<p>I would welcome your recommendations for a summer program in math/science for my rising 9th grade daughter, preferably at a BS. </p>
<p>D has good grades in these subjects in a solid PS district (Fairfax County, VA); however, she is not likely to be identified by Westinghouse or MIT as the next wunderkind, nor is she competitive by nature. She has an older brother & sister at two different BS & aside from enjoying math & science, she figured a summer program might make a good intro to BS (toe in the water) as she contemplates the BS search this fall (and presumed entry as a 10th grader in fall 2011).</p>
<p>Her brother and sister are content if not happy at their schools, though neither are partisan about their schools, nor are they evangelical in their belief that BS is a must-do experience for their younger siblings. I am a BS grad & it was a positive experience for me, but I share the view that no child should be forced into one if the idea doesn't appeal to them.</p>
<p>Exeter’s Summer program has math and science clusters. My d said the math kids had more homework or maybe harder homework. I think it has the right combination of fun and work. If your kid decides boarding school is not the experience they want, six weeks is just enough time to be away from home.</p>
<p>I think going to a summer camp is a great exposure to boarding school life and also an amazing learning opportunity, but wouldn’t it be heartbroken if someone LOVED their summer experience but after that got rejected to boarding schools?</p>
<p>@ assign: point taken. She may well love Choate’s summer program, yet not be admitted to CRH as a regular applicant. </p>
<p>That said, with two kids in BS and me a BS alum, we like to consider our family realistic when it comes to matches and prospects for the children. I suspect that in this instance, our D and Choate would not make a match. </p>
<p>What appealed to us about the Choate summer program was the science/math focus on girls her age, and moreover, Choate’s deliberate position that the idea was to give girls a solid foundation–not to accelerate them. Just what we’re looking for!</p>
<p>Brown University runs a summer program for students who have completed 7th or 8th grade. SPARK for middle school. They offer 1, 2 or 3 week sessions, commuter or residential. A cousin attended 4 years ago and loved it. </p>
<p>What about the Andover summer session for middle schoolers? </p>
<p>Does anyone have any recommendations for summer boarding experiences for advanced middle schoolers?</p>
<p>You don’t have to send her to an expensive summer program. There are many smaller, cheaper ones that would work just as well and would be very fun. Most summer camps stay in boarding school or college dorms. I recommend checking out the summer programs forum.</p>
<p>Im not sure how a summer program at a BS would introduce your child to the BS - a school is made up of students, teachers and administrators. The students your kid will encounter will not be BS students, the administrators wont be there, while some teachers may be the same, they may not be conducting class in a manner they would in the course of the year</p>
<p>@mhmm: idea is to offer her in an away-from-home learning environment, and see whether that whets her appetite for what she knows her older brother and sister are doing in BS. I recognize it’s not a 1-for-1 comparison. Cheers!</p>