I would like to send my younger son to CTY summer camp. My older one went one summer and I personally feel CTY is a good choice to kick off the sleepaway camp. I understand it’s more about hanging out than actually learning. Nevertheless, with such high price, I still like my younger one to take a bit out from the course. My son absolutely hate the writing or any English class. I feel it’s only fair he balances the fun nightlife at CTY and the daytime a bit. Anyone has taken CTY’s humanities or writing courses? Any feedback? Only 4 choices available: Big Questions, Model United Nations and Advanced Geography, Writing and Imagination, and Heroes and Villains.
There are other cheaper options that are just as good. An example is the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth(WCATY). My DS did two summers there as an OOS student. Search the state flagship universities for your and surrounding states. The programs are often run by the Education Department at the University.
My kids did CTY until they aged out (and one went back as staff a few years later… wasn’t ready to leave) and they did a variety of courses- math, science, writing and humanities.
All were exceptional from an academic perspective. Taught by “Master Teacher” types, very hands on, interesting approach to the curriculum AND a lot of hard work. If your son hates to write, do NOT choose a writing intensive class!!! He will be miserable. There is no coasting, and he’ll be surrounded by kids who love to write and are trying to expand their range from essays to science fiction to poetry or whatever genre is their favorite. The kids critique each others work (like in a grad school writing program) and if he is not into writing, this is NOT the type of summer he would enjoy.
Pick a class he will love, and therefore, will want to work hard at. CTY is not set up for remedial “take your medicine” kinds of classes. The classes are filled with teachers, TA’s and students who love the subject matter and want to live and breathe it for a few weeks.
To address Eyeores comments- there is nothing offered in my state by either the flagships or any of the branches that comes close to CTY. Not from an academic perspective, social perspective, the level of supervision- nothing. Yes- there are cheaper options, but most would require a non-working parent to handle the driving back and forth which we did not have, and the focus of the programs are very different. Our state does not offer public funded opportunities for gifted type programs in the summer. The best you could do is to cobble together a two afternoon a week deal at the local public library plus something at a local college. But nothing residential, and nothing offering the social experience of CTY.
My kid with “no friends” in middle school came home with an entire peer/close friend/best roommate in the entire world group from one three week session. That was worth every penny- and the academics were superb.
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Thanks. We live in NYC. I am looking for somewhere within 4 hours driving.
Franklin and Marshall in Pennsylvania is a “down and back in one day” drive and a fantastic campus. Skidmore is an easy drive from NY Metro…Don’t know where the other Northeast campuses are for this summer, but there are usually lots of options.
I know it sounds strange to send my son to the writing or humanities courses when he doesn’t like them. I wasn’t impressed with CTY’s math and science courses. Even my older one admitted he learned very little during those two sessions. I am just wondering if the humanities/writing classes would be done in the way that helps/inspires my son to like the literature or promote his critical thinking.
My kids found subjects like astronomy, archaeology, number theory, probability suitably challenging (and they were considered strong math students at their regular school). One year my strongest math/science kid decided to take a history class “just to try it” and LOVED it… it was taught by a college professor using all primary materials (i.e. no text book so nothing like middle school history/social studies) but the next year went back to math…
My nephew took a history of disease class (something like that?) and there’s a forensics class which I know is super popular. Maybe try that- a bridge between humanities and science???
Your older kid must have been super advanced- I’ve never met anyone who learned “very little”. The faculty seem very oriented towards ratcheting the material upwards in terms of difficulty for advanced students. And since there’s no “teach to the test”, I’ve not seen a kid who couldn’t find a challenge.
My youngest did three different humanities/writing classes - two at F&M and one at Haverford. He would have gone back for a fourth year if he hadn’t aged out.
Each class was challenging and all were truly well taught. And the experience was a huge factor in how excited he was about finding the right college, when it was time to do that.
But I do think, as other posters have said, that a writing class might not be the best path for your son, unless it’s the cross-curricular kind. Part of the thrill of those classes is the living-and-breathing it (also mentioned above), and if he’s the one kid in the group not loving it, that’s not likely to be a great experience for him or for the other kids in the class.