CTY worth it?
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Anonymous
| I’m looking for good academic enrichment camps for my gifted kids. Should I enroll my (3rd and 4th grade) DDs into CTY in Baltimore if I live in DC? I’m wondering if it’s worth the commute. |
Anonymous
| There is no day camp worth that commute. That's at least an hour each way. Then do you need to go back to DC while they are in camp? |
Anonymous
No, I could technically stay in Baltimore until they are done. Or I could even just get us a hotel in Baltimore for a few weeks if the camp is worth it. |
Anonymous
| For day camp, no. But they can do the residential programs starting in 5th and that is 100% worth it |
Anonymous
| I mean, you can enrich at home. What are the topics and what are your goals? Are you really willing to hang around in Baltimore for eight hours each day, or spend all that money on a hotel room? I think you’re better off finding cheap camps and then taking your kids on a vacation to some great destination with the money that you saved. When they are older, they can do the residential camps. Mine did one in high school and said that it seemed like the quality really varied, depending on the topic. So depending on your academic goals for enrichment, make sure you research carefully about the specific CTY camps your kids might be interested in. |
Anonymous
| We enrich at home already. They are voracious readers and we travel internationally at least once a year. I was looking at the STEM based CTY courses in particular. We do science experiments at home for fun but I think they would benefit from a proper STEM based camp. |
Anonymous
| Wait until 5th grade and have them spend the summer on a college campus. DD did this 5th through 10th and had the time of her life. Not sure it really made a difference on college apps, but being surrounded by like-minded peers for three weeks, learning just to learn, is something you can’t get anywhere else. |
Anonymous
| Has anyone been recently and can share their thoughts on the elementary level program? |