<p>Some prorams are not worth the money, some are. You need to do your research and weigh the different options, and CC is great for that.</p>
<p>Do they do anything for college apps? Of course not, but we don't care about that. And nor should you.</p>
<p>We want our kids to have fun summers. And we can afford to do so. They provide a fun and developmental experience. They get a chance to live away from home, try new interests, meet friends and have a great social time. and so on. One of our kids grew hugely in her artist abilities and interests from a month at an art school but also learned that wasn't the path for her. Another had a fabulous time touring around Paris and her french improved that she got to move up a level at school. Our son got a publication from working in a lab. </p>
<p>Summer programs are a business, one that will seriously feel the shake-out from the economic downturn. They are the very definition of discretionary spending.
Lots will disappear (possibly after you paid tuition.) </p>
<p>Are they fun? Undoubtably</p>
<p>Do students grow and learn? Yes as well. But they probably could grown and learn without plucking down $5000. A pay-to-play summer program is not going to make or break a college admission.</p>
<p>Providing a quality product for a profit is neither scam nor evil.</p>
<p>Yea, expensive summer programs are not worth it. They can be fun, true, but if you truly want a learning experience, you should apply to the more selective summer programs in your field, whether it be math, science, art, or music. you should not have to pay thousands of dollars for a 4 week summer program</p>
<p>I think it really depends. Summer programs, no matter the prestige, offer different things. Its more than what you do during the summer. Its what you learn, who you meet etc. You never know - maybe you get a reference letter, something interesting to talk about ...</p>
<p>I'm with toadstool - do your research and see if there is a program that fits. "Providing a quality product for a profit is neither scam nor evil." That sir is correct.</p>
<p>i agree with anonymous99. attendance (which is the bare minimum with tuition fees) shouldn't meaningfully increase your chances of admission. However, participation and active engagement can result in a unique essay from an interesing summer experience. Not to mention a potential reference letter from a camp director and countless new friends and memories. </p>
<p>As always, these things need to be price adjusted but I think its wrong to automatically assume for-profit camps are scams.</p>
<p>I have never gone with People to People, so I cannot say anything about their program, but I can tell you by being on two CYLC programs that they are a complete waste of time.
I participated in a National Youth Leadership State Conference, and this year I went on the Presidential Youth Inaugural Conference.</p>
<p>The NYLSC was 4 days of me and other kids from the surrounding states in a conference room in a hotel. We talked about what it was to be a leader and played "games" that weren't very fun. I felt bad for those who came to New Orleans for the first time because they never left the hotel - we didn't see actual sunlight for four days. This was a waste of time, but the other students from my school and I just figured that it would look good on our college applications.</p>
<p>This January I went with their program again to Washington D.C. to see the Inauguration of the 44th and first African American President. I figured that they would have everything planned out, set up and that everything would run on schedule. This never happened, and you can type it into google to hear numerous accounts of other students who weren't fed, didn't get to their hotels until 3 o'clock in the morning, or even didn't get to see the Inauguration. I have typed up my account of what happened to me the days I went there and as of right now it is almost 6 pages long. It details how we had to wait in line at the airport for almost 2 hours to get checked in (we never really did ) - how others we talked to later had stood in that line for 6 - 7 hours and never got food - how I was almost separated from the other girl I was flying with - how we were just dropped off in the middle of no where and told to just meet up in a couple of hours - how we were deserted during the actual inauguration and were surrounded by no other scholars - and this list goes on and on. If you think all this sounds bad, think of a little kid doing this as well as PYIC also had 6th, 7th and 8th graders participating - and just think , I live in New Orleans, and I am used to the crowds during Mardi Gras and the antics that happen there, but a little 6th grader who lives in some small rural town in Minnesota would have no idea how to get out of the large crowds we were in, and would have been left on multiple occassions as the bus I was on did to multiple students.</p>
<p>Please I urge you to not send any of yourselves or your children on any of the CYLC.org programs. Your child has not been nominated as a select scholar, they send out more invitations than spots and the students who are chosen are chosen by random.</p>
<p>I had an absolutely fabulous time at LeadAmerica. I still talk to several of the people that I attended with, and it was most definitely the best 10 days of my life. But if all you care about is college admissions, I suppose it wouldn't be worth it.</p>
<p>I went this past summer to JSA Summer School at Yale. I met Katie Couric, Brian Williams, the Executive Director of UNICEF, and Geraldine Ferraro on Speaker's Day in NYC. Since the program was at Yale, we also got to meet with the Dean of Admissions. It's quite rigorous since there are 2 3hr. classes and a 2hr. debate session 6days/week. There are tests and assignments like school, esp. a final research paper of 4+ pages and there is an official transcript at the end of the program. Despite the sleepless nights, it was a great experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone.</p>
<p>I also did People to People and it wasn't really worth my summer. Probably because the group I was with took it more as a summer vacation than anything. I mean, you go to great places, but it's not very enriching, especially if one is rushed to go through 6 countries in 4 weeks. I had fun, but I didn't really gain anything "life-inspiring". JSA Yale was a summer well spent.</p>
<p>Do research on what you will actually be doing and learning in the program, and make your decision based on whether the cost is worth that. Completely ignore whether it will look good on a college application, because except for a few competitive programs, it won't help. In other words, how much would you be willing to pay for a fun trip to Australia with a bunch of teenagers? How much would you be willing to pay to go to DC and meet some Congressional staff and take some tours?
For programs like CTY and a bunch of the college programs, what will you get out of the actual course you will take? (Example: my kids took music theory at CTY, and it has helped them a lot with other music activities and classes.)</p>
<p>does anyone know of any good teen abroad programs for volunteering, where we travel to said country in a group of kids? i really want to do something like orphanage/teaching work :/</p>
<p>Forget going abroad. It will be looked at like a vacation for rich kids. Look for something in your own city, county or state and really make an effort. Much more impressive.</p>
<p>i definitely will look into doing something more local for next school year that goes along with my interests [even tho that will be quite hard (live in a very privileged area)].
but i still would love to do an abroad program for the summer. it's not like i'm some 'rich kid looking for a vacation.' i love different cultures, & i just want to help internationally. no one could look down upon that..</p>
<p>from another thread on cc:"it really depends on what you mean by volunteering abroad -- is this a program like building the same house in costarica that gets rebuild and knocked down every session? or saving the same turtle in the galapagos? Does it cost upwards of $3,000 for a few weeks? -- If so, colleges dont like these programs, b/c its just summer camp in different clothing. If you can find a program that continues your interest (solving math problems, sport, flute, forensic science, etc.) then thats what matters. It also helps if your interest is consistent and continues for your entire hs career (sic)"
You might search cc to see what others have to say. Most of the positive comments will come from students (lot's of life changing stuff) but if you search some of the adcoms comments, you will see these programs hold very little weight. Still, if you insist you need to go abroad, you might look into programs such as this: Save</a> a Child's Heart : Volunteer at SACH</p>
<p>I did NYLF a few years back, and although I doubt it helped in college apps when I applied, it did confirm my idea that I wanted to study law eventually - which is something I continued to work towards in high school and wrote about in my college applications.
Overall I had a great time, made tons of new friends who I still keep in touch with, and explored a new city (DC). If you don’t have financial problems with it, I think it’s an awesome experience :-)</p>