<p>My son took a CTY course summer after freshman year and he certainly put it in his list of activities. Why wouldn’t you? Better than looking like you did nothing with your summer.</p>
<p>^^maybe because it was before the student was in HS, not after his freshman year in HS. Colleges really don’t care what students did in middle school.</p>
<p>I know of two qualified students who did summer programs at Cornell and were not accepted there. The same is true of Brown.</p>
<p>Both of our kids were eligible to take CTY courses, but neither one wanted to take courses in the summer. As an Asian mom, I am surprisingly not into tutoring, extra academic classes in the summer. Instead, I load them up with more music, dance lessons and travel. Every summer they have gone to a ballet intensive program. Instead of taking breaks on their piano/violin lessons, I double up. I personally think the kids are so over loaded with school work from Sep to June, it is nice to have a break to pursue other interests.</p>
<p>Our GC have also told us that college summer programs do not help with college application, just like those paid volunteer programs.</p>
<p>^I think it depends on the kid. My son thought learning about Game Theory and probability was more fun than music or travel. The CTY courses include fun aspects - they watched a movie about the Cuban Missile Crisis as well as learning Matrix algebra. In any event we didn’t send him off to CTY to look good. We sent him there because he loved it.</p>
<p>I tend to think that the Cornell summer program makes it less likely to be accepted there - I also know a student who wasn’t accepted at Cornell as an undergrad. There’s a happy ending though - she graduated a year early from RPI and is now a grad student at Cornell.</p>
<p>Yes, some kids would think Game Theory is more fun than music, or ballet for that matter.
A friend’s son looks forward to CTY every summer.</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins asks on its application if you have ever attended a CTY Program. It may not help at other schools, but I suspect it has some significance, even if it’s very slight, at JHU.</p>
<p>MY GC said that most of these programs don’t mean anything to colleges except for those that are highly selective (especially if they are free) or those where you earn college credit.</p>
<p>I think JHU asks about CTY because it was developed there (originally as the Center for Mathematically Talented Youth before it was expanded). They know more than anyone what’s involved with it.</p>
<p>My d did the Cornell program, and now has an additional 3 credits in her current school so, should she desire, she can take an “easier” semester without affecting her graduation date. She also enjoyed the course. In one extent, it helped her in “college admissions” because it gave her a better idea of the type of college she didn’t want to go to - she didn’t apply to Cornell.</p>
<p>I don’t suggest that any student waste their time by going to a summer program if they don’t want to go. However, summer programs – including CTY – can be wonderful ways for students to delve into their interests and passions and also find out what kind of subjects and college they like and don’t like. Consequently, a summer program experience can help a student get into college even though it’s typically only free, highly select programs like TASP and RSI that are used as admission factors.</p>
<p>In addition to loving CTY/TIP programs and being able to pursue a passion that I didn’t know he had about philosophy, S’s experiences taught him that he is too lazy to want to attend a hilly campus, and he is too environmentally aware to want to attend a campus that overlooks a smoggy city. He also learned how much he likes small classes, being surrounded by smart students who share his intellectual interests, and enjoys being able to interact with professors who love to teach. All of this was valuable during the college app and selection process.</p>
<p>Endicott, my s also has a passion for history and is a sophmore. Can you tell me what summer program you were mentioning about for history. There are so many out there but I agree with all the other posts that if they enjoy what they are doing and can get involved it is a life enriching experience. Also CC has so much great info to be able to find what summer program may be worth the time, effort, and expense. Thank you</p>
<p>I wouldn’t do it for admission, but I think being on a college campus taking a class or two, living in the dorm, eating cafeteria food, being independent, are all great experiences to have before choosing a college. My D was going to participate in a college summer program (pricey!), and then was accepted off the wait list to our state Governor’s school (free!). I was a little worried that the college would hold the withdrawal against her when she applied, but she is attending that school now. I would like my son to find at least a 2 week program to give him a picture of what college life is like.</p>
<p>When my daughter did a volunteer project with Yale in high school, she was told that those programs aren’t given much weight because most students don’t have 3-5,000 to spend on it and aid is only given to the very needy. He went on to say that most families can’t send their child to another country to volunteer, it’s still a good experience, but they wont use it to give one an edge over the other.</p>
<p>He/she should do them if they really want to study what’s offered, especially if it’s in a specific area, i.e. arts, science, whatever. Whether or not they end up applying to that school it demonstrates passion for an area of interest, especially if that interest shows up in ECs. But don’t do it just for the tipping points. Probably doesn’t provide much “tip.”</p>
