Opportunity Guide I Summer, Enrichment & Activities Guide

Versed Opportunity Guide is a comprehensive pre-college enrichment program listing that details the vast array of US-based academic and extracurricular programs that provides opportunities for students to explore and pursue their interests and passions.  All entries are curated and many are recommended by our Parent Advisors.

The purpose of the guide is to educate parents and students about the best opportunities available at each age and academic level. These programs maximize learning opportunities and allow students to pursue their interests at the highest levels throughout their school years, which may give them an edge when applying to college.

How to use this guide:

The guide lists educational programs, camps, contests, competitions and other activities, both online and onsite, available to students that are categorized by academic and extracurricular interest. Additionally, the platform allows parents and students to search based on age, school year, location, and general search terms.

To begin, start with a broad interest category that pertains to your child and familiarize yourself with the activity path and how children interested in the same areas have successfully engaged in the variety of activities and programs listed in the guide. As you click on narrower categories, you will get a sense for many of the ways that highly engaged students follow their interests to the highest levels. At the same time, feel free to explore adjacent categories to find related areas as interests change and evolve over time.



  1. Environmental and Cultural Exchange for High School Students Our participants have authored or been recognized in numerous publications, and many have followed a path related to environmental… Read more
  2. The mission of Green River Preserve is to provide a challenging and nurturing learning experience and inspire a deep appreciation of interconnectedness, ecological respect, and the joy of living. To… Read more
  3. HCSSiM is an intensive six-week encounter with college-level mathematics for talented and highly motivated high school students. It is demanding and expanding. Participants spend a major portion of… Read more
  4. Founded in 2010, the Harvard Debate Council Summer Workshops is a project of the Harvard Debate Council and Harvard Debate Inc., a nonprofit 501(C)3 organization dedicated to providing opportunities… Read more
  5. A program for Boston and Cambridge high school students only, currently in grade 11 and 12, particularly students from groups underrepresented in medicine and/or disadvantaged students, to… Read more
  6. Founded in 1986, HMC is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit and the nation’s oldest government simulation conference run exclusively by undergraduates at Harvard College. HMC is also the most dynamic… Read more
  7. Imagine studying at Harvard for seven weeks, fully immersed in the college experience. Whether you choose to live on campus, commute, or take courses online, you’ll have the opportunity to explore… Read more
  8. Founded in 1998, the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT) is one of the largest and most prestigious high school math competitions in the world. Held on the campuses of Harvard and MIT in… Read more
  9. The week-long High School Student Congress gathers fifty rising high school seniors together with lawmakers, academics, journalists, and business leaders to learn about the political legacy of… Read more
  10. The HMI Semester: a single-semester accredited school for high school juniors and seniors, in the heart of the Colorado Rockies. HMI is akin to a college study abroad program, but for high school… Read more
  11. The High School Fed Challenge is an unforgettable experience in economic analysis, monetary policy decision-making, public speaking and teamwork. Schools in the Federal Reserve’s Second District are… Read more
  12. he High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM) was designed to provide students with the opportunity to work as team members in a contest that will stimulate and improve their problem… Read more
  13. The AAPT High School Physics Photo Contest is an international competition for high school students. For many years this contest has provided teachers and students an opportunity to learn about the… Read more
  14. The science camps seek to promote scientific literacy among high-school students. These camps are designed to instill a deeper appreciation of what science is about, the idea that science can be… Read more
  15. Summer courses for middle and high school students located on the Hofstra campus. Camp programs may include: journalism, foreign languages, sports broadcasting, math, diversity and writing.
  16. Hofstra University's Summer Science Research Program offers high school students opportunities in science research under the guidance of professionals in science and mathematics. For more than… Read more
  17. Hog Island Audubon Camps have a rich history in American Ornithology with its first bird instructor, Roger Tory Peterson, to it's current Director Dr. Stephen Kress. It offers many programs of… Read more
  18. Experience the world of design today, where technology is now incorporated into everything-- from projections of butterflies on Grammy performance dresses to "smart" purses that sense when your… Read more
  19. The Mathworks Honors Summer Math Camp (HSMC) is an intensive 6-week residential multi-summer program for high school students. The goal of the program is to develop talented students of all… Read more
  20. Since its founding in 1955, the Houston Ballet Academy has provided the highest quality ballet training to aspiring dancers. During the summer students will obtain training that will enrich and… Read more
  21. The primary goal of the NCAS CAREERS Weather Camps is to cultivate and expand the pool of the young environmental scholars, who will become the next generation leaders in geosciences and geoscience… Read more
