Need help finding the right summer program for middle schooler !

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

<p>Yes, middle schooler :) My child is going into 7th grade in 2014 Fall.</p>

<p>We are looking into summer camps that will help my child build a good profile specially considering the cost of some of the summer camps we are looking at.</p>

<p>We live in NJ. Sleepaway camp is ok too, preferably shorter duration.</p>

<p>We are in the process of taking CTY test. My child is in the district's gifted program.</p>

<p>We are specially interested in leadership type of camps and anything that will make the resume look good and yet provide a great experience.</p>

<p>So far , we have looked at</p>

<ol>
<li>SIG (summer intensive program for the gifted)</li>
<li>Explo (Exploration</a> Summer Programs | EXPLO)</li>
<li>Envision</a> Career & Leadership Programs | Academic Summer Programs for High School Students | College Readiness</li>
</ol>

<p>So many choices. Are there any prestigious camps for this age group ? I know we are probably starting too early here, but thought it wouldn't hurt.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>“make the resume look good”. Really? To whom? For what purpose? Your 11 year old has a resume? Before you fork over a lot of money for that “resume building” “prestigious” camp you should know that colleges won’t care about a camp your child attended after 6th grade. It’s not something you would list on a college application. Unless it’s something he is asking for and excited about doing, I think you’re wasting your money.</p>

<p>“I know we are probably starting too early here, but thought it wouldn’t hurt.” It certainly doesn’t hurt to post something on here. But I really think you should consider the pressure you are putting your child under by planning out his life to look good to colleges and trying to build his resume when he’s only in 6th grade.</p>

3

<p>Having just sent my first child off to college, and with a middle schooler still at home, I can tell you I am tempted to push the second one along a little faster, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Let the kid be a kid for just a little bit longer.</p>

<p>I do see the value of a child exploring and discovering their passions, and would encourage you to engage your child in various types of summer activities that allow for discovery of their interests. That doesn’t have to mean a summer camp. It can mean volunteering together at a nonprofit, like humane society or food bank. Children need a chance to be challenged in some ways, and a service project or even a home renovation project that you “hire” your child to help plan, design, and put some sweat equity into would be a meaningful experience.</p>

<p>Are there “shadowing” opportunities to visit an office and get a feel for different kinds of work? My daughter toured the CDC thanks to a friend, and met 11 different types of workers throughout the day. She found out quickly she did not want to be stuck in a cubicle all day in her future career!</p>

<p>My son has a dogsitting business in our neighborhood. He only sits for people we know, or friends of friends. But over the last 4-5 years, he has built a reputation doing something he loves…hanging out with pets! We did take him to a vet school open house a few years ago, and he quickly realized he loved animals, but that was not his calling to care for them full time. Sometimes, knowing what you don’t want to do is just as helpful as figuring out what you do like.</p>

<p>It is time to “choose” which ECs stay, and which need to be retired. That is a helpful step you could start initiating discussion with your child about. With sports you can reach a level at which you either make the commitment for travel teams, daily practices, etc. or move into recreation league.</p>

<p>My son gave up piano lessons, and now just plays for fun. He will continue to be a soccer ref…in addition to the money it pays, he has gained confidence in dealing with adult coaches and parents, making hard decisions, ignoring remarks, etc. And, he will have another set of potential letters of recommendation when it comes time for college apps. And he will keep one sport going that he truly enjoys, both for the physical exercise and the social component. Not sure if he will want to continue that sport in college, but it can show commitment on college apps to stick with a sport for 7 years, advance to regional competitions, etc.</p>

<p>So, I suggest you take stock in what your child’s interests are. If it is in computers, find a way to promote that interest, maybe some kind of computer camp might be a good fit. A science geek might enjoy a mythbusters type camp in your area. Is your child burnt out, and do they need to head off into nature and chill a bit? Recognize that and give them opportunity to unwind if their normal school year is very stressed.</p>

<p>Ask your child what they want to do this summer? Maybe a family vacation that includes a “swim with dolphins” experience. That happened with my friend, and her daughter is now studying marine biology and wants to train dolphins, all because of a vacation trip years ago.</p>

<p>There are so many options out there for summer camps, but if you can easily buy it, it isn’t going to impress anyone. Being nominated by your scout troop to attend a Leadership Camp, that might impress. But just attending something that anyone can attend is not something to write on your college app.</p>

<p>Good luck to you as you navigate the coming years.</p>

4

<p>Just wanted to add, out of curiousity, I looked at the Explo program for high school students. Cost, about $10K for a 6 week program on the campus of Yale. About $6K for 3 weeks. And “Most of the faculty is comprised of exceptional college and graduate stduents” (sic). My daughter attended a 6 week summer program at another well-known University this summer. She was taught by regular professors from that University in classes along with some of their undergrads, a few of whom she got to know and worked closely with. She earned college credits for her work. There were also a few fun field trips and social events for program participants. Cost was very similar to Explo. In my opinion, the Explo high school program is not such a good value.</p>

