<p>Is anybody on this board attending the JSA Summer Program at Yale?</p>
<p>I attended last year [alas, I am a senior now and cannot go again =( ]</p>
<p>However, I did set up a website with pictures I collected from a bunch of people, available at <a href="http://www.jsa2004.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.jsa2004.com</a> [if moderators take the link down, send me a memo via these forums]</p>
<p>It was a truly excellent time, and although you should be prepared for some work, you will not regret it!</p>
<p>I might. I didn't get as much of a scholarship I hoped for, but I got rejected from my other, more selective program...so...we'll see...I was surprised to see that along w/ basic tuition of 3600-ish there is a ton of money you also have to pay Yale....grrrr</p>
<p>I'm v. interested in current events and such...will take Constitutional Law if I decide to go...have debated for 3 years, 2 on the college circuit for the JC...and am excited by essays and speeches on political issues...so I don't mind the work...but what about the classes? Are they interesting? Small? What's the format of the workshop? What did you like most about it? Did you really get to know the professors?</p>
<p>(Are you going to Yale next year? lol.)</p>
<p>Lol. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>EDIT: and the dorms and the food? food is a big thing for me.</p>
<p>Money was a big problem for me as well, but I was able to raise over $3500 in just under two weeks. Ask clubs at your school (and especially the social studies department people), your mayor and city council/town board people, local newspapers and political parties (county democratic/republican parties). They will definately want to help. Also, try and get your school to do a fundraiser for you - bakesale or something.</p>
<p>There is no extra money you have to pay to Yale - the $3600 includes room and board, 'cultural' trips (we made two to NYC - one for a speakers day at the UN and public library, and another to go shopping/have fun). It also includes classes and books. You do have to write out checks for deposit on your room keys (one keycard to get access to the residence, and one key to get into your own room), but they are returned as long as you do not lose either. </p>
<p>Classes are taught by college professors, all of whom have a PhD (for the government aspect), and <em>most</em> of whom have a PhD for the public speaking segment. Classes are anywhere from 10-30 students, are held six days a week for three hours each day (here was my schedule, Monday - Saturday):</p>
<p>get up at 8:20 (breakfast starts at 7am, but after the first week you will crave sleep more than food)
AP Gov at 8:30
Lunch/free time from 11:30 to 1:30pm
Public Speaking from 1:30 to 4:30pm
Dinner/free time from 4:30 to 7:00pm
Congressional Workshop from 7:00 to 9:00pm
Floor/RA meeting at 10:pm</p>
<p>The debate workshops are completely student run. You must present as main speaker in one debate, on which you are graded. You must also give four subsequent speeches, which are also graded - together, these grades count as 10% of your final Government grade. The first week you are at Yale, they instruct you in parliamentary procedure (Robert's Rules of Order), and the general format of the debate. If you are interested in being a moderator, you attend a lecture in that, and on the first three nights of debate each candidate in your 'house' (30 people) moderates one debate, after which they are all voted on and a permenant moderator selected. Then, each night two debates are presented, each approximately an hour long. The format of each debate:</p>
<p>5 Minute Main speech, Pro side
5 minute main speech, con side</p>
<p>3 minute subsequent speech, pro
3 minute sub. speech, con
[etc, etc]</p>
<p>3 minute closing speech, con
3 minute closing speech, pro</p>
<p>Vote</p>
<p>After every debate people vote on the best speaker (most convincing/most articulate/eloquent), and at the end of the program one best speaker is selected from each house for a gavel award.</p>
<p>I absolutely loved the program - the professors were so brilliant, and the atmosphere was completely different from that of high school. I was a bit put off by some of the antics of the RAs (college students who were active in JSA in high school, 99% of whom also attended summer programs), but they were more than bearable. The campus is...well...its Yale. Breathtaking. Amazing. Incredibly beautiful. You can literally feel its history, and feel surrounded in an aura of brilliance and academia. It more than lives up to its name. </p>
<p>The opportunity to know your professors is certainly there. They eat meals in the dining hall with students, so you can approach them for help or just a friendly discussion. They are VERY dedicated to their study and almost all would love to have a conversation. </p>
<p>Be prepared to work. 100 pages of reading a night for the first week, as well as a test after the first 5 days, kinda shocked me. The professors expect a lot from you - let me stress, <em>a lot</em>. But you are there to learn, and you WILL learn [I slacked off and didnt do most of the homework, and didnt get a very good [although it was still more than passing] grade in government, but I learned so much more than I ever would in high school]. </p>
<p>The best part? The other kids. Sure, some are rich and snobby, but 98% are very friendly and very bright. Me and my roommates [dont dare correct my grammar in this sentence :p ] would often stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning doing homework (yeah..like I said...a lot of work), but most often arguing about politics and public affairs. Even during a meal, you can sit at a table with people you never even met before and just start having a conversation about any topic you want. You needn't feel intimidated either - some are champion debaters, others have never debated a day in their lives. Me and a conservative kid were cutthroat antagonists, but I daresay that in talking to him now, we have both learned a lot about each other's position through healthy debate, and have changed our views in light of those facts (he now hates Bush, so I guess I won :p ). I should note that you will become excellent friends with at least a few people - 11 months later, I am still in frequent contact with about 10 people (and I'm a reclusive, introverted nerdy kid who sat in my room most of the day :p )</p>
<p>I would LOVE to go to Yale again, but alas, I am a senior now. Nor do I have the money (and wouldn't want to impose on people again to raise the money). I am certainly looking forward to working as an RA in the near future however, because I dearly miss the campus and the people. </p>
<p>The food isnt 4 star dining, and you would be well advised to get a taste for pasta, because they serve a lot of it. Still, there are many choices available every day, including a huge salad bar and several entrees which change each day. Breakfast is your standard fare - bagels and breads and fruit and eggs, bacon, etc etc.