<p>The Columbia summer school people told my D that if you attend their summer program you are considered to be a “person of interest” when you apply- whatever that means. Probably nothing.</p>
<p>wow! thanks for all the insight. My son has also attended a CTY program - just before he started high school. Very pricey but well worth it. Before he spent 2 weeks in the CTY program, he hated school and couldn’t wait to be finished with high school because then he would “be done”. AFter the CTY program, he knew he wanted to go to college and be an engineer. It was the best money we have ever spent.</p>
<p>He now has a summer intern job- the company has asked him to come back this summer as a “Field Engineer”- basically a glorified gopher. The course is one he is interested in- we’re not into the ‘let’s spend money for the sake of it’ but from our point of view he would see the college from a students perspective- not from the “open house” everyone’s on their best behavior perspective.</p>
<p>So I guess it’s up to him to decide if he wants to take a week off from work to take this class.</p>
<p>thanks again.</p>
<p>Chuckle…if you had a kid that hated school, how on earth did you get him to want to go to CTY in the first place?</p>
<p>slightly off topic, but not much:</p>
<p>There are other, non-academic programs that put HS students on a college campus. I’m thinking about sports camps, music camps, dance camps, etc. that take place on college campuses. Not the same experience, I know, but the kids live in dorms, eat in dining halls, move from building to building or building to fields. This can also contribute to a sense of “I can do this” and an awareness of various atmospherics.</p>
<p>ReadyToRoll I told him he would have fun. He said yeah right- to which I replied, didn’t he always have fun on the things I “found” for him to do? Which was true, once he started, he always enjoyed himself.</p>
<p>He hated school because he was bored. he has been an avid reader since… he could read at age 5… His kindergarten teacher tried telling me he was ADD/ADHD. Later he would go to school and read novels in class and still answer the teachers’ questions without looking up. He’s extremely bright, but also academically lazy. It has been very hard finding the right balance- how hard to push, when to let up, etc. When we lived in Oklahoma, we had to put him in private school because the public schools didn’t teach him at a level he needed. They did an IQ test on him as entrance to the private school in 2nd grade and he tested at 130. Starting in the 6th grade, we had to ban personal reading books in school. He was allowed to take books, but only the ones that we had picked out for him. He got a lot of nonfiction, greek mythology, and other types of books read during that period.</p>
<p>The CTY program was my last stab at making him see that “school” could be fun- if you are challenged. When he went, he was very resigned to the fact that he was spending two weeks in school during the summer. We chose the “Principles of Engineering Design” class not a CTY class but the lesser intensive CAA class. We had to rob peter to pay paul at that point, but we were extrmely worried about what would happen as he got older. After the third day at school with him calling home every night telling us what he did that day; I told him that was what college was like. The light bulb turned on and he’s been determined ever since to go to college.</p>
<p>Not to say he doesn’t like school, he tolerates it at this point; sees it as an ends to a means. We were lucky enough to get him into a gifted program at his high school. He spends half his days at the magnate school learning with all the other bright kids and takes his elective classes at his home school. This program is doing a lot - by the time he starts college, he will already have college credits. Currently he’s taking Dual Enrollment chemistry as a junior. </p>
<p>He’s also a very good kid- laid back, kind and generous; he thinks about others, and can be sensitive about the weirdest things. Oh! He has almost no common sense, sometimes I think it’s a trade off for the really smart kids- they can be super smart but not have common sense. My best friend is like my son in some ways- she could be in Mensa, but can’t do some of the simplest things… </p>
<p>So I guess we’ll wait and see- let him decide if he wants to attend this class. Since he is working this summer, it will have to be up to him. I know he wants to save his money- I’m not sure what he wants it for- last year he used half his money to buy a new gaming computer. The rest he will be using to get himself a “new” car- something about 10 years old that can get him to work this summer.</p>
<p>thanks for listening to me babble about my son…</p>
<p>he sounds like a great guy. Babble away. (But you will have to listen to me about mine some day )</p>
<p>Slightly off topic, but what about the “B” student who is not permitted to take AP courses in HS? if they are motivated, wouldn’t it make sense to gain college credits dring a summer program (whether it be residential or otherwise)? Or do you think community college credits during HS could serve the same purpose?</p>
<p>I have learned from others that there are many HS’s in the country that offer dual enrollment programs with local colleges (and some not so local, i.e. Syracuse has a program with HS’s on Long Island)…we do not have that available to us but it sounds like it would have been perfect…</p>