Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Could we try to make a big list of quality summer programs for high schoolers? I'm thinking of programs that offer unique educational opportunities or that are low cost access to college learning environments. Fees are understandable, especially if students earn college credit. But I'm less interested in the profit oriented programs that charge a lot and seem more like glorified summer camp than a chance to explore higher level academics. Service Academy summer programs have been mentioned in the past. But there must be other good options. Comments on personal experience would be especially nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 American University Comminity of Scholars college courses for high schoolers The daughter of friends of ours did this program over the summer. They were impressed with the course, and thought it offered a good academic experience. Students did online coursework for a week before going to the campus. Then they had two weeks of on campus programming (resident and commuter options available). Students had to do all of the coursework and submit a paper after the classes in order to earn credit. Costs run $2800-4200 depending on if you live on campus. This is on the high end for high school summer programs. However, other courses at American run about $1000+ per credit hour for non-degree and online students. Of course, you're at the mercy of your eventual college as to how these credits are counted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 SAME Society of American Military Engineers Summer Camps General application process is to apply to a SAME post for sponsorship (it's also possible to be a non-sponsored applicant). Camps look like they cost about $550 (not including travel). Applications for 2014 aren't open yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Definitely not free, but my ds has had incredible experiences at summer camps.......math zoom, astronomy camp, and the summer science program. He recommends all three. Dd attended Concordia villages and her experience was that while it was fun, it wasn't the full immersion experience she was hoping for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildiris Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Not free and not cheap, but very academic, CTY. DD did their Number Theory class last summer. She met a bunch of new people and the class was challenging. The book was $$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 My older daughter participated in Michigan Tech's Women in Engineering program, and it was a phenomenal experience! It's a highly competitive scholarship program (based on academics, not financial need). She spent a week in the dorms, worked in the labs on two chemical engineering projects and had the opportunity to interact with faculty and other students interested in engineering.The whole experience was pretty instrumental in her decision to pursue chemical engineering when she went off to college. Michigan Tech has a number of competitive scholarship Summer Youth Programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 Definitely not free, but my ds has had incredible experiences at summer camps.......math zoom, astronomy camp, and the summer science program. He recommends all three. Dd attended Concordia villages and her experience was that while it was fun, it wasn't the full immersion experience she was hoping for. 8, where did he do these science and math camps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 What we found is that the free programs are generally extremely competitive, as in the odds for getting into Harvard are better than being accepted into an individual program, so my advice would be to apply to as many as are of interest and your student has time for applications and essays. I agree that the expensive university ones are generally not so impressive or worthwhile as often all that's required to get in is the cost of attendance, but some are quite good from what I've read. For low cost, don't forget course offerings at your local community college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Design Camp at NCSU. Engineering Camp at NCSU. Both fill up quickly. Design Camp is "first come, first served" and registration usually opens in late January. They have day camp and resident camp options for all except rising seniors, who must do the resident camp. Engineering Camp is selective and requires an application complete with a short essay and teacher recommendations. NCSU also has other pre-college programs, you can find more information here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 8, where did he do these science and math camps. SSP and math zoom are part of this list http://wiki.artofproblemsolving.com/index.php/Mathematics_summer_programs Astronomy Camp http://astronomycamp.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I forgot to mention PAN (The physics of atomic nuclei). http://www.nscl.msu.edu/teachersstudents/programs/pan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 I did a fantastic summer program for New Jersey residents, about a million years ago. (Well, more like 1989. But it feels like a million years ago.) I just checked and it still exists! http://www.newjerseyscholarsprogram.org/ It is free, and just looking quickly at the "information for guidance counselors," it looks like New Jersey homeschoolers are eligible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tampamommy Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 StarTalk. Google that alone and you get the main site. DS participated in this last summer in the intermediate level for Mandarin Chinese. Awesome experience for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Listening in... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 One of mine is saving to do this one bc he is very interested in this college. http://www.wyomingcatholiccollege.com/about-wcc/summer/index.aspx Found some more... My focus is catholic right now and it shows. ;) http://summer.cua.edu/precollege/index.cfm http://www.christendom.edu/admissions/ecsp.php This is an old link with a few goodies, tho you might need to dig a bit to find current info http://love2learnblog.blogspot.com/2007/05/high-school-summer-programs-at-catholic.