Unhappy With Summer Pre-College Program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, OP, but why on earth would you send a kid to a month-long "pre-college" program when they're gonna be in real college before you know it?

OP here. It's just a term that's used for academic programs held on college campuses. They sort of give high school students a little "taste" of college. Some people do them thinking they will help with college admissions, which they almost always don't (with a few exceptions). We did it as a way to:

1. Give our kid a little independence. (Force a little independence...)
2. Help her think about what kind of college she'd like to attend. (Did she like a campus experience? Would she rather be in a city? Big? Small? Just thinking about what she liked and didn't like when she starts more seriously considering schools next year...)
3. Meet some nice people.
4. Take an interesting class. There was also a research component that was interesting to her for what she thinks she wants to study.

If you have the money, they may or may not be worth it as an experience. But as some people pointed out, they are far from a necessity. I had very good experiences with then when I was in high school, and I made some cool friends and broadened my horizons--which is what I am hoping for with my kid. I do need to think about that first reason and realize that even if I'm not thrilled with the program so far, this does foster independence, and I should try and let her work through that.

I'll rephrase: why on earth are you having your kid do anything academic in the summer at all?

Not OP, but presumably because her child wanted to. The kind of child who signs up for CTY enjoys learning and academic challenges.

Yea, she really seems to be enjoying herself . . .

Besides, OP has said nothing to suggest that "her child wanted to." It sounds like the mother signed her up because SHE did it in high school and liked it. And the whole CTY thing is rarely, rarely child driven.

If I were a college admissions person, not only would I view spending summers doing this not to be an advantage -- I'd hold it against the applicant. Doing things like this with your summer does not a well-rounded and interesting person make.

Shut up. You’re not helping. (Not OP, btw)

Sorry. I happen to think the whole thing was a terrible idea. And I just don't understand it.

OP…my kid WANTED to. She originally wanted MATH camp, which I thought sounded horribly boring and didn’t pan out anyway. I suggested an art program because she loves art, but she didn’t want to show people her work. I thought the kids would be more likely to be fun and accepting at a creative program, but she liked the research aspect of this. So, I didn’t force her at all. Done.

NP - you don’t owe anyone an explanation for this. PLENTY of kids get excited about an experience like this instead of sports camp or traditional summer camp or whatever. For my daughter the Great Books Summer Program (essentially literature and poetry camp!) Was life-changing. She goes to public school and had never experienced seminar style learning before or so many kids who loved what she loved. And after 2 summers it was on to debate camp - the ultimate in dorktastic fun. She loved it all!

[Anonymous]

I’m the first person that responded to your OP. I’m really impressed with your daughter and her perseverance with wanting to stay with the goal of making a friend. 2 people coming is a really good start and even the one staying for 30 min is a positive. Please keep us updated. Good idea that you suggested she draw in a more public area.

[Anonymous]

I went to a program like this when I was 15. It was an engineering program and there were 17 guys and me - the lone female. There was 1 RA and he checked out the first day and told us he’d be at his girlfriend’s and to call if we needed anything. There were no activities and class was only 4 hours a day. I was literally all alone because I was in a different floor/wing from all the boys.

I’m not sure what the dining situation is, but I got to know my fellow program participants at the dining hall. From there we would make plans for the afternoon or after dinner. We walked all over campus, went to a concert at a local small music venue, got ice cream, went to a movie, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, why is your teen doing summer school every summer for the last 3 summers? In our area, kids have NO BREAK from the academic pressure of high school. Have her get a job at the local pool or ice cream shop.

+100

My rising Junior is a straight A/honors/AP student and he is working this summer. He trains for his sport, hangs out with his friends and has a summer job. There is a lot of fun---pool time, basketball court with his old buddies around all of this.

Kids need a break from that academic pressure. My kid has always loved reading and does that on his own. But, man, give these kids a break. This is why they end up on antidepressants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, OP, but why on earth would you send a kid to a month-long "pre-college" program when they're gonna be in real college before you know it?

Not OP, but I went to a program like this at Ohio State the summer before my junior year in HS. I took one of the freshman engineering classes and it was a good way for me to get to know campus and to test out whether I really wanted to major in engineering. It really helped me when I was making decisions about what colleges to apply to and what I wanted to look for or ask about on my remaining college tours. I got to live in a dorm and eat in a dining hall - and have a lot of freedom. If I had ended up going to Ohio State, I would have credit for the class in advance and have an easier schedule my first semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why is your teen doing summer school every summer for the last 3 summers? In our area, kids have NO BREAK from the academic pressure of high school. Have her get a job at the local pool or ice cream shop.

