CTY programs

<p>S is a junior, and hasn't gone to CTY/TIP since before freshman year. Afterward, he spent a summer abroad with us when husband unexpectedly got a summer job abroad. Last summer, S went to an engineering program at University of Wisconsin. He is hoping to get into NASA SHARP or MIT's MITES program this summer. </p>

<p>S really enjoyed CTY/TIP, and would have gone more summers if we could have afforded it. We're in that middle class group in which he would not qualify for aid, but CTY's costs crunched our budget. Since he is a high scoring URM, fortunately, there are some low cost or free excellent summer programs that he has decent chances to be accepted to.</p>

<p>As for the fees, CTY charges a talent search fee in addition to the college board fee for the SAT. As I recall, it was approx. $30. I'm not privy to their internal financial workings, but I have heard parents say they felt it was a way to make money off parents who want to see their kids labeled as especially talented. I'm glad to know that people who have experience with the programs don't share that feeling.</p>

<p>The CTY website is already taking applications for the summer, thanks for the heads-up on how fast the courses fill. We'll look the courses over this weekend and talk about it. I know my daughter will want to do the oceanography course in Hawaii. If only I could stow away with her, I'd even do her laundry.</p>

<p>One last thought - many parents on this board pay tuition to private schools because they feel the education their children will get is better than in their public school. How is this so different from those of us who send our kids to public schools at no cost and supplement their educations (for a smaller price than private school tuition) with enriching summer programs?</p>

<p>My son qualified for CTY in 7th grade but didn't go until last year after 8th grade.
It was a life changing experience for him!!! He can't wait to return this year.</p>

<p>In general, he found the kids in the program to be pretty "normal" They were not "super nerds" or anything of the kind - they were just kids who happened to have a bit more intellectual depth to them than most of the kids my son had in his classes at school. He didn't feel that he needed to "keep up" with anyone but he did feel that his mind was stretched by meeting so many interesting people!</p>

<p>I do think that CTY works best when (1) the child WANTS to go and (2) the child is allowed to pick out which classes interest him or her rather than having the parents insist on a particular course. I thought my son - who loves science - would pick out a science class but he picked out Ancient Greek! It was a surprise to us and I kind of fretted about it at the time, but I realized that CTY is about enrichment and this was a subject he would NOT get to take in "regular" school. He absolutely adored the class and Ancient Greek II is his first choice for this year. Since CTY doesn't guarantee you'll get into your first choice, he had to pick a few other classes - he had such a good time going through the catalog this year and thinking about what he wanted to take. Once again, he didn't pick a science class but rather picked a philosophy and psychology class as his two backups.</p>

<p>I highly, highly recommend CTY. They do a wonderful job of keeping the kids engaged and letting them socialize at the same time. It is a very safe environment. My son did go to the other side of the country and will do so again this year.</p>

<p>
[quote]
One last thought - many parents on this board pay tuition to private schools because they feel the education their children will get is better than in their public school. How is this so different from those of us who send our kids to public schools at no cost and supplement their educations (for a smaller price than private school tuition) with enriching summer programs?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It is whatever works for you and your family
My oldest went to private school- I would have loved for her to attend public school, but the programs that "fit" her, were difficult to get into plus the district didn't let you know which program was assigned until way after the deposit date for the private school. She did do CTY one year, but then we realized it was redundant with the stuff she was doing in middle school. She did totally non academic stuff in summer and loved it.</p>

<p>Her sister attends an inner city public school ( as much as Seattle has an inner city). SHe does generally non academic stuff in summer, doesn't test well, but does very well at school. I love her school, but public school is not "no cost".
I donate hundreds of hours and dollars every year and I am far from the only one.
It was much less stressful for the D attending private, then I just did minimum volunteering to support teachers, no driving to the capitol to advocate to have budget increased, no school board meetings that run till 11pm, no trying to raise money so kids have books in the classroom, not to mention wondering what quality of learning is going on in a classroom of 42 kids.</p>

<p>OT to Carolyn:</p>

<p>I've been thinking about your S. Mine went to a Classics day last fall and got to hear Odds Bodkin re-tell the Odyssey. He sat entranced for one and a half hour ( the whole retelling is 4 hours and is available on video). When he got home, he could not stop talking about how wonderful it was (this is a kid who usually waxes enthusiastic only about math/science).</p>

