<p>My son just got his SAT results back from the October 5th exam and he did well enough to qualify for all of the CTY summer programs (regular and intensive in both Math/Science and Humanities). We are very proud and the only reason he was taking the SAT was to qualify to participate in a summer program with CTY.</p>
<p>Now to our most recent conversation. He has been looking online at different sites and has been influenced to believe that the Intensive program is more prestigious and the regular program is really just for anyone off the street. He really wants to take the Marine Sciences program, but it is only offered as a regular course, not an intensive. He is now worried that if he doesn't take a program that is at a higher level it will reflect poorly on him.</p>
<p>Some of the sites he was looking at were a little "snooty" saying that the intensive program is the "real" program and the regular offerings were just so people could say they went, but they weren't really rigorous.</p>
<p>I have told him that it is better for him to go with his passion (marine science) instead of which one "looks better" or was "harder to get into". He did a summer camp with NOAA two summers ago and loved it. He has been very interested in Marine Sciences for a long time and I feel he would get so much out of the program, but I don't want him to feel shortchanged.</p>
<p>Do you have any more persuasive arguments or can you pass along any information as to whether or not it really is better to choose an intensive program (as I mentioned, he did qualify for those in both Humanities and Math/Science)? I have to believe he should go with what interests him the most.</p>
<p>My D attended CTY (humanities)in 7th or 8th grade - not 100% sure when - but as a middle schooler. For what it is worth, her counselor said that she she not even list this in her college apps this year since it was done prior to the high school. So, if your son is worried about the “prestige” of the course from a college app perspective, I am not sure that even plays into it (unless of course he is in HS now). He should go for the program that he likes - “prestige” or “snootiness” notwithstanding</p>
<p>He will participate this coming summer, which will be right before 9th grade. </p>
<p>I don’t think I chose the right word with prestige. He is is just worried that it isn’t a good program because of the comments saying that “anyone off the street” can get in to the “academic explorations” summer program. He wants something challenging and more than he can get in his current school. </p>
<p>I think that if he sticks with marine sciences, it will show that he has done something outside of school to pursue his interests. </p>
<p>He got the business card from the director of the NOAA program and asked to come back as an intern in high school. She was very open to the idea. I think he should stick with what he wants to do and not worry about what others think. </p>
<p>I’m just looking for reassurances that the Academic Explorations program is a good one and will be sufficiently rigorous and challenging.</p>
<p>My D was in the program and did whatever she was passionate about at the time. At the end of the day, she is now at her first choice Ivy.</p>
<p>I don’t think CTY was a major factor at all as it only comprised a small part of her overall application. It didn’t hurt either though. It was a piece of the overall puzzle that gave insight into who she is.</p>
<p>I would ask him what he hopes to gain from the experience. If it is just for the specific course information and the marine biology class offers a great experience, then he should take that class with no worries about prestige.</p>
<p>However, if he wants the true “CTY” experience of being around truly gifted kids and this would be beneficial to him - not because it is more prestigious but because that camaraderie can be priceless - he might consider the intensive program. For some kids, it is the only time they feel they are surrounded by other kids that get it. If that is not an issue and he is doesn’t feel like a fish out of water in his regular school, he should just go for what interests him.</p>
<p>Choosing the marine science course would offer a continuing narrative regarding his path through high school. The prestige of the intensive vs the regular program will probably have little bearing on his college apps.</p>
<p>Hope he enjoys whatever program he chooses!</p>
<p>Back when my kid did CTY there was just one program which seems to have the intensive courses. (He did Cryptography and Probability and Game Theory both excellent courses. He also did Fast Pace Chemistry because he’d been unable to take Chemistry as a freshman in high school because of scheduling snafus - it was fine, but not as much fun as the other two courses.) In any event, none of the courses ever appeared on any resume or list of activities, but they were courses that for the first time really stretched him. I think he really enjoyed being among a lot of really smart nerds for the first time. There may be a little more of that nerdy atmosphere at the intensive courses - or he may think that the kids wearing bathrobes on Thursdays (Hitchhiker’s Guide joke) are just weird. I let my kid take what he wanted, but he didn’t have anyone telling him one course was better or more intense than another. If he loves marine biology it does seem like the natural course to take.</p>
<p>Our son did two summers on the main campus and enjoyed it…he was “older”…there for the final two eligible age summers. His CTY experiences were very minor factors in his college apps and really don’t belong on the Common App. Prestige is a bad reason to choose a class for this summer program. CTY is really about your mental health and pushing out without worrying about rank, grades, and competition. Although I do understand where this question is coming from! </p>
<p>There are no grades (thank goodness). However, your child will get a paragraph or two about him/herself written by the lead professor of the course regarding their work and growth observed to keep. How much better it would be to be a student with a real joy in studying Marine Sciences, something that simply can’t be done in high schools. He would be an asset to the classmates with his sincere interest. And he can explore at the perfect age with no consequences as he thinks about things like college selection later on.
If he is determined to have a second summer, you can always opt for an advanced course next year.