+100

My rising Junior is a straight A/honors/AP student and he is working this summer. He trains for his sport, hangs out with his friends and has a summer job. There is a lot of fun---pool time, basketball court with his old buddies around all of this.

Kids need a break from that academic pressure. My kid has always loved reading and does that on his own. But, man, give these kids a break. This is why they end up on antidepressants.

That's great for your kid. But I notice that he's still working hard on something he enjoys, his sport. For some of our kids, taking a class in an area of interest is equivalent to training in a sport -- they enjoy working hard to get better at something that is important to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, why is your teen doing summer school every summer for the last 3 summers? In our area, kids have NO BREAK from the academic pressure of high school. Have her get a job at the local pool or ice cream shop.

+100

My rising Junior is a straight A/honors/AP student and he is working this summer. He trains for his sport, hangs out with his friends and has a summer job. There is a lot of fun---pool time, basketball court with his old buddies around all of this.

Kids need a break from that academic pressure. My kid has always loved reading and does that on his own. But, man, give these kids a break. This is why they end up on antidepressants.

Do you know OP’s kid?

[Anonymous]

DD is doing one of these camps also, but obviously a different one since there are tons of activities. And people are doing them, because there's evidently some type of contest where the group that has the most people go to the most activities wins something? So there's an incentive to not just sit in your room on your phone.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Well, I am bummed hearing that there are other programs doing more fun things. While some parents might have seen a program like this as more academics in an attempt to create more of a pressure cooker, that wasn’t my intention. In fact, I saw the academics as taking a secondary role to the entire experience. But I think this wasn’t the right program for that. So, I’d caution parents considering these kinds of programs to really dig in more to the specifics. My kid isn’t sporty and hasn’t held a job. She’s a nerd. I don’t say that in a mean way…just that all people are different and you can’t really force your child to be something they aren’t. You just try to bring out the best in who they are.

Next summer, unfortunately, she’s required for school to do an 8 week long internship + an in person class for a specialty center she’s in. So this was really the only summer she had to do something like this. I wish I had pushed her more into something that I knew would be creative. She’s really into science and art. I think an artsy kind of program would have been a lot more fun—but she just resisted showing people her art, and they want to see that you’re actually interested.

We got a letter from the program director that explained that our kid had an easier course load than a lot of the students because of the specific class she’s in and the research she’s doing, and that many students were just really studying and overwhelmed by the academics. I have no idea if that’s true. But it’s pretty depressing. They said there were some more activities coming up, but I can’t say I have a lot of faith. It’s pretty clear that they are super focused on the academics and that’s really it. I would not have chosen this program if I realized that.

But she seems to want to stay for now. So hopefully she ends up taking something away from it, even if it’s just more independence. The research might get better too. She thought it was cool to be in a lab and get to see how things worked in the field she’s interested in, and that was a big draw. But initially the grad students had no idea what to do with her so she was just sitting there. It seems like that’s getting better. I’m just going to keep encouraging her.

Thanks, everyone…except the haters. Lol.

Do your research if you’re considering something like this! These programs are expensive!!!!

[Anonymous]

Oh…OP again…we did plan a really fun family trip right before school starts that has ZERO studying and ALL fun. So I’m really glad I did that now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Well, I am bummed hearing that there are other programs doing more fun things. While some parents might have seen a program like this as more academics in an attempt to create more of a pressure cooker, that wasn’t my intention. In fact, I saw the academics as taking a secondary role to the entire experience. But I think this wasn’t the right program for that. So, I’d caution parents considering these kinds of programs to really dig in more to the specifics. My kid isn’t sporty and hasn’t held a job. She’s a nerd. I don’t say that in a mean way…just that all people are different and you can’t really force your child to be something they aren’t. You just try to bring out the best in who they are.

Next summer, unfortunately, she’s required for school to do an 8 week long internship + an in person class for a specialty center she’s in. So this was really the only summer she had to do something like this. I wish I had pushed her more into something that I knew would be creative. She’s really into science and art. I think an artsy kind of program would have been a lot more fun—but she just resisted showing people her art, and they want to see that you’re actually interested.

We got a letter from the program director that explained that our kid had an easier course load than a lot of the students because of the specific class she’s in and the research she’s doing, and that many students were just really studying and overwhelmed by the academics. I have no idea if that’s true. But it’s pretty depressing. They said there were some more activities coming up, but I can’t say I have a lot of faith. It’s pretty clear that they are super focused on the academics and that’s really it. I would not have chosen this program if I realized that.

