at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center. Over the course of the program, students will explore various types of creative writing with a particular emphasis on poetry. Participants will build writing skills through practice, group discussion, and individual critiquing sessions with faculty.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident and two writing samples
6. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Dance
Dance students who participate in this two-week-long intensive program at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center can expect to spend five hours per day in ballet and modern dance classes. Students learn composition, improvisation, and repertoire while rehearsing for a final performance.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident and an in-person audition
7. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Drawing & Painting
This studio arts program spanning two weeks and taking place at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center is open to only 20 talented high school students who apply through an audition process. Accepted students study color, imagery, media, and various drawing and painting techniques before displaying their work in public exhibitions.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident, three portfolio pieces, and a still life
8. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Film & Video
Only 20 students are accepted to this elite two-week program at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center. Here, students gifted in the fields of film and video can expect to work collaboratively and learn about and take on the various roles on a film set including director, editor, grip, props, and more. Film assignments include both documentary and narrative genres, and final products are screened at a public exhibition.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident, video submission, and Zoom interview
9. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Orchestra
The Oklahoma Arts Institute Orchestra is a full symphony orchestra of talented high schoolers admitted through auditions only. Over the course of two weeks at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center, participants rehearse with professional orchestral musicians and receive individual and sectional coaching. Students will also have the option to participate in chamber music or ensemble work. All students perform in concerts at the end of the program.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident and an in-person audition
10. Oklahoma Arts Institute | Photography
In this two-week residential program at the Quartz Mountain Arts and Conference Center, 20 promising young photographers explore conventional and digital photography, along with darkroom and digital editing techniques. Students receive instruction in basic photographic techniques while also exploring the aesthetics of their surroundings. Student photography is displayed in a public exhibition at the completion of the program.
Affiliate Organization: Oklahoma Arts Institute
Grades: 9th-12th
Cost: $290
Deadline: N/A
Additional requirements: Oklahoma resident, portfolio of six to eight photographs, and a Zoom interview
How do Summer Programs Impact Your College Chances?
Your participation in summer programs will have a varying degree of influence on your chances of getting into your dream college. Everything from the selectivity and the prestige of the program itself to the weight a school gives extracurriculars (like summer programs) factors into the effect it has on your college odds.
The four tiers of extracurricular activities are a good guide for understanding how colleges view your participation in summer programs. Tiers one and two are home to the most recognizable and hardest to get into summer programs. Admissions officers rarely see top-tier summer programs, making them attention-grabbing and likely to strengthen your college chances.
Tiers three and four are home to less selective summer programs more commonly encountered by admissions officers. These programs don’t have the same value to colleges as their higher-tiered counterparts, but can still bolster your college odds. Participation in a lower-tiered summer program demonstrates to colleges a number of desirable qualities—most notably, the motivation to pursue fields that interest you. Many summer programs also contain college readiness components, which can give you an advantage over other applicants.
Curious about the effect extracurricular activities have on your chances of college admission? CollegeVine can help! Our free chancing calculator uses a variety of factors including grades, test scores, and extracurriculars to estimate your odds of getting into hundreds of colleges and universities while also providing insight into how to improve your profile.
