<p>I have been reading all of the summer program threads. My s is a freshman who would love to spend most of the summer playing tennis, running track and hanging out with his friends. He may want to take a course at the local university or community college. Do your kids want to do these summer long programs or are you "encouraging" them hoping it will get them into the college of their dreams? Will my s be at a disadvantage without one?</p>
<p>I believe in kids doing something productive during the summer. This doesn't mean, however, doing summer academic programs if the student lacks that particular interest.</p>
<p>If I had a kid who was really into sports, and I had the money to send them to a sports camp, that's what I would do. If I didn't have the money, I'd see if I could help them find a job or volunteer work doing something like being a lifeguard or a summer sports camp worker. I'd also see if they could be on a team during the summer.</p>
<p>What's important when it comes to elite college admissions is that a student has done something the summer to pursue their academic or EC interests that's beside playing videogames or just hanging out with friends. While I think that all teens benefit from some down time over the summer, I don't think it's a good idea for them to have no structured time. At the very least, I think they should do some regular volunteer work.</p>
<p>My son went to three years at TIP because it was his only chance of being around kids "like him." He wanted to go and he loved it .. although it got old after three years. I hope it helped prepare him for college but I don't see it playing a part in getting him accepted. He was at a rural high school with an unhealthy dropout rate, no AP, no IB, few courses called "advanced," not much math or science. TIP was his chance to be around people who valued education and to see how he fit in with them. If he wanted to do something else, like your son, and had the opportunity, I'd think it was WONDERFUL.</p>
<p>For my son, it wasn't as much getting into college of dreams, but just trying different things out; things that he could not have done in school. So one year he went to CTY and took a course in writing essays. He enjoyed it a whole lot and made friends from all over the world and from all over the US; he is still in contact with these people. The next year, he took a course in Genetics because JHU is known for it's emphasis on science. He enjoyed that too. I did not have to prod him to go at all, it was his idea. Again, he made friends from other parts of the country where he hasn't gone and all over the world. The next year he took an Engineering course, just to see if he would like to major in Engineering in college (he did not like it that much). By then he had become an old CTY hand. When he was 15 and had gone to CTY the final year, he chafed a little at the lack of freedom and staying within the confines of the Johns Hopkins site all the time. But he still had a ball.</p>
<p>My son did CTY and the Governor's School because he was not sufficiently challgenged at our average, but ok in most respect, public high school. In his case, he wanted to do these programs and the experiences greatly broadened his horizons and enriched his life, both from the material learned in the classes, but even more importantly, from being with other kids with similar motivation, interest, and abilities for the first time in his life. In his case, I think the programs were valuable for getting into college as it helped him set his sights on appropriate colleges and also showed his level of interest and potential for higher level work, which would not be possible to do solely within the confines of our high school's curriculum.</p>
<p>In the case of my daughter, she attended an immersion program in Spain for one month during the summer after her junior year. She is very interested in foreign languages and cultures, and she increased her Spanish fluency, saw many interesting sites, and met kids from all over Europe as well as the US. The experience was also valuable for her in developing independence (she traveled alone, not with a group from her school our our area) and being away from home for an extended period before going away to college. I have no idea if this experience helped her in college admissions, but it was but it was a very enriching and worthwhile experience for her.</p>
<p>I don't think your son will be at an advantage by not attending a summer program, but I think that it is good to do something, whether a summer job, volunteer work, a local course, or a summer program, during the summer. This does not have to be full-time, it can be part-time while leaving plenty of time for the activities you mentioned that your son enjoys. </p>
<p>Quite a few of the college applications filled out by my kids asked about what you have done over the past summer or summers. I know one of them asked if the student had done "a service project, study program, or work or travel opportunity during a recent summer." The way this question is phrased is pretty broad and would include almost any summer activity, not just attending an away-from-home program.</p>
<p>We didn't have to "encourage" our kids - they found the programs themselves, then begged to go! However, the programs they chose (like SEA) were not all summer - they ranged from 3 to 5 weeks - so they still had plenty of time to do other things.</p>
<p>I guess that I should know the answer to my own question. My D is entering Dartmouth in the fall. Her summers were spent very much like my son's. She was(and he will be) on a tennis team. He will also volunteer at a summer tennis camp as well as volunteering at our public library. He will have a part time job also. As I stated above he is interested in taking a class at a local college. He is not interested in going to a residential summer program. Nor, would I want him to be away this summer. Having similar low key summers, my D did get into the college of her dreams- Datmouth. Would you need more structure for say applications to HYP? Or is being himself still the way to go? He is a very good student.</p>
<p>I think as long as he is doing the worthwhile things you mentioned in the summer, he should be fine for any college he aims for.</p>
<p>I don't think there is a single right answer; so many (not all, I know) of those impressive-sounding comnmunity service programs, for example, are also quite expensive and you have to be pretty privileged to participate in them. </p>
<p>My daughter, now a college freshman, has been a counselor for the past two summers at the summer camp she used to attend; she and many of her coworkers attend top-ten schools, as well as other excellent colleges and universities (though I think HYP are sparsely represented). In my daughter's case her summer job was a nicely integrated part of her overall ressume, in that she loves working with kids and was a peer leader at school, and she worked in the tennis and performing arts programs at camp, which were also areas of heavy involvement at school. This year she will return to camp with addiitonal responsibilities. Her summer experience, which I think is constructive and suited her very well, probably neither helped nor hindered her; the schools she wass admitted to were largely those that fit her academic profile and general high school achievement level; she did not gain admission to her reaches, but I don't know that people who presented more dazzling summer stuff did either. For my daughter, the summer job was very rewarding because it was and continues to be the culmination of an experience that began when she was in elementary school and it really plays to her strengths and interests. (I actually think the colleges should have been more impresed than they were.)</p>
