No summer program that you pay to participate in will afford you any significant benefit in the college application process no matter where it is located. So, just because you participated in the Summer Superstar program at Phenomenal University - even if you stayed in the residence halls, ate in the cafeteria, met current students and utilized the athletic facilities - your chances of getting in to PU when all is said and done are in no way improved.
The benefit of having been on the campus for a program is just that; you now know what the facilities are like and can speak with some authority about what living on the PU campus in the summer is like.
Colleges rent their facilities out to companies and organizations in summers. This is an important revenue stream for many of them, and the fees that you pay to participate in the program are a part of that.