Reply to Unhappy With Summer Pre-College Program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=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! [b]These programs are expensive!!!![/b] [/quote]

Well, I'm glad that you can afford the privilege to keep your kid in the upper class. Except it's not working.[/quote]

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