Online or In Person? Choosing the Right Summer Program Format

When comparing summer programs, it can be tempting to assume that an in-person program will provide a richer experience than an online one. After all, residential programs promise much more than classes: students learn face-to-face, live away from home, meet other students throughout the day, experience life on a college campus, and often participate in activities outside the classroom.

Those can be important benefits. But we've also found that a well-designed online program can work surprisingly well, and sometimes be the better choice.

The key is to understand what you're giving up by going online, and what you're gaining in return.

What in-person programs do particularly well

For students looking for an immersive summer experience, it's hard to beat being there in person.

Students may spend several weeks living independently, meet people from around the country or world, interact informally with instructors and classmates, and participate in activities outside the academic program itself. For a student interested in experiencing college life, those interactions can be as important as the class.

Some subjects also naturally benefit from being in person. Laboratory science, field research, performing arts, hands-on engineering, and programs built around access to specialized facilities may be difficult to reproduce from home.

The tradeoff is that an in-person program can require committing a substantial portion of the summer to one experience. Residential programs also add housing, meals and sometimes travel to the cost. As one current example, Harvard's two-week residential Pre-College Program costs $6,100 in 2026, including tuition, room, meals and activities.

Don't dismiss online programs too quickly

We've had good experiences with synchronous online programs, where students meet live with an instructor and the same group of classmates at scheduled times.

Done well, this can feel much more like a real class than the phrase "online course" might suggest. Students can discuss ideas, ask questions, work with classmates and get immediate feedback from an instructor.

Established programs have also had years to figure out how to make this format work. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes, for example, uses small live classes with daily synchronous attendance and real-time discussion. Syracuse describes its online pre-college instruction as live video classes supplemented by activities such as guest speakers, virtual field trips and demonstrations.

That is a very different experience from watching a series of recorded lectures independently.

Online programs can also provide access to highly specialized courses that may not be available locally or even in person at all. If the primary goal is learning a particular subject, don't overlook a strong program simply because it's online.

Online can also leave room for the rest of summer

This has been one of the less obvious benefits in our experience.

A student can take a substantive course for part of the day while still having time for a job, volunteering, sports, another project, family travel, or simply having a slower summer pace.

There is no move-in day or commute. And if the alternative involves a residential program in another city, the family may also save substantially on housing, meals and travel.

Online can therefore be a particularly good format when the primary goal is the learning itself, rather than the broader residential or campus experience.

Of course, online learning also requires a different kind of discipline. Without the structure of physically going to class or living with other participants, some students may find it harder to stay engaged, particularly in programs with substantial asynchronous work.

"Online" doesn't tell you enough

This may be the most important distinction.

An online program might be:

• Fully synchronous, with live classes every day
• A mix of live instruction and independent work
• Primarily asynchronous, with occasional instructor interaction
• Almost entirely self-paced

Current programs illustrate the range. Stanford's Summer Institutes require daily live attendance, while Johns Hopkins describes its online Pre-College Programs as primarily asynchronous, with instructors potentially scheduling live interactions. Berkeley offers both synchronous and asynchronous options, while Georgetown has self-paced online courses supplemented by live sessions with university mentors.

Even the same provider may offer meaningfully different experiences by format. Johns Hopkins CTY notes that its in-person courses meet five to seven hours each weekday, while online versions of the same courses have one 90-minute meeting per week and cover less material.

That's why it's important to compare the actual structure and expected workload, not simply the course title, and decide which tradeoffs matter most to your student and your family.

So don't compare online vs. in person based on the label alone. Look at how the specific course actually works.

Questions to ask about an online program

Before enrolling, we would look for answers to questions such as:

• Is instruction synchronous, asynchronous, or a combination?
• How many hours each week are spent live with the instructor?
• How large is the class?
• Do students regularly interact with one another?
• Are there group discussions or collaborative projects?
• How accessible is the instructor outside scheduled class time?
• How much of the program is spent on screen outside of live class time?
• What will students actually produce or accomplish?
• How much independent work is expected?
• Does the student need to be available at specific times and in which time zone?

And perhaps most importantly: Has the program been designed for online learning, or has an in-person course simply been moved onto Zoom?

So which is better?

We don't think one format is inherently better.

If the goal is independence, campus life, friendships, hands-on experiences, or complete immersion in a subject, an in-person program may offer considerably more.

But if the primary goal is exploring or deepening an academic interest, a strong online program can offer excellent instruction while providing more flexibility and potentially reducing the overall cost of the summer.

Our experience has made us much less likely to dismiss an online program simply because it isn't residential. A well-designed synchronous course from an established provider can be engaging, rigorous and surprisingly social while still leaving room for everything else a student might want to do that summer.

The better question isn't "Is online as good as in person?" It's "What part of the summer-program experience matters most to this student, and which format delivers that best?"