You want to get a leg up on the competition, and will do anything to ensure college admission victory. The latest insurance policy? College admission prep camps, aimed at getting you ready for your all-important college applications. But is the prep worth the expense?

Camp directors say so. "Selecting colleges and preparing college applications are among the most important elements of one's young life, yet students are cramming these decisions and applications into the cracks of their busy, academic-year lives," says David Allen, executive director of The Brighton Foundation. "They are under pressure from parents, counselors, and peers. It makes all sorts of sense to prepare for college ... at college," he continues. At such camps, high school students spend their time studying--not an academic subject--the college admissions process itself.

The Education Unlimited prep camp, offered on East and West Coast college campuses, is a haven for overachievers. "We work with a range of students, but most who attend are A- to B-range by grade, and are motivated to make the most of their college experience," says Matthew Fraser, its executive director. "Our SAT prep program on the old SAT averaged gains of 100 points or more for program participants who completed all required work," he says. They anticipate gains of nearly 200 points on the new SAT.

"Mainly, I wanted to boost my SAT score, and that turned out really well," says Eli Menaker, now a freshman at Middlebury College (Middlebury, VT). He attributes the time he spent at Education Unlimited's prep camp at Stanford University (Stanford, CA) to helping him learn valuable test tricks that ultimately boosted his score by 200 points. He also received help from current college students with writing his college admission essay. "I feel I got my money's worth," he says.

However, not everyone believes college prep camps are worth the expense. "Those lucky enough to be able to afford a camp experience would be much better served by taking an academic subject at a school or college, taking a trip, or doing community-oriented work," says Bruce Poch, vice president and dean of admissions at Pomona College (Claremont, CA). "Sitting in a backyard and reading a pile of books out of personal interest would produce a more rewarding summer and may even provide something of real substance to talk about in a college interview."

"Students don't need all these special tricks to gain admission even to highly selective colleges," he continues. "I think college admissions prep camps are another exploitation of anxiety about the college process."

David Evans, vice president of Academic Study Associates, which runs college prep camps at the University of Massachusetts; University of California, Berkeley; and Oxford, would disagree. He sees prep camps as an opportunity for students to get a taste of college while in high school. Living on a college campus can teach students independence, time management, and strategies for living with a roommate, Evans explains. All such lessons can take away some of the fear and anxiety of going to college.

"We all know how important it is to be as prepared as possible, and any experience you can have before you get to college is beneficial," says Evans. "Our program gives students that confidence, so that when they do get there, they're ready."

Those at The Princeton Review College Discovery Experience are also more than willing to help ease your college anxiety. "It helps demystify the college admission process and increase student self-confidence," says Bob Musiker, executive director of Summer Discovery, which facilitates the program. "It helps alleviate the anxiety that high school students often have about applying to and going to college."

For those who would like to attend a college prep camp, but can't quite afford it, there are scholarships available. According to The Brighton Foundation, since it's a nonprofit organization, more than 20 percent of its participants receive full or half scholarships.

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