There are a ton of delis and nice restaurants in walking distance from the college you would be staying in - from the very cheap to the very expensive. There are also stores called Gourmet Heaven - <em>slightly</em> pricy (comon, this is the ivy league), but not unreasonable. They have mostly health food, but also a huge hot & cold buffet of chinese, american and italian cuisine, as well as tons of fruit choices. </p>
<p>The dorms are HUGE. I was in a quad - two bedrooms of two students each, with a common area. It was hardwood floors and had a fireplace. Bathrooms are marble and VERY clean. The common area of the entire building had a grand piano, leather couches and a chandlier (and of course another fireplace). Excellent. You really do live the high life. </p>
<p>As you can see, I highly recommend it. If you have any more questions- any at all - feel free to ask
And do let me know if you choose to go :)</p>
<p>Wow. It sounds awesome. I also looked at the debate topics for this year, and I would really love to have discussion on those. The debate format is similar to parliamentary debate, which is what I do...so I'm very excited about the program. It's definitely in line for my interests, and I plan to have a pow-wow session with my debate team before I go, so we can have mini-debates in preparation for the program - that is if I can go. And probably the biggest plus would be the people there. Plus, I totally want to go to Yale next year, and would love a taste of the campus life there...</p>
<p>(It said on the packet that there's no air conditioning. Is it really hot in New Haven?) And I love pasta. :)</p>
<p>But yeah, money is the biggest problem. I got $450 scholarship from JSA, but my parents have absolutely no money to give to me for this. Can you give me more advice for fundraising? I have a little over a week to send in my full tuition, and have to send in a deposit by...Monday to secure my spot. (Doesn't the tuition also not include computers and stuff? Although I could, if needed, borrow a laptop, and my dad has a ton of frequent flyer miles so the airfare should not be a problem). I'm also v. introverted, and very scared/reluctant to ask people for money. If needed, I could work during the summer after JSA (just a basic job, like In-N-Out, and could get over 1000, so if worst comes to worst, I need a bit over $2000+). How did you raise money? How did you approach the people? I'm very reluctant to make a big deal out of it at my school, as I live in a pretty high-income area (i.e. the OC) - we bought the house 7 years ago, before we lost a ton of our money, and were in the upper MC - so I don't see any clubs giving me money, because we don't have 'scholarship funds' or anything like that. I could talk to the career center, and see if they have any money. The mayor and city council seem more probable, but how much did they really help? (lol, I'm very cynical about fundraising). Where did you get most of your financial contributions? Local newspapers are a possibility, and I guess political parties would be good (although I'm a staunch Democrat, and most of my area is Republican -again, the OC). I am pretty scared about fundraising...although if they want to help, its a whole different ballgame. What was your approach to it? I don't have the time to get stationary and write up little resumes as the packet suggests....so. </p>
<p>Yeah. The workload sounds shocking, but if its material that's interesting, I don't mind it. The only thing is that, yeah, money will be a big barrier to my going. I'm going to call them on Monday, though, and see if they can possibly give me more money (I don't want to go in-depth with my financial situation, but we basically have our house, which is worth 1/2 million, and then like 2000, and that's it. Nothing else in the bank, stocks, whatever. It's really absurd if I have to get my parents to sell our house or whatever to go to JSA - plus, we wouldn't even have the money to buy another house in our area, and I'd have to change schools.) or extend the deadline. I'm really at a loss with this financial stuff.</p>
<p>First off, when you received your acceptance letter you would have also received a packet of information with business cards in it - email one or both of those people and explain to them your situation - that you have no money and need time to fundraise. I was able to get about 15 days extension on the tuition deadline (and used every minute of it).