But she seems to want to stay for now. So hopefully she ends up taking something away from it, even if it’s just more independence. The research might get better too. She thought it was cool to be in a lab and get to see how things worked in the field she’s interested in, and that was a big draw. But initially the grad students had no idea what to do with her so she was just sitting there. It seems like that’s getting better. I’m just going to keep encouraging her.

Thanks, everyone…except the haters. Lol.

Do your research if you’re considering something like this! These programs are expensive!!!!

"Holding a job" would have been a much better way to spend this summer, especially if she's being forced into another eight-week long program next summer.

I mean, wow.

[Anonymous]

My kid just got back from a 2 week program. It was actually run by the college, not one of the franchise programs. Though everyone we met was really nice, and the teacher seemed great when we met them at the end, the programming was really lackluster.

Everything was held on a sequestered part of the campus (fine) and despite being told students would be taken off campus and to the main/better part of campus several times, they didn't leave once. They also didn't take any field trips or do any social excursions, and the "dance" that was planned was cancelled due to rain. So while they had sports equipment set up and movies and dorm common rooms, there were zero off (second-rate) campus opportunities, when many were promised.

We have a deep affinity for the school, and the activity our kid signed up for was good and the kids he met were nice, but we were pretty disappointed at the programming aspect. Will definitely give "constructive" feedback.

I wonder if these camps are short staffed this summer to such a degree that can't do these things?

[Anonymous]

OP why haven't you named the program? At least you can help others avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Well, I am bummed hearing that there are other programs doing more fun things. While some parents might have seen a program like this as more academics in an attempt to create more of a pressure cooker, that wasn’t my intention. In fact, I saw the academics as taking a secondary role to the entire experience. But I think this wasn’t the right program for that. So, I’d caution parents considering these kinds of programs to really dig in more to the specifics. My kid isn’t sporty and hasn’t held a job. She’s a nerd. I don’t say that in a mean way…just that all people are different and you can’t really force your child to be something they aren’t. You just try to bring out the best in who they are.

Next summer, unfortunately, she’s required for school to do an 8 week long internship + an in person class for a specialty center she’s in. So this was really the only summer she had to do something like this. I wish I had pushed her more into something that I knew would be creative. She’s really into science and art. I think an artsy kind of program would have been a lot more fun—but she just resisted showing people her art, and they want to see that you’re actually interested.

We got a letter from the program director that explained that our kid had an easier course load than a lot of the students because of the specific class she’s in and the research she’s doing, and that many students were just really studying and overwhelmed by the academics. I have no idea if that’s true. But it’s pretty depressing. They said there were some more activities coming up, but I can’t say I have a lot of faith. It’s pretty clear that they are super focused on the academics and that’s really it. I would not have chosen this program if I realized that.

But she seems to want to stay for now. So hopefully she ends up taking something away from it, even if it’s just more independence. The research might get better too. She thought it was cool to be in a lab and get to see how things worked in the field she’s interested in, and that was a big draw. But initially the grad students had no idea what to do with her so she was just sitting there. It seems like that’s getting better. I’m just going to keep encouraging her.

Thanks, everyone…except the haters. Lol.

Do your research if you’re considering something like this! These programs are expensive!!!!

"Holding a job" would have been a much better way to spend this summer, especially if she's being forced into another eight-week long program next summer.

I mean, wow.

There was nothing wrong with OP’s choice for this summer, and she is right to have expected a more organized and social dorm experience for her child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid just got back from a 2 week program. It was actually run by the college, not one of the franchise programs. Though everyone we met was really nice, and the teacher seemed great when we met them at the end, the programming was really lackluster.

Everything was held on a sequestered part of the campus (fine) and despite being told students would be taken off campus and to the main/better part of campus several times, they didn't leave once. They also didn't take any field trips or do any social excursions, and the "dance" that was planned was cancelled due to rain. So while they had sports equipment set up and movies and dorm common rooms, there were zero off (second-rate) campus opportunities, when many were promised.

We have a deep affinity for the school, and the activity our kid signed up for was good and the kids he met were nice, but we were pretty disappointed at the programming aspect. Will definitely give "constructive" feedback.

I wonder if these camps are short staffed this summer to such a degree that can't do these things?

If I had to guess, it’s a matter of being short staffed and haven’t fulled returned to a pre covid experience. I’m sure a lot of this stuff was cut over the past two summers if the program even ran at all in person.