<p>ermeralkity4 - I am in total agreement with you when you said, "It is whatever works for you and your family." I hope you didn't understand me to mean otherwise.</p>

<p>no prob mother of two:)
Re: odds bodkin
THat is something I really miss
When my oldest was younger and even when my younger daughter was younger, Seattle has lots ( relatively) of storytellers and storytelling events.
But while my D will listen to Harry Potter for hours in the car, it just isn't the same as listening to a live performance
( Although it looks like there are still some events around town, perhaps I will have to kidnap a toddler for admission):eek:</p>

<p>Marite, Son would love the Odds Bodkin performance I'll have to see if I can track down the video. </p>

<p>He has enjoyed Latin this year, but Greek has remained his first love. He has continued to self study on his own using his CTY textbook and has made a fair amount of progress from what I can tell (Of course, it's all greek to me :)) </p>

<p>He has been blessed to have an English teacher this year who knows both languages so he at least has someone to discuss Greek with. But, it's not the same as taking an actual class. I've looked around at local colleges to see if we could hook him up with a college class but haven't found one yet.</p>

<p>Son is thinking about starting a chapter of the Junior Classics League at his school --- although I don't know how many other kids he'll find who find Greek and Latin as fascinating as he does. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll get into CTY's new Greek II class - they are only offering one so it may be touch and go.</p>

<p>I had to laugh when he told me driving home the other day that now when he looks at billboards he finds himself thinking about the Latin and Greek roots of the words on them, rather than what they say. You just never know what kids are going to find interesting - and certainly, if he hadn't gone to CTY, he wouldn't have encountered Greek until college.</p>

<p>And, he's also starting spring training for next year's football team!</p>

<p>To the OP: I've taught for CTY distance ed writing for 16 years and two years in the Summer Program. In addition, my own son has done three years in the Summer Program and three distance ed courses. So I can answer questions for you from both sides if you like and would be happy to do so either here or privately.</p>

<p>I can tell you the program is hardly a scam, nor is anyone making large amounts of money from it. I can also "amen" those who suggest that it should be the student who gets to decide whether she or he will participate and in what fashion. Self-discipline and motivation matter, especially where the distance ed courses are concerned.</p>

<p>If you want whatever insights I have to offer, just let me know.</p>

<p>I have to echo Blossom's post. For our S (now a high school senior), CTY was a life saver. He went for four years, first attended the summer between 7th and 8th grades. Coming from a 1,400-student public middle school that is not particularly known for academic achievement, he at last found he had intellectual peers. He was frustrated in school and I could have pictured him just dropping out intellectually and becoming the world's biggest slacker. He had a 720M/630V SAT at that time, and I'm sure he thought he was the smartest kid in the world. But when he came home -- reluctantly came home -- I remember him saying there were kids at CTY who were a lot smarter than him. It inspired and humbled him, and that was just what he needed. He took geometry, geopolitics, psychology and astronomy. I can't say enough about CTY for him, but we would not send our daughter (now a freshman in h.s.). Just not the place for her. She looked at the catalogue one year and actually grimmaced. They are very different kids. So, I would never recommend CTY for all kids, even if they tested into it. It's not so much whether they would be able to do the work, but whether they would enjoy the work. And, frankly, it wasn't the course work that our S talked about afterwards, it was the conversations he'd had with other campers and RA's. He looked forward to CTY all school year, and I think he was one of the kids who cried (secretly) as a never-more on his last day when the camp gave him a standing ovation as he left early during the closing day ceremony to catch his plane home. </p>

<p>If we ever get rich, I would donate major $$ to that program; it means more to me than any of my alma maters.</p>

<p>Reposting about S's CTY experiences (as in another thread)</p>

<p>My son really benefited from CTY after 7th and 8th grade - I think it is a tremendous experience in middle school, because students learn what college dorm life is like. As an only child, my son was delighted (after some initial shyness) with dorm life, playing cards with his floor mates, and the opportunity to visit with new buddies all evening. As for the courses, he took Logic and Formal Reasoning the first year, taught by an associate professor, and he recently wrote an application essay about it as the best course he has ever taken. In addition to formal logic, they read several Platonic dialogues and did a class research project on capital punishment, culminating in a formal debate. Not only that, he came home having memorized a long list of logical fallacies and got the pleasure of nailing me every time I used one (the sophistry of parents - busted!)</p>