In my view after watching son’s life there, the experience was all about meeting needs he had for intensive college level study and discussion that could not be met in his (low functioning) home high school. He was in a good school at home for math/science but had very weak liberal arts instruction at home. So each kid shows up with different needs. Our son has thanked us numerous times for taking him 5 hours from home to be there as campus living in itself was a growth experience for him. Courses in ethics and international relations with a lot of reading and discussion at Hopkins brought him joy. Age didn’t matter…his classes had tiny tot 7th graders and older teens in it all learning at the same pace.<br>
Socially, it is a good safe place, highly supervised with plenty of options for extroverts and introverts in free time. He ran every morning with a teaching assistant before class along with other kids training for cross country for their home town teams.</p>
<p>They are in class for long hours at a time. But their free time is very much a part of their experience as well. Encourage your son to think of the need to have that academic passion essay answer rather than proving his mettle by going for the hardest class they teach.</p>
<p>Great responses - thank you! He really does want to take the Marine class and that was the sole reason for him taking the SAT. </p>
<p>It is probably just nerves on his part - if accepted into the class, he will be flying across the country by himself to spend three weeks in a new place (and half of that time on a ship!). He just wants to make sure it’s worth it and he is making the right choice!</p>
<p>It looks like a really interesting and unique experience. Also, not that it should matter, but if he does end up putting this on his college apps, it is still a CTY course!</p>
<p>My son used his CTY courses in his resume attached to his Common App…at the very bottom! however he ended up using some of his social and academic experiences at CTY in a couple of essays as leading paragraphs. Socially, he was from a small city and although an extremely “nice” 14 year old, he was not sophisticated nor did he have any sense of who his peers would be in college. CTY shook up his outlook and gave him an early view into where he was heading minus grades, with a focus only on the love of learning shared by all. He brought a lot of board games and students who were into that used his room as game central. Other students were more socially mature and were more interested in coed activities. They really do make way for the variance in kids’ social lives at CTY. Second summer was entirely diff for our son. This time he was in the thick of things and his social experience was equal to his academic pleasure. One thing I note is the extreme amount of physical supervision they received on the Hopkins campus. He got shots and was always accompanied by a staff person just to go to a different building. They were always wearing their lanyards and their physical locations were known. No one stepped off campus without an adult. I think this was annoying to the older teens from NYC used to getting about on their own but if you are talking camp far far away, it is a comfort to parents. Anyway, you have junior and senior years in high school when your child has to take all advanced courses, and scores of exams whilst having a meaningful activity outside of schooling and being ready to write bright engaging essays on their lives. (ugh). The last run for the roses can feel like so many false gods and can break your spirit as the anxiety level rises among peers for college admission. Concentrate on your child’s happiness, love of learning and treasure his social growth since all of these fine experiences…which are such a privilege really…will help him make critical thinking decisions when he is 17/18. enjoy the process, signed wistful mother whose children grew wings…:)</p>
<p>Sometimes different classes require higher test scores because of the nature of the class.<br>
For example, physics would be more likely than marine biology to have a higher SAT math requirement. So I wouldn’t base your choice of classes on SAT score requirements.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I understand the point about needing to take a harder class based on prestige. Colleges won’t care that he is in CTY, intensive or not. You do it to satiate your own need for challenging yourself academically. If it’s because he feels like he should push himself out of some intrinsic standard, I think he should go ahead and take the class that sounds the most interesting to him. If marine bio is too watered down for him, then he may consider doing the intensive program next time if he thinks that will fix the problem. I would just go ahead and take marine bio.</p>
<p>Absolutely agree with those that say follow the passion. My DD attended three summer’s worth. No only did she experience great joy in finding fellow “nerdy” students , but made life-long friends and discovered her passion. She came home telling me she discovered her major in 8th grade, and sure enough that was what she majored in in college. She was able to take an online AP course in HS due to her CTY preparation in the subject.Along the way she experienced several different college campuses, learned about and from kids like herself and gained study skills and learned to handle high level courses.
Let your son have a great first summer, so that he is willing to go back…and he might just find that “passion” that will open the doors to a great university</p>
<p>I’m glad to see you all agree with me that he should stick with his original choice! </p>
<p>Just to clarify, we are not worried about college applications (I don’t think he’s given a first or second thought to them). He just wanted to do the program because it sounded interesting but then got worried after reading those other forums that it would be too basic.</p>
<p>I think he will have fun with it and it will be a learning experience either way.</p>
Anyway, you have junior and senior years in high school when your child has to take all advanced courses, and scores of exams whilst having a meaningful activity outside of schooling and being ready to write bright engaging essays on their lives. (ugh). The last run for the roses can feel like so many false gods and can break your spirit as the anxiety level rises among peers for college admission. Concentrate on your child’s happiness, love of learning and treasure his social growth since all of these fine experiences…which are such a privilege really…will help him make critical thinking decisions when he is 17/18. enjoy the process, signed wistful mother whose children grew wings…:)</p>