If you're a high schooler looking to explore your academic interests, you could take a virtual course or attend a local summer program. But if you also want to get a feel for what college life is like, a residential program is worth looking into. Residential programs allow you to take classes at a university, living in dorms and participating in campus life the way undergraduates do. You can attend lectures in subjects that interest you, join extracurricular activities, and go on excursions with peers from around the world.

Residential programs are especially useful because they give you access to a university's resources and the surrounding city. If you're interested in business, for example, you could study finance in New York and visit top investment firms. Taking part in an enrichment program can also help you stand out in college admissions by showing your intellectual curiosity and ability to adapt to new environments, both academic and otherwise.

In this blog, we’ll review a leading residential summer program for high schoolers, Immerse Education. Immerse runs academic and career exploration programs for high schoolers at Oxford, Cambridge, and eight other universities across the world. We'll walk through the different programs Immerse offers, who teaches them, the subjects available, and what the application process looks like. We'll also look at what alumni have to say about the experience and go through the pros and cons of participating. Let's get started!

What Is Immerse Education?

Immerse Education runs summer programs for high school students across 40 subjects at universities in Oxford, Cambridge, London, New York, Sydney, and other global cities. Depending on which pathway you choose, you can take university-level classes with expert tutors or develop skills for careers in your field with industry professionals.

In addition to its in-person programs, Immerse offers an online research program where you work one-on-one with a tutor from Oxford, Cambridge, or an Ivy League university to write a research paper on a subject of your choice.

Immerse was founded in 2012, and over 20,000 students have taken part in its programs since then. The programs are accredited by the British Accreditation Council (BAC), so the program meets quality standards for both academic rigor and student safety. Immerse also runs a global scholarship essay competition each year, giving students the chance to win full or partial funding toward any of its programs. If you’re interested in entering the essay contest, you can learn more here!

What Programs Does Immerse Education Offer?

Immerse offers three pathways for high schoolers: Academic Insights, Career Insights, and the Online Research Programme. Here's a breakdown of each:

1. Academic Insights

This two-week program for students aged 13 to 18 allows you to take undergraduate-level classes at Oxford, Cambridge, Sydney, Toronto, and other top universities. You can choose from more than 20 subjects, including business management, philosophy, law, computer science, chemistry, and medicine. You’ll learn from experts who have studied at Stanford, Harvard, and other leading universities.

Classes are capped at 12 students and combine seminars, one-on-one tutorials, and activities that let you apply what you're learning. For instance, you’ll work on coding projects in the Artificial Intelligence track, and design buildings in a studio if you’re studying architecture.

2. Career Insights

Career Insights is a two-week program for students aged 15 to 18 in major business cities like London, New York, San Francisco, and Tokyo. You can choose from more than 10 industries, including banking, medicine, law, entrepreneurship, and digital art. You’ll work on projects that develop industry-specific skills, attend workshops led by professionals, and receive one-on-one career coaching.

The program lets you visit offices, factories, and other facilities in the city to understand how your target industry works. This can give you access to insights and mentorship that would be difficult for a high schooler to get otherwise. For example, you could interact with doctors at leading hospitals like Mount Sinai by choosing the medicine track in New York. If you're interested in technology, you could visit software companies in the Bay Area to learn how to break into the field.

3. Online Research Programme (ORP)

This online program pairs you with a tutor from Oxford, Cambridge, or an Ivy League university to write an original research paper on a subject of your choice. It runs year-round for students aged 13 to 18. You can study subjects like economics, cybersecurity, mathematics, computer science, physics, and English literature.

The program is designed to build your subject knowledge and the research skills you'll need at university. You’ll receive personalized feedback from your tutor, and if you opt into the publication track, a publication coach will help you prepare your final paper for submission to independent high school research journals.

Who Are Immerse's Tutors?

The tutor profiles we found show that Immerse's tutors have strong credentials in their fields. Many have studied at Oxford or Cambridge, and others have MBAs from top business schools. Some tutors have professional experience at companies like McKinsey or in research-focused fields like biotech.

This means you can get personalized guidance from someone who’s been at your dream university or company. You can see some of the tutors you could work with below:

Who Is Eligible for Immerse Programs?

Students from anywhere in the world within the following age ranges can apply:

Academic Insights: ages 13–18
Career Insights: ages 15–18
Online Research Programme: ages 13–18

You'll need to be proficient in spoken English, and if you want to receive academic credit through the program, you must be at least 14.

How Do I Apply to Immerse?

The process starts with selecting a program on the Immerse website. You’ll then fill out an application covering your academic background, subject interests, and reasons for applying. Once the team confirms you're a good fit, you'll finalize your enrollment, decide whether you'd like to live on or off campus, and choose any add-ons like academic credit.