  22. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum launched the National High School Design Competition in collaboration with Target in 2016. Every year, students around the country are challenged to design a… Read more
  23. The HudsonAlpha Educational Outreach team provides several weeks of summer Biotechnology Camps for middle school students. These half-day camps are available to rising 6th through rising 9th grade… Read more
  24. Hurricane Island’s middle school programs are all about exploration, fun, and hands-on learning opportunities. Daily activities will encourage students’ creative expression through nature journaling… Read more
  25. The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program is a paid summer internship and mentoring program for high school students, and is sponsored by the American Fisheries Society (AFS).Selected students… Read more
  26. An INL internship is a great way for students to gain life and work experience. Students get paid to participate in projects under the guidance of mentors who are experts in their fields. During… Read more
  27. The IDEA MATH program has been created to help able students to excel in learning math (with much more depth and breadth). In our programs, students will be able to expand their knowledge and to… Read more
  28. In a beautiful natural setting reminiscent of a traditional summer camp, the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program provides high caliber arts instruction and memorable arts immersion workshops to a diverse… Read more
  29. The construction and testing of model bridges promotes the study and application of fundamental principles physics and also helps high school students develop "hands on" skills through bridge… Read more
  30. This two-week residential program is designed to introduce high school students to the profession of architecture. Students will tour the city of Chicago, complete a series of design projects, and… Read more
  31. ITT offers a wide variety of summer programs and camps for middle and high school students. Programs can include: biology, computational science, digital humanities, coding, biomedical engineering,… Read more
  32. UBM (producer of Gamasutra.com and the Game Developers Conference) established the Independent Games Festival in 1998 to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize the best independent… Read more
  33. Summer Honors is a University program that enables high school students to explore an academic interest, experience campus life—and earn University credit. All one-week seminars will be held on the… Read more
  34. Join us for an immersive learning experience at Indiana University Bloomington, where high school students participate in hands-on workshops to practice and improve their skills, and high school… Read more
  35. Hoosier Debate Camp is a premier debate institute designed for high school students. Mature middle school students with high reading and critical thinking skills are welcome to join. We teach three… Read more
  36. The Cook Honors College hosts IUP’s Summer Honors Program (SHP), where talented rising high school juniors and seniors get a first-hand look at life on campus. It’s a unique opportunity to explore… Read more
  37. You've heard about engineering, but what is it really? What do engineers do? Engineering is everywhere. Is it for you? Explore engineering with other young women your age at the annual Preparing… Read more
  38. Funded by the National Science Foundation, Nanotechnology Experiences for Students and Teachers (NEST) is a two week program that provides a unique opportunity for high-school students and teachers… Read more
  39. The Future Scientist Program is a summer science program for high school juniors at Indianapolis and all Marion County public schools, providing them the opportunity to spend six weeks on a research… Read more
  40. The IU Simon Cancer Center Summer Research Program (SRP) aims to increase the number of high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented populations pursuing biomedical and behavioral… Read more
  41. Experience life as a business student, while still in high school. It’s never too early to start thinking about your future. In fact, if you’re a hardworking sophomore or junior high school student… Read more
  42. Join our team! Each year we select expedition teams of 8-9 teenage girls and 3 instructors to spend 12 days exploring and learning about glaciers and the alpine or marine environment. Through… Read more
  43. The Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth leads a project funded by the National Science Foundation called Partnerships for polar science education and outreach in Greenland (JSEP) and Antarctica… Read more
  44. ICS maintains a listing of hundreds of academic competitions in order for students to get ranked in their ICS Global Academic Champions Ranking. Since 2012, ICS has been defining best-practices in… Read more
  45. The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), a program of Society for Science & the Public (the Society), is the world’s largest international pre-college science… Read more
  46. Interlochen was founded in 1928 and is located in beautiful northwest lower Michigan. Each year, thousands of artists and arts patrons come to Interlochen to experience world-class educational and… Read more
  47. The International Brain Bee was founded in 1998 by Dr. Norbert Myslinski with a mission to build better brains to fight brain disorders. Since its inception, the International Brain Bee has inspired… Read more
  48. The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of synthetic biology, education and competition, and the… Read more
  49. The Gutenberg Award recognizes exceptional achievement in the field of Graphic Arts. Awards are available for printed items, Web sites, and photographs. Entries may be submitted by graphic arts… Read more
  50. The IOL is one of 12 International Science Olympiads for secondary school students, and has been held annually since 2003. Each year, teams of young linguists from around the world gather and test… Read more