<p>I want to take a physics course next summer at either Harvard or Brown but I don't know which school offers a better program. Help?</p>
<p>And also, how intensive are the Yale Summer Sessions? They have a lot more courses (in the Physics area anyway) but it's only available to high school juniors & seniors so I'll have to wait until 2009 to apply for that.</p>
<p>ALSO: Are these summer programs (at HYB) considerably much more difficult than AP courses? Thanks. And I see that the Harvard Summer School Program is "open admission" (meaning no essays, transcripts or recs needed to enroll). Does this make HSSP courses less difficult than courses offered at Brown or Yale, since they require letters of recommendation?</p>
<p>Summer@Brown was an awesome experience for me. My class was taught by a national prize-winning professor, and I learned a lot for the three weeks that I was there. Mini-courses are only three hours long, so there's a lot of free time. Brown wants you to make good choices based on that indepedence - everyday, there are many college admissions sessions, specialized lectures, movie nights, yoga classes etc. On weekends, there are opportunities to visit other colleges and other nearby cities. Take advantage of all the freedom, and make the best of it.</p>
<p>It's a costly program (even if you take the credit courses), but the friends you make and the things you learn in class make the experience very worthwhile.</p>
<p>what a coincidence. i just got back from the harvard ssp taking a physics course and i highly recommend it. though it was an 8 week intensive course and you do almost a chapter or two a day, it is definitely worth it. just be prepared to work hard, pay attention, talk to the TA's and use every resource possible. besides that i had a great time. good luck!</p>
<p>faris786, were you in the summer school prog or the secondary school prog? and do you know what the difference btwn the two are, except for the fact that the sec. school prog. only choses 1,000 kids and has an application to fill?</p>
<p>I don't know much about the physics programs, but I highly recommend the Harvard program. I've heard the Brown one is pretty fun too though; one of my Harvard friends did that last summer. Either one you pick, you will have a great time a learn a lot, so don't worry</p>
<p>I'm really not looking for that much "fun" but more interested in gaining a lot of knowledge. A lot of people have said how much fun Brown is so I think I'll try applying to Harvard secondary school first.</p>
<p>But what exactly IS the difference between the summer school and secondary school prog. at Harvard?!?!</p>
<p>these programs are not very competitive and have admit rates of 60+% Apply to both and see which one is cheaper. At the Harvard, Yale, Brown level the differences in a course like physics are trivial.</p>
<p>you should take a close look at who is teaching the class. no place is likely to give you a full professor, but harvard is more likely to give you a graduate student (not that that is necessarily a bad thing).</p>
<p>also, my impression is that the brown program is more geared at preparing you for college (outside of the classroom, with college fairs and trips to other schools, etc.). again, this may not be what you are looking for.</p>
<p>hmm, from the people I saw at brown, I'd guesstimate at like 99%. :)</p>
<p>yeah, I went to the brown program for public speaking, and had an amazing professor, but she wasn't even from Brown, so know that you may not be getting an Ivy League professor, but that won't determine how good they are or not.</p>
<p>Harvard sounds alright, but I haven't anything about yale on CC which surprises me.</p>
<p>However, I'm starting to leean towards Brown's program because they have good math courses I could take and they can be 3 weeks instead of 6 or 8 weeks. A lot of people have seenmed to like it.</p>
<p>The Secondary Schools is this place where working people study at Harvard in the evenings and earn a Harvard degree that way. I'm not familiar with its intricate details, but this is the basic synopsis of it. Do NOT confuse it with Summer School.</p>
<p>The summer school at Harvard is *only*for high school students.
The summer session at Yale is for their undergrads but high school/other college students can apply. You know at Yale you're getting the real class, just crammed into five weeks, because Yale is giving its undergrads credits during the summer session. It's pretty intensive but definitely doable, even if you're involved in multiple other activites during the summer.</p>
<p>I think I'm going to try applying for the Harvard Secondary School Prog. But if I don't happen to get enough financial aid or it clashes with my other summer plans, then I'll just apply to Brown. I can't even apply to Yale yet, I'm not going to be a junior this year.</p>
<p>i wouldnt suggest doing any big named summer programs, because they cost too much, and much better programs can be done that look just as good on a college resume, and plus alot of college applicants have this and its not a very selective program, u should do something that truly distinguishes u as a member of society or community</p>
<p>i was in the harvard summer school program taking a physics class, which was taught by a professor from yale (irony). however, all of the TAs were harvard grad students. in addition the ssp has a myriad of trips and recreational activities. also, there is a giant college fair. it definitely prepares you well for college and gives an authentic ell of what college will be like. again, i highly recommend it.</p>
<p>My son spent 2 summers at Brown (3 week programs). One summer he was in class 8-4? (it included a lab) so it wasn't the typical 3 hr/day that others speak of. I believe some of the shorter classes had more reading/writing assignments. I remember my son spent a week of very long days preparing for his final presentation.</p>
<p>If you do one of these programs, take advantage of your location and travel around. I know Brown ran trips into Boston and Newport. We picked him up one weekend at 3am (to avoid traffic) on our way to Cape Cod and there were tons of kids outside his dorm playing frisbee & football & just hanging out. That was before Brown instituted the new "curfew" system. I believe he also spent a good deal of time playing poker.</p>