Questions about summer programs for hs students on college campuses
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Anonymous
| I have seen programs for hs students on several college websites (eg Penn, Davidson, Georgetown, WM, Princeton). Is it common for hs students to attend these programs? I am thinking such a program would help my shy DC (current junior) become familiar with the feel of campus residential life and meet some kids from other parts of the country. Worth the expense? Does anyone have experience with any program that you would recommend? Does attending a summer program help to show interest in a particular school? I have known two kids who attended summer programs at their "dream" schools but both were rejected. TIA for any info. |
Anonymous
| Two of my kids did the Brown summer program and loved it. It didn't help them get into Brown U. for college, but it was a valuable experience for them both. They made friends, took an interesting class or two, and got a taste of what college independence is all about. I think between junior and senior year is a good time for such programs, as they tend to not be that heavily structured or supervised. I'd hesitate sending a young teen, but for older teens who can handle some independence it's perfect. |
Anonymous
| DD did a program and liked the academic program a great deal but did not like the organization that ran it (most of the day to day matters are often run by a group called Summer Discovery, not the university. That wasn't clear to us when we signed up but they run many of the programs on your list). They had all sorts of required activities that she just wasn't interested in. She also said they organized a lot of the weekend trips around shopping because there were quite a few very wealthy students in the program from abroad. On the whole she was glad she did it because she loved the academics and she learned that she didn't want to ultimately attend a large university like the one she was at for the summer, so that was very helpful for her college plans. I would recommend it, but just be aware of how the program is run. |
Anonymous
| Oh, and just to be clear, the weekend shopping trips were required. |
Anonymous
| Do not waste your money on ID-Tech. Like 23:04's program, it is not run by the university and is really a waste of money. |
Anonymous
My DS really enjoyed ID Tech. I'm PP and I was referring to programs like the high school programs at UPenn, Georgetown, etc . . .. I don't think anyone is under the impression that ID Tech is actually run by the universities. It also tends to attract younger kids -- by the time my DS was a teen he wasn't interested in ID Tech anymore. Its really a kind of gap program for kids who need a week here and there in the summer. The academic programs OP is referring to are very different -- generally for rising juniors and seniors and have actual college level courses. |
Anonymous
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If your kid qualifies for Johns Hopkins CTY, send him/her to a CTY residential summer camp. A shy, nerdy kid may find a suitable peer group there, and the programs are located on college campuses.
As a rule, summer program participation does not provide a hook for admissions, except for very selective summer programs; and even then it's a crapshoot. |
Anonymous
No. Both my kids did I.D. Tech. The program runs through 19. http://www.idtech.com/. |
Anonymous
My son did CTY camp in 9th grade but found it a bit too nerdy. He had a better summer at Brown in 11th grade. |
Anonymous
| I did one of these programs (Cornell), and I DID end up getting in for college. It is a well-established program. Overall, I would say that they learn independence, have a chance to make new friends, and handle college-level classes. Of course, they are going to do all of this in a year anyway, and they tend to be expensive. These days, if you have the money, I would probably do something international or creative. |
Anonymous
What I wrote was that the kids who actually attend skew younger. It goes to age 19 but you don't see many teens that old. |
Anonymous
| My kid did Davidson College's July Experience last summer. It was great - run by the school itself, with real college professors teaching interesting material to small groups on a cute, small campus. |
Anonymous
| If coming from a strong HS with challenging academics during the year, just not sure these programs are really all that helpful. They do not really seem to provide any sort of admissions hook for kids from strong academic backgrounds already (if from a weak HS, may help reassure a top school that the student could master the work in a more competitive environment). Doing an academic/intense program between junior and senior year seems not a great idea, spring of junior year and fall of senior year are so incredibly intense/stressful anyway, signing on for more academic intensity for the summer seems tough, maybe better between sophmore and junior year. And the students at these programs are NOT the college students themselves, even if the school has an active summer school, the HS students are kept pretty segregated. Really doesn't give the kids an idea what the place will be like in a regular college term. Exceptions might be Dartmouth (since all students required to be there one summer term at least), Middlebury (their strong language intensive summer programs full of Midd and other top students from all over, but the HS students I believe are actually kept at a different campus i.e. Breadloaf or Putney). |
Anonymous
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What 15:15 said. The only exception I can think of might be for potential architecture majors who are wondering whether to commit to a BARCH program. (The bachelor of architecture is different from a liberal arts BA, it's pretty much all architecture, all the time, and so you really have to know this is for you before you start a BARCH program.)
Also, I don't think taking more classes over the summer is going to boost your application relative to, say, having some great extracurricular experience where you take your own initiative and the learning is more hands-on vs. academic. I also disagree somewhat (not completely) with the advice to go international. I read somewhere that college admissions officers pretty much understand that Summer at Oxford is "Pub Crawl 101" and the same is usually true of other European college summer offerings. Which is too bad, because I was thinking DC might like the gothic atmosphere and the academic environment at Oxford  Also, college admissions officers are apparently sick of reading essays about how helping the poor in Haiti made you realize we're all the same, unless you can put a really unusual spin on your essay.
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Anonymous
VA Tech has a good weeklong summer program called Inside Architecture + Design. DD did it and really enjoyed it. She was later accepted to the interior design program at VA Tech (but ultimately chose to attend another school). Info is at https://sites.google.com/site/insidearchitectureanddesign/. It's affordable and engaging - very hands-on look at the design professions. |