<p>How beneficial is the Operation Catapult summer program at Rose-Hulman? Is it worth $2000?</p>
<p>I think I read that if you attend RHIT after having done Op. Catapult, you get a 5,000 dollar scholarship. So if you end up going there, I would say -3,000 dollars is an excellent deal!</p>
<p>dauntlessthedrab, I've never heard anything like that and don't suspect there's any real truth in it. If such was the case, the institution would make that a major selling point of Catapult and they don't.</p>
<p>Adam, to answer your question, IMO it most definitely is and you can ask that to almost anyone who's done Catapult and they will undoubtedly agree. It's not just a cool academic experience where you get to do some real work, but it's also a great chance to have fun and be independent for a few weeks before returning to the drudgery of high school. It also gives you a broad introduction to engineering and allows you to kind of see what it's like.</p>
<p>It will give you a great experience of college life and hopefully a good sampling of life at Rose-Hulman.</p>
<p>How difficult is it to get accepted to Operation Catapult? Thanks for any info!</p>
<p>Last summer's Catapult students were offered a freshman scholarship (I believe it was for more than the cost of Catapult tuition) if they were accepted to RHIT. I assume that they plan to continue this scholarship for future Catapult students.<br>
Operation Catapult is a great way for a rising hs senior to explore engineering and spend 3 weeks working closely with college professors. Lots of recreational activities are planned for students' free time, including trips to Chicago and also to Kings Island (outside of Cincinnati), as well as a great caving trip. Overall, I'd recommend it highly. (My child attended last summer.) I believe it was worth the expense.</p>
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<p>Oh wow, sounds like I got jacked with respect to that scholarship...well except I'm not really spending any money to come here, so I guess that exempts me from complaining too much.</p>
<p>I'll take your word on it. I know that we also receive 2 credit hours, which don't do a whole lot except bump you up when it comes time to register for classes, which is always nice.</p>
<p>My son had a superb experience last summer at Catapult, and I was very impressed when I visited at the end. To have the opportunity to choose a project that interests you and explore it with the support of Rose faculty and facilities is an incredible learning opportunity. And there was plenty of time for fun--the students worked hard and played hard. So yes, we thought that it was worth the cost.</p>
<p>My son attended Session II of catapult summer 2011. At the closing banquet it was announced all participants were eligible for renewable $2,000 scholarships based on their Catapult attendance. So the $2,000 try-before-you-buy Catapult session is now worth $8,000. Pretty nice return on investment if you end up at RHIT.</p>
<p>Yes, Catapult is worth every penny.</p>
<p>Just my experience - first hand.</p>
<p>Personally, I didn’t really like it. My group’s project was successful but not really exciting and while it wasn’t required to have prior knowledge of programming beforehand, all the members of my group did and were able to do things I still don’t understand, making me pretty worthless. Most lectures are interesting but there’s no homework or tests so the need to take notes or even pay close attention isn’t necessary. I realize now that I was expecting more of a “college during summer” experience and while Catapult did provide a learning environment, it was by no means the definitive college experience I was hoping for. However, a lot of other people I know really enjoyed it, so if you come into it with a love of engineering (another factor I was lacking), than it should be fun. </p>
<p>My son has been at Catapult for the past two weeks and thinks it’s great. It is the perfect mix of working on projects and having fun. He went in order to discover whether he is interested in engineering, and he is working on a serious project of his own choosing. But they also realize that 17 and 18 year olds need to have fun too, and there are lots of games and other recreation opportunities. So in addition to the engineering project and lectures by professors on topics such as how to give a technical presentation, there is dodgeball and intramural sports, various games and gaming, trips off campus etc. This is his first time away for more than a few days and it has been a really good experience that has given him a taste of dorm life. My children have participated in various summer programs at other colleges, and I feel that this one has been the best-run program. We live far from Indiana, so we weren’t that familiar with the school before, but Catapult has left a good impression.</p>
<p>Is Operation Catapult worth it if you’re not planning on going for engineering? I plan on doing Physics and Math if I go to Rose. </p>
<p>Operation Catapult is worth every penny. Though there is a focus on engineering because of the nature of the college, there are many lectures and projects for the natural sciences and a lot of the projects don’t require extensive engineering knowledge or skill, it’s supposed to be fun. The real focus of the camp is being a Rose student for three weeks and get the “real” college experience - complete with dorms and dining hall privileges - as well as meeting the people/faculty and get a feel for the school.
I would recommend Catapult to anyone interested in the sciences, I had the time of my life and didn’t want to go back home at the end of the program.</p>
I highly recommend Catapult. I did it this past summer, and it allowed Rose to jump from the middle of my list for potential colleges to this very top. Even if you don’t want to do engineering, (such as math or physics), Catapult is still a good choice because there are projects for everyone. Aside from this, it is an extremely fun experience and you will meet people that you have so much in common with. You also get to get a feel for the campus, staff, and town around it. I would say that I absolutely loved it. Oh, and they give you a $10k scholarship for going. So yeah, it’s worth it. I’ve also heard that Catapult really increases your chances of getting into RHIT, so if you do want to go to Rose for college, do Catapult.