5

<p>Personally, I’m a bit skeptical of programs purporting to teach “leadership” in a week or two. I think you’d be a lot better off encouraging your child to practice leadership all year long. They can be in student government, start a new club, organize school events or fundraisers, or simply assume a leadership role in various groups they already belong to. I agree with most of what powercropper said, except for the bit about activities. Most middle school activities don’t require all that much time so I wouldn’t drop anything your child is enjoying unless the scheduling becomes too hectic. Middle school is a great chance to explore. My 8th grader is involved in 7 different activities this year. One of them she was very lukewarm about when she started in 6th grade, nearly dropped out, but she stuck with it and became pretty obsessed with it, and is now planning to pursue it in high school. We did cut one this year because last year was a little too busy. </p>

<p>She is considering becoming a writer, has been thinking about this for a few years, and now she is begging to go to a writing camp. But it won’t be to “build her resume”. It will be to improve her writing and learn from professional writers what it’s like, which hopefully will inform her career decision. She was so excited talking about the idea of living in dorms with other kids who love to write. Even at the end of 8th grade, I’m not sure this will be something to list on her college application. If it solidifies her desire to be a writer, or helps her get started on a significant piece of writing (she wants to write a novel), it would be mentioned in some of her college essays. If she decides on a different major/career path, the colleges may never hear about it.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for such detailed replies.</p>

<p>Power cropper, appreciate such a detailed response. We have already taken a look into the EC and brought down to 3 activities which she needs to do multiple times a week. It’s a nice pace without wearing us out.</p>

<p>Mathyone: thanks for your suggestions and thoughts, specially for the last 2 posts. I am totally with you. We are not trying to put pressure right from 6th grade, as you mentioned some of these summer programs costs are so steep, I was wondering if it helps them in anyway in future , kinda killing 2 birds in one stone :slight_smile: a little too greedy I guess ! Your daughter’s summer program sounded really cool. Would you care to share details about the program ? I also second your thoughts on leadership which has to be a daily thing not a crash course.</p>

<p>We typically don’t do much academics at all in summers, they go to mostly sports camps and such and then couple of family trips. But since she is entering middle school this Sep, was thinking doing a bit differently. Was trying to give her some skills and knowledge which she wouldn’t otherwise get it in traditional schooling. We are still contemplating if this is the right age to take up a sleep away camp. And I am wondering if we should start CTY camps this year or wait a little on that.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

7

<p>A clarification to my post about dropping ECs. Middle school IS the time to explore interests. We found with my first child that 8th grade was the time frame for actually dropping activities that were not going to continue all through high school.</p>

<p>You don’t want to have to write “this sport” for 9th grade activities on child’s college app and then they dropped out. Think of “college resume” as starting the day after 8th grade ends. </p>

<p>So, explore and pay attention to your child’s comments. Are there activities they used to love that they are now just “going through the motions” to please parents? </p>

<p>In general, figure out what they love, and encourage them into paths that allow them to explore those areas.</p>

8

<p>I don’t mean to say that your child can’t benefit from a summer program, but I think it’s wise to research them. Programs like the CTY seem to be popular and I’ve heard good things about it. If your child is in the gifted program, they might prefer the peer group at a selective program like that. My kids mostly just did swim team and a few family trips during their middle school summers. There was also an art program and a brief math camp for one of them. Those weren’t sleepaway and actually they were free. </p>

<p>Some colleges open up their summer semesters to high school students, usually limited to rising juniors and seniors. The high school students live together in dorms with a little supervision and a few activities for them. That’s the kind of program my older daughter did, so not to confuse you, it wasn’t the 8th grader who took college classes, it was the 12th grader. She was able to take two classes, one of them a second-year computer science class, which helped her decide on a cs major for college. 8th grader is now interested in a sleepaway writing program but most of those seem to be for the older kids. </p>

<p>There are a lot of wonderful organized EC’s at the middle school level. My kids have been involved in Mathcounts, FLL robotics, national history day, science fair, destination imagination, school jazz band, school art club, school filmmaking club, school stock market game, and various local writing competitions. math competitions, and art programs.</p>

9

<p>Actually on further reflection, I will suggest that you focus on the CTY and similar selective programs. I was involved in many of the activities I listed in my last post, and one thing became very clear. There are huge differences between kids at the middle school age in their ability to focus, to fully participate, just how they function in a group. It’s very hard to run an activity when you have kids who simply cannot ignore the apps on their cell phone no matter how many times you ask them to turn it off (ditto for youtube videos if they are doing any kind of computer work), or kids who go off by themselves and do something totally unrelated to the project the kids are working on, or kids who just can’t seem to focus on anything for more than a few minutes. Not to say you won’t find this in a selective program, but my guess is that overall it would be a more satisfying experience.</p>

10

<p>I just want to add that my dc attended Explo at Wellesley College last summer and LOVED it. The camp is run very well and I cannot say enough good things about the staff! The focus is on whatever the student chooses- mine wanted an artsy focus rather than academic, though they also offer choices that are more academic. I think the important thing is to talk with your dc about what they want to do and try to find a way to make it happen. Reluctant participants are a drag for the instructor and the kids who really want to be there. </p>