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Another one.. :) http://ave.riverstonegrowth.com/visit/hs-programs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Dd attended Concordia villages and her experience was that while it was fun, it wasn't the full immersion experience she was hoping for. Was she one of the more fluent speakers? I'm interested in CV, but mostly for increasing DD's speaking fluency (of which she currently has none, she knows vocab & grammar but doesn't Speak). In your (or your daughter's) opinion, is it a good value for the money for increasing fluency for a beginner? Concordia Language Villages. I'm sending my oldest there for French Immersion camp and she can't wait. They have 2 and 4 week camps, even for a full year credit for homeschoolers. Please come back & report on her experience. Is she hitting a two or four week camp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephinsocal Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Ditto the STARTalk recommendation. It's federally subsidized, thus on the order of $1000 for three weeks of room, board, and instruction. Friends' kids have had great experiences studying Arabic and Mandarin at BYU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Was she one of the more fluent speakers? I'm interested in CV, but mostly for increasing DD's speaking fluency (of which she currently has none, she knows vocab & grammar but doesn't Speak). In your (or your daughter's) opinion, is it a good value for the money for increasing fluency for a beginner? My dd does not have any one to speak with. However, she does speak to herself. ;) She started studying French in 3rd grade, but since I don't know any French at all, it has been slow-going. I would say that her conversational level was skewed. Her receptive language was probably closer to end of French 3, but her expressive language was probably closer to end of French 2, maybe beginning French 3. (I am really guessing here. I am not sure) She was in the 2nd highest projet group (French learning group), so I may be way off. I really don't have an honest way of judging. I am going to type the rest of her response while she jabbers at me: (she was talking really fast. I tried to keep up.....sorry if it is jumbled! I didn't proofread. :tongue_smilie: ) I would say that at first it was really hard to understand, but after being there for 2 days and learning how camp worked, I was actually able to start focusing on my French and it became much easier. There were days I would wake up thinking in French. The monos (counselors) would really try to get you to talk in French and discouraged English. After earning "all-day French" beads, it really really improved my French and facilitated my responses. But, the campers are not there for academic reasons. Most are only there for fun. A lot of them have been going for years and know each other. There were groups of them that would speak in French, but that isn't the case with a lot of them. So, there was a lot of English. At the beginning of each day they tried to encourage your cultural knowledge. They would put out brochures and in order to earn the food for each meal, you had to be able to answer questions from the lists. If your child is a really outgoing person, then yes, I would say that the language experience is good. Approaching the monos to engage in conversation, especially during meal time and free time, you get a lot of French conversation in. However, if you simply hang out with the campers, no. Most of the campers are not there for French but more for fun and it really depended on the campers if you would speak in French or English. Some of the campers only spoke in English. There were a couple of campers that really tried to speak only in French. I really wanted to speak French. I tried very hard to avoid speaking English, but the people I was around didn't know French as well as I did so that made it very difficult. They couldn't understand my vocabulary and I would end up having to speak in English. For me, I would prefer a more academic experience (as in campers that really want to only speak French). Unless I had been more of a beginner. I think that kids that don't understand French would have a better experience b/c they work really hard in helping them understand. It did help my fluency, but really wanted more from it. I wanted people to not speak English. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Wanted to add Appalachian State U's summer camps. Our oldest dd went to their forensic chemistry camp and it was worth every penny. (she decided not to pursue a forensic chemistry degree after the camp.)http://conferences-camps.appstate.edu/youth-camps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Sorry, I don't have a high-schooler, but for French immersion we are spending some time at a little school in Sancerre, France this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melabella Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Sorry, I don't have a high-schooler, but for French immersion we are spending some time at a little school in Sancerre, France this summer. Tell me more, please. I am looking for an immersion experience for my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofgals Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama, hosts a Great Ideas Summer Institute for rising juniors and seniors. It's one way of advertising their Fellows program. My dd has thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the Fellows program there, and she worked as a counselor one summer for the GISI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 Tell me more, please. I am looking for an immersion experience for my dd. Well, I haven't experienced this yet but I did some research. We are doing it for a week this June, and if it works, we will go back in future years for longer periods. The name of the school is Cour de France language school and there's many reviews online. Happy to report back in June! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teeterbunch Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 My 14-year old son participated in a 2-week Mock Trial camp at Patrick Henry (just outside DC) last summer. It was his first time going away, and he LOVED it. I attended the final competition and was impressed with the level of the kids participating, as well as the feedback they received. They did do the fun summer camp activities, but worked hard as well. http://www.phc.edu/teen_1.php They have several different topics including speech, leadership, political strategies, etc... The cost (last year) was $500 for 1 week and $1000 for 2 weeks. When I compared that to Landry Academies summer camps, it was a good deal. My son also participated in a 3-day seminars with FEE. If you like a free market approach to economics, you will love this. And...it's free (transportation not included). Seminars are offered at 3-4 different colleges around the country. My son went to Rome, Georgia. http://www.fee.org/seminars/#axzz2lUphrBfa You have access to reading in advance to help prepare your student. There is an application process. Here's another one we have our eye on for this year...http://www.furmanmocktrial.org/high-school-programs/ . Anyone have experience with that? Apparently they offer summer camps on a variety of topics... http://www2.furman.edu/admission/EngageFurman/SummerScholars/Pages/Summer-Scholars-Courses.aspx . Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 My two participated in the 4-week Summer Ventures in Science and Math (in North Carolina). A terrific peek into the college world--and a wonderful academic and social experience. The deadline has passed for 2014, but another NC program: The Governor's School. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.