<p>In any case, I do not think kids should spend their summers doing an activity just for the resume any more than they should spend an entire sumemr doing nothing. It is great if they can find something constructive to do that ties in to their interests, even if it is just teaching tennis in the town rec department program as opposed to playing in tournaments in Europe as part of a traveling program. Basically, like the rest of us, high school kids need to be true to themselves, because if they aren't, at some point things start to fall apart.</p>
<p>For us summers have been about doing something the kids were interested in plus seeing something new. It was a time to check out colleges they were interested in by going to the programs, seeing new Countries while studying languages, etc. Basically, a time for exposure.</p>
<p>Well, here's another story. My daughter qualified for TIP in the 7th grade, we got the catalog, she refused to have anything to do with it. "I do school at school, why on earth would I want to do anything in the summer?!" We had the same discussion every spring, until I gave up about the 9th grade. But, she always went to camp for a week or two, we would take at least one family beach vacation, 2 weeks the last several years. As soon as she was old enough, she began going on the school sponsored trips to Europe, a couple of teachers take a group each year right after school gets out. Mostly though she hung out with her Dad and brother (built a wine cellar one summer, grew grapes and blueberries and made jam, grew tomatoes and canned tomato sauce, went on a couple of church trips) and read lots of books. This last summer before senior year, she did do an organized program (although she really wanted to go to Alaska backpacking), mainly to get a feel for living at college.
Because of scheduling conflicts my childrens' summer is relatively short, and the precious family vacation involves 2 other families, so the dates are fixed way in advance. It didn't seem to matter, she got into her first choice college and has special memories, like the summer her Dad ran their vacation like boot camp, and had dog tags made for them!
I worried about this a great deal last year because she missed out on several opportunities - Governor's School would have been perfect, but we didn't learn about it until after the deadline (did I say her school isn't very helpful with this sort of stuff?), Girls' State conflicted with a trip she had already committed too, etc. Everything just worked out anyway.</p>
<p>I think they just want to know that the child does something - I think an essay about how I read all the plays of Shakespeare, or the entire letter K at the library would be well received, as would working, or traveling or babysitting younger siblings.</p>
<p>I also think it depends on the child. My son has always been a bit bored with regular school offerings. Summer programs have given him an opportunity to try different things that he can't do in school and it has always been his choice to go. </p>
<p>Our daughter, however, is more of a homebody. She has never gone to an away summer program. She has spent the past two summers in her school's summer school getting required courses out of the way so she could have space in her schedule for art. She spends her other free time during summer riding her horse and working on art projects. For her, it has worked well. However, this summer she is thinking about going to Earlham's two week summer program and I think it will be a good thing for her to experience what it is like living on her own, even if only briefly.</p>
<p>great question ... I think it depends on the kid. My middle kid is a sports nut and (already) fills up the summer with sports camps ... the only questions are; which sports?, how intense a camp?, and overnight or not? My oldest is the one for which I asked about architecture earlier ... she often likes non-typical activities ... I am trying to find out options she might like ... show her the link (or whatever) and then go with her choices ... but as a parent I think i can help her see a wider range of choices while (hopefully) not pushing in any way.</p>
<p>My son has never wanted to do anything academic during the summer. His school year is pretty intense and he used the summers to travel with us, train for his sport and hang out. The first summer he was old enough to work we sent him (against his will) to a wilderness program, so he has never had a job. He is a junior now, and has asked to apply to a very competitive program at Penn. I was shocked. It is expensive, but would be a good experience for him, so we said yes. He will be unable to train for his sport because of some surgery he has to have right after school ends.</p>
<p>We insist that D do something besides hanging out at the pool or sitting at her computer IMing her friends. She decided to do a ballet summer intensive program early in the summer and a French camp later in the summer. Last year her ballet program ran 6 weeks and overlapped with the French camp. After this year Id like her to forgo the ballet SI or attend a shorter program. I'm going to gently push for a French camp or some other academic summer program - but Ill acquiesce if she really wants to continue doing a ballet SI.</p>
<p>Mine have always begged for debate camp over the summer, not for the resume, but to improve for the next debate season. We try to encourage a camp or program at a school they might apply to in the summer of junior year. Again, that is not necessarily any "tip" in, but it does give them an idea of what the campus and surrounding are like.</p>
<p>I believe in my kids hangin' with their grandparents in the Adirondacks all summer, fishing, swimming, hiking, waiting tables at an Adirondack inn...BUT, this year one of my sons is determined to go to computer camp, and I think we will actually let him go (he's a sophmore now). There is no college on earth (IMO) that would be worth the time they have spent in the summers basically just being kids.</p>
<p>Your kids are very lucky to have had the opportunity to spend so much time with their grandparents and also to spend their summers in such a wonderful outdoor environment!</p>
<p>Well, my 18 yr old already accepted to college will be having oral surgery. But son 17 will be teaching the township tennis program for 6 weeks (mid June to end of July)</p>
<p>BHG, I loved the intro to your family you gave in the other thread. Specially 'Loving every minute of it'. I read in a recent Time Magazine special (Issue on Health) recently that people who show this kind of appreciation for life generally know how to be happy. This is research from some psychologists..... :)</p>