<p>The second year he took Probability and Game Theory, taught by a full professor. The catalog had stated that Algebra I was the prerequisite, but when the class started it turned out to be a typo, it really required Algebra II and he had only completed Geometry. The teaching assistant worked intensively with my son and a few other of the younger students on his own time, and by the end of the class they were quite competent with probability calculations. It was truly accelerated learning, the power of the tower. The Game Theory part of the course focused on game types and strategies for each - which made him unbeatable in the "connect the dots" game - surely a critical life skill! </p>

<p>Older high school students might find the orchestrated activities a bit too structured, but it was a wonderful experience for the younger ones. CTY has perfected these programs over time and I would recommend them highly. Just the other day we were talking about the fact that none of his friends had applied to the colleges on his list, and he expressed some concern that he wouldn't know anyone at college next year. I reminded him about CTY and how easy it was to meet people when you lived right next to them, and he smiled. His experience living in a dorm for three weeks proved to him that he could adjust quickly to college life and make lots of new friends.</p>

<p>So there are many benefits and very few risks (a little homesickness the first time is usually the tough part) - as buyers say in eBay feedback "Would buy again!"</p>

<p>Just to follow up, my daughter looked throught the CTY summer offerings and picked three courses she thinks sound interesting. I explained how they do the registration and that returning students get first dibs, and then it goes to ranking by their scores, so she shouldn't get her heart set that she's definitely doing this. In her words "that's okay, it's not worth the time or money to do something just for the sake of saying I did it, it's only worth it if it's something I'm interested in." There's no section on the SAT for level-headedness but I think she'd score very well if there was.</p>

<p>Her school is offering a free test-prep class for the new SAT, which she's very interested in taking because this will give her a chance to take the version she'll eventually have to take in high school . She seems to be relaxed about it all so I said okay. I'll just keep an eye on things and make sure she doesn't get test crazy. Thanks for all the advice.</p>

<p>Good for her! I suggest as well that she be flexible as to location and choice of session.</p>

<p>Through the CTY SAT testing program, my son was given a one-course scholarship at GWU and admitted as a 9th grader to the local community college to take any courses he wanted. Worthwhile results from a few hours taking the SAT. </p>

<p>As far as CTY summer programs go, I say "ALL PRAISE to JHU!" for this program - I posted about his experiences recently, but I think it bears repeating that reminding him about the wonderful times he had in the dorm with the CTYers cheered him up recently when he was feeling a twinge about "going to college where I won't know anyone." </p>

<p>The courses are terrific, but one could argue that the taste of college life is even more valuable. (Like the Near-Death Experiencers - many of them lose their fear of death completely. Since all fear is, reductio, the fear of death, then voila! QED - CTY banishes collegiophobia).</p>

<p>To the list - sorry about reposting - I was on page 1 and reponding to something there, forgot that this was the thread to which I had previously posted. Call it a "senior moment.........."</p>

<p>Best part of these summer programs was experiencing different college campuses.</p>

<p>hi, my 11 yo daughter is doing her first cty this year. do you have recommendation on sites and courses? she wanted to register for astronomy but she is also doing astronomy at school. have your sons taken chemistry? do they have preference over site locations?</p>

<p>thanks,</p>

<p>feng</p>

<p>Glad to find this subject.. lots good thing about CTY program. I have one 9 grader d and one 6 graders. Is it too late to involve cty this summer's program? Do you have to take SAT to get into the program?</p>

<p>belmontmom:</p>

<p>There are different CTY programs. Is your 11 year old going to the one for younger students for which she would have taken the PLUS test or the one for older students who took the SAT test? </p>

<p>After 5th grade, my S took Science and engineering, which he enjoyed a lot, though he was familiar with some of the materials. He took the Fast-Paced High School Chemistry course at Skidmore after 8th grade. The class was taught by a teacher who normally teaches AP-Chemistry. It was very well taught and in the regular school year, my S moved into AP-Chem where he did very well. </p>

<p>Schinagus: The 9th grader would need to take the SAT. It may be too late for this summer, but you should ask. There might still be room for the second session at some sites. Your 6th grader would probably take the PLUS. Again, ask the folks at CTY.</p>