Anyone have experience with "Economics for Leaders" (EFL) summer program?
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Anonymous
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My kid just finished a week program there and it exceeded expectations.
Peer group was very strong and included rising seniors and rising juniors. Economics curriculum was very engaging and teachers strong. Leadership activities were ok and focused more on teamwork-collaboration, but it facilitated problem-solving and teamwork. Some of the value was ability to stay in dorm for a week in a college on my kid's list and experience that independence, as well as living with a roommate for a week. Strongly recommend. It's pricey ($2K for one week) but my kid said it was very much worthwhile. |
Anonymous
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I did it online between my sophomore and junior year (summer 2021) and don't feel like it added anything of value to my life. The poster who said you need to take economics is wrong; I did not take econ until my senior year.
I remember almost nothing other than that the program was trying really really hard to make the students pro-free-market without teaching much actual economic theory; I learned a lot more of the latter in AP Econ. The book they paired with the course that you had to read if you wanted college credit was even more propagandistic than the online class, which at least tried to seem somewhat unbiased. The students in the program had pretty good outcomes; all of the people I have on Instagram are attending T20s. It's probably correlation, not causation, though. I'm now an econ major in college and feel that a somewhat critical appraisal of economic theory actually made me more comfortable with the discipline at large; my micro professor's maxim of "All models are wrong, but some are useful" had a much bigger impact on the way I approach my work than anything I did in that week. I imagine the experience is more enriching in person. I still get emails from FTE from time to time, but the follow-up programs are a little odd: why would you want to pay to do an internship? |
Anonymous
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🙄
glad you have it all figured out, freshman. |
Anonymous
| DS did 2 programs last summer at Yale (global entrepreneurhip) and UCSB (Econ and the environment). Solidified interest in Econ. He changed his junior year course selections based on the experience. Very interesting that the Econ rigor was different at different campuses within the different programs. The leadership programs were also tailored to the location. He came out much more confident in Econ. Kids were definitely also locked in - not a pay to go program. Academically focused with good grades. Not in college yet so no idea about impact on admissions but overall definitely worth it… maybe 8/10. |
Anonymous
This sounds accurate for my DS as well. He just did the in person program at Berkeley last month and really enjoyed it. Very bright, personable peers and great teacher. |
Anonymous
| It sounds like the in-person programs are a lot more valuable and engaging than the virtual online one. |
Anonymous
Am I not allowed to state my own experience? Unlike every other person on this thread, I actually attended the program. People on this forum have the most aggravating superiority complexes I've ever seen. Get over yourself, and if you want to argue with me, at least say something of substance. |
Anonymous
there is no such thing as "superiority complex". you are just a child. we don't care to hear from you. |
Anonymous
Agree - the value of the on campus experience was significant. It sort of “amplified” the content if that makes sense. DS didn’t go back this summer but did end up taking and enjoying AP Macro and AP Micro and doing well in both. Wouldn’t have had the interest and probably confidence to do it without those programs. |
Anonymous
In their defense you called “pro free market” propaganda |
Anonymous
| My kid attended one of these economic summer experiences and decided not to pursue economics. But he enjoyed the experience, got exposed to a different but engaged peer group, and keeps in touch with his classmates. So for us it was a useful program but a bit pricey. |
Anonymous
I'm sure your children appreciate that mentality. |
Anonymous
The class itself was mostly fine. It's the accompanying book that was egregious; The Economics of Public Issues is one of the most biased presentations of pro-free market thought that I have ever seen. I'm not anti-free market myself, but have enough critical thinking skills to recognize extreme bias when I see it. Listen to Freakonomics instead, it's of actual substance. |
Anonymous
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I attended WAY back in 1998. I stayed involved with the organization and its programs through college. This is, of course, looking at something through a foggy 26 year old lens, but the experience was transformative. During that time, one of the econ professors at the summer program ended up being one of my econ professors at the university I attended. Turned out to be such a great mentor and wrote me a hell of a recommendation for econ grad school.
I highly recommend the program to anyone even slightly interested in economics. |
Anonymous
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The "college" "credit" is only 2 credit non-economics elective credit, only at U Colorado Colorado Springs.
Not relevant at another 4 year university. |