Summer Program Decision Help

If I were you, I'd go with the program at the University of Miami (if, of course, you're accepted!) It seems like you've already made your interest in the University of Florida perfectly clear, so it makes much more sense to save that $1,000 tuition for college costs, rather than using it to make a point to the UF admissions team that you've already established. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I think you should try to go to the UM program if possible. You won't send the wrong message to UF if you end up getting accepted. Competitive summer programs (if you can get accepted) look really good on college applications. The hard part will actually be getting accepted if it's as difficult as you say!

Do you have an idea of how competitive the UF program is? Generally, if the program is not too competitive/they take everyone and you have to pay it makes a pretty low impact, if any, on your application. This is because anyone with the financial means can attend the program and it's not based on your skills and abilities. That's not to say you can't go to the UF program but it's something to consider before dropping $1,000 on it.

Check out this article https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-decide-if-a-summer-program-is-worth-it/. I found it pretty helpful and it's helped me and my friends figure out if some programs we had considered were actually worth the time, effort, or money.

Personally, I think you should try your luck with both and apply to UF and UM. They both sound like great programs and if you get accepted to both, you'll have your pick between the two(I would pick UM).