I wouldnt bet on getting extra money from them because JSA is not-for-profit and only has one or two big donors to the summer program (btw we only have a $30k house and I only got $700 in aid :p)</p>
<p>Going into it, I, too was very afraid of asking people for money - and rather ashamed of doing so. But seriously, and I dont mean to cliche things here, but if you really believe in this and believe that you want to go, you will show yourself as more confident and will get more money. Your personal feelings about begging for money will also change - as my mayor put it, in politics that's all you do - ask people for money. [I suppose thats part of why politicians are considered so low in character :p ]</p>
<p>You would be best advised to bring a computer of your own (depending, of course, on where you live - it wouldnt make much sense bringing one from CA), but they do have computers available to rent for somewhere around $100 for the month via a third party rental agency (they sent you information on this most likely). Still, Yale being what it is, the college library (which is nothing to say of Sterling library, the main one) has more than enough computers. You will be so busy working or having fun that you really wont use the computer much (Im a nerd/loser/computer person and still found this to be very true), aside from a 12-15 page paper you have to write for the last week you are there (start early! I was up for almost 40 hours straight writing mine!!!!)</p>
<p>Again, school clubs are your best bet, depending on how rich your school is - I go out-of-district from a poor city to a very affluent public HS, and they hooked me up bigtime - even some parents wanted to give me money (whom I didn't even know). I thought of these people as generally quite arrogant and greedy until I came to them for help and they responded so well - I was extremely surprised. For instance, the Teachers' Association gave me $1000, the yearbook committee $1000, a community service group $700 or so, my graduating class $250, my mayor and his family $400, city Democratic party $50, the chamber of commerce $300 or $400 (via individual members), one of my teachers $100, my aunt $100, one of my mother's clients $50, and city councilmembers $150; [you will need spending money - I blew $1100 in the one month (food (other than dining hall), books @ the wonderful B&N book store, NYC trips (ahhh Macys))]. The social studies department would know of scholarships or organizations who would be likely to give you money. Another way to pick up some money and also get your name out there within your community is to contact your local chamber of commerce and ask them when their next meeting is - if it is within your deadline + extension time, ask if you can come speak before them. Explain the program, explain your financial situation, your passion for politics and debate, future aspirations etc, and then ask them for money :) It WILL seem awkward, but it will bring in some bucks and is a very good way to network. Be sure that once you are done with the program, return to the Chamber of Commerce (or similar organization(s) whom you have asked for money) to tell them how much fun everything was, how grateful you are, all that stuff (and if/when you do receive money, be sure to get a thank you letter out within a day or two!!) Make sure they write personal checks out to you and not to JSA - they cannot, by law, <em>guarantee</em> the money will go to you. Doing this will make the donation NON tax-writeoffable (what a word) but will guarantee it goes to you. Keep a record of who sent you how much, so that if you cannot raise the full amount you are able to return the money (my chamber president asked about this, so luckily I was already keeping books on everything). </p>
<p>As long as you go into it prepared, you will get more "yes"s than "no"s when it comes to fundraising (and they <em>usually</em> word the 'No' as to be nice about it and not make you hate your life and feel like you are wasting your time). Read the pamphlet and the website front to back and get to know every aspect of the program - ask me questions too. Prepare a little sales pitch describing how long the program is, what youll be studying, what other interesting things you do during the summer (NYC, speakers, etc), debating, being at one of the greatest universities on the planet (I always like to stress this part :p ) Get fired up about it and show a little bounce in your speaking ( this is also good public speaking practice). Once you start down the path of fundraising and have to do some of these things, you will understand what I mean and they will seem less foolish/cliche/embarrassing. </p>
<p>Being at Yale literally changed my life. I slacked off for 3 years of HS (god, how did they ever accept my application for JSA?), but once I saw how awsome college would be, I worked my ass off 1st semester this year - far too late to do much good when it came to getting into college - but it was a true eye opener. Even now I feel more allegiance (and certainly more pride) to Yale (even though I wouldnt, in a million years, be accepted to it for normal term) than I do to the college I will be attending this fall [Syracuse Uni.]. After I left last July I was literally sick to my stomach - it was like heartache. I missed it so bad, and I still do. Still, I guess it's motivated me to seek a law degree just so I can have a chance to do things right and get a shot to actually go to grad school there (btw the law schools is freaking amazing!!!). </p>
<p>Again, any more questions and I'd be glad to answer. I can also elaborate more on fundraising, but I'm tired, its 11:20 and I have to be to work in 6 hours :p</p>
<p>OK, now I'm really freaked out. I talked to a former debate partner of mine, who has offered some connections and stuff, but I wanted to see if I could get work/study at her law firm (she's not lawyer, just like...i dunno college student working?) and I totally chickened out. I can't do this! LOL.</p>
<p>So, she says she can help me draft a resume and I should talk to my HS (I don't think my HS has any money! gah!) and this Democratic politician guy. Also, the city chamber of commerce...school district, etc. And I was also thinking about rotary...or the Masons, I know someone who got money for a debate camp from them, but he was really financially disadvantaged (i.e. alcoholic parents, never there) - </p>
<p>I called the guy's number on the business card; he wasn't there so I left a message. Do I have to do the resume, the call, and the meeting? I'm totally...I hate doing this kind of stuff, and am really having a hard time doing it. My ex-debate partner did offer to review my resume for me, but I dunno, it just sounds so scary. </p>
<p>Can I just call them, or have to write that letter? Gah, I have an essay due tonight, too....</p>