Since Immerse offers three pathways across 40 subjects and 10 locations, it might seem challenging to narrow down the right program. We recommend asking yourself a few questions to help find the right fit:

What is my learning goal?: Do you want to take college-level courses, learn about different careers, or conduct original research in your field? This will help you narrow it down to a pathway.
What field do I want to pursue long-term?: While you don’t need to have everything figured out, choosing a subject you’re considering for your college major or career can be very useful. You’ll figure out if the field is a good match for your strengths, and you’ll have concrete experiences and skills you can mention in your college applications.
What is my learning style?: If you learn more by reading academic texts and participating in seminars, Academic Insights would be a good fit for you. But if you prefer hands-on learning through workshops and projects, Career Insights would be a better option.

If you’d like expert help choosing a program, you can also sign up for a free consultation with the Immerse team. A consultation can point you towards the best subject-location combination for your interests since the team has worked with thousands of students.

Does Participating in Immerse Help With College Applications?

Taking part in an Immerse program can help you get a clearer sense of what university life looks like, which is useful for putting together a college list. You can experience what it’s like to study in a historic university town like Oxford or Cambridge, or take classes in a metropolitan city like New York or Sydney.

In terms of the application itself, you can ask your Immerse tutor for a letter of recommendation, which provides evidence of your academic ability from outside school. Through the Academic Insights program, you can earn 3 US academic credits or 8 UCAS credits for UK university applications. You’ll also receive a Certificate of Completion, which you can add to your applications.

We looked into the college admissions results of Immerse alumni, and past students have been accepted to Oxford, Cambridge, and Cornell. The program doesn't publish admissions data other than student case studies, so it's hard to know how typical those outcomes are. However, these results suggest that Immerse students are competitive for top university admissions.

What Do Past Students Say About Immerse Programs?

We went through Immerse’s reviews on TrustPilot and Reviews.io and found that students generally have positive things to say about their experience. On TrustPilot, Immerse holds a rating of 4.8 out of 5 from over 400 reviews, and on Reviews.io, a 4.9 out of 5 from over 200 reviewers.

Across both platforms, students highlight the academic support from their tutors and the friendships they made with peers from other countries. A number of reviewers also mention that the program helped them decide on a college major. You can see some of the student reviews below:

Pros and Cons of Immerse Education

Pros

Academic rigor across many subjects: Both Academic Insights and the ORP introduce you to university-level learning, which is useful preparation for college. With 40 subjects, including niche fields like criminology, nanotechnology, and film and animation, you can explore fields you might not have access to in high school.
Highly customizable experience: Three pathways, 40 subjects, and 10 locations allow you to build a program that fits your specific goals. You can select a location that offers special resources for your subject, opt to live on campus or commute, and choose to receive academic credit.
Experience university life in a global city: Living and studying on a campus abroad helps you develop independence and connect with peers from all over the world. It's also a good way to prepare for the transition to college, especially if you're considering applying to universities abroad.
College application benefits: Immerse offers several concrete ways to strengthen your university applications, such as a tutor recommendation letter, academic credit, and the Certificate of Completion. Many students also find the experience helpful for narrowing down a college major.

Cons

A lot of options to sort through: The range of subjects, locations, and formats is one of Immerse's strengths, but it can also make it harder to identify the right program, especially if you're drawn to more than one subject or city. You'll likely need to spend some time with the program prospectus or book a consultation to find the best fit.
Requires independence and commitment: The residential programs ask you to live in a new country for two weeks, which requires a willingness to adapt. The ORP requires strong self-motivation to complete a research project from start to finish. Students who are genuinely committed to learning tend to get the most out of Immerse programs.
Cost: Immerse programs can be expensive, and for international students, there are also travel and visa costs. The program offers scholarships through its annual essay contest, and bursaries for students of all nationalities, but financial support isn't guaranteed. It's worth thinking carefully about whether the program fits your goals before committing.

Final Thoughts: Is Immerse Worth It?

Immerse Education is a well-structured enrichment program for high schoolers who are curious about a subject and want to experience life at a top university. Through lectures, site visits, and activities, you can see what your subject of interest looks like at the academic and professional levels. Immerse is a particularly good option if you're trying to narrow down what you want to study in college or explore as a career.

The ability to combine a subject with a specific city sets Immerse apart. You can study philosophy in Cambridge, visit private equity firms in New York City, or meet software engineers in Silicon Valley, depending on what you're interested in. That said, Immerse programs come with a cost, so it's worth weighing that carefully against the potential benefits. Overall, Immerse is worth considering if you're looking to explore a subject in depth, develop relevant skills, and get a feel for university life in a new city.

What is Immerse Education? An Overview