<p>Hello, I'm a high school freshman in a public high school looking at summer programs to enroll in. Last year, I went to Johns Hopkins CTY and it was an amazing experience. I would love to go again but another summer program caught my attention-- the Camp Rising Sun. It's a full-scholarship, international leadership camp offered to about 60 boys and 60 girls throughout the world over the summer. </p>
<p>The thing is, at CTY, there's a more formal educational environment where you take an academic course, and it's balanced with a decent social environment. At Rising Sun, it's mainly leadership activities, without any formal academic courses like CTY. CTY takes into account only your standardized test scores, but Rising Sun mainly focuses on your extracurricular activities, leadership potential, recommendations, interview, and essay. It asks for a transcript but not much weight is put on it.</p>
<p>If I were to go to CTY this year, I'd probably take chem in preparation for next year and complete some volunteer work for the rest of the summer (CTY is ~3 weeks). On the other hand, Rising Sun is 7 weeks and takes up most of my summer, leaving no time for volunteer work.</p>
<p>Also another thing is that I've been told it's better to stick to one summer program, rather than jumping around. I know colleges like to see long-term commitment, in terms of extracurriculars and work experience, but I am not certain if this principle also applies to summer programs. </p>
<p>In summary, I am not sure if I should attend CTY or CRS this year. I need help deciding, thanks.</p>
<p>IMHO Cty is just a place where you pay tons of $ and get somewhat educated. Having been there before myself, its alot of fun, but I’m not sure if its that “prestigious”. I’d go with CRS. There are also tons of other summer programs out there. Just my $0.02</p>
<p>Well you have to take the SAT/ACT as a 7th or 8th grader and score fairly well to get in. I got ~75% need-based financial aid from them last year.</p>
<p>I did CTY too for a couple summers and loved it. It is a very great program and for me, it was worth the money; especially compared to other summer academic programs you do not have to test into.</p>
<p>That said, Raising Sun sounds interesting. What are you interested in most right now? By that I mean what do you want to major in in college and what are your extracurriculars? Compare these to the goals and activities of Rising Sun. If they match, go for it! If not, ask yourself if you are only interested in it because it may look good. In that case, I would tell you not to apply. One option is to apply to CRS and see if you get in (with only 120 students from across the world, I would think it would be competitive). Then you can also sign up for CTY. Depending on when you find out/when you have to put money down on CTY, this option may work best and make sure you definitely have a summer activity.</p>
<p>Alright, thanks. I’m looking to major in Bio, and my extracurriculars correlate to that (Pre-Med Club, Environmental Science Club, etc.) I think i’ll stick with CTY.</p>
<p>Ender94 makes good points so I would have you apply to Rising Sun too so that you have option. There is no guarantee that CTY will give you the same amount of money this year which would mean that is not an option for you.</p>
<p>When people advise you to stick with one program they are not saying you should do the same program over and over again each summer of high school. Rather they are saying to stick to certain areas of knowledge. So if you love biology you could look at Rising Sun from a biology standpoint-what are some environmental impacts in the world that touch upon biology? Also the point you mention deals more with community service; rather that do 5 hours of community service in 5 organizations it is better to do 25 hours in one organization. </p>
<p>You are still young so use the time to explore different opportunities. Try for both CTY and Rising Sun and then make a decision as to where you get accepted not before you get accepted.</p>
The app to Rising sun is due Feb. 1</p>