<p>I'm currently in ninth grade, and I need advice on planning my summer.
Some things I have in mind are summer school, CTY (Center for Talented Youth), or volunteering abroad.
However, either summer school or CTY will have to go as they both overlap each other. The pro for summer school is that I can take Chemistry and go on to AP Chem 10th grade (which I may not have a chance to do again in high school because I'm joining IB in 11th), or get ahead in history so I can take AP gov (graduation requirement.) A con is that it takes six whole weeks to take one course (late June to early August), so it takes up all my time.
CTY will probably be a better experience for me (taking the advanced fiction course) as I could develop my talent (I've won writing awards at the national level), if it weren't for chem/history. I've already talked to my counselor and he told me that getting creds or even advancing is not possible if I take a course at another institution, so an online course or some other chem course is not an option. Does anyone have any advice?
Also, any recommendations on a volunteer abroad program? I've found plenty that accepts high school students, but they're very short (1 week) and are fifteen & up (I'll be turning fifteen in September.) Programs that are 2-3 weeks and accept fourteen year olds would probably be the most ideal.
Any additional summer program recommendations that are worthwhile will be greatly appreciated. I'm mostly looking for things that involve writing/biology/volunteering/leadership, though others are good, too.</p>
<p>I’ve had a couple of friends who’ve done CTY but it seems to be more of a social thing and not all that intense academically or prestigious. I’m sure it depends on which course you take though. I know there’s lots of summer programs out there but the problem is that the majority of the prestigious ones are not available for freshmen…
I’m a freshman too and trying to figure out how to do something productive as well though.</p>
<p>I definitely agree. It’s more like regular summer camp now. Some courses with prerequisites are good, but others are pretty much a joke.
I haven’t heard of any super prestigious programs that accepts freshmen, either.</p>