I really love math, and I’d love to have the opportunity to participate in a fairly intensive program with others who love math. Are there summer programs that are based more on drive and interest than talent?
Have you looked at PROMYS? It’s competitive to get in but also very interesting.
PROMYS is based on talent…
Yeah, PROMYS looks interesting but I’m not very optimistic about my chances of getting in. I’ll probably apply to some of the really competitive ones just in case but I would be extremely surprised if I make any of them.
You should familiarize yourself with the Art of Problem Solving website. It’s an incredible resource. They also have links to a long list of summer math programs.
http://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mathematics_summer_programs
Thanks, I looked through the AoPS list last year but it couldn’t hurt to go through it again.
Look at mysummeradvisor.com under Academic Programs, Math. Many campuses participate in Math Circles, which are for young math enthusiasts.
IDEA Math and AwesomeMath aren’t too selective I think
You should apply to MIT MathRoots as well
Check out MathILy – it might be a little quirky for your tastes, but from the interactions I’ve had with you on here, it seems like you might like it. It’s interesting and not particularly hard to get in, though it’s less intense than the more selective programs. I had a few friends who went in 2014 and they said that the math was fun and gave them a background to abstract thinking, but that there were many unstructured hours each day not filled with math.
Also, honestly, you should at least try to do the problem sets for Ross, PROMYS, and HCSSiM. You’d be surprised what sheer effort can do. I went to Ross last year, and came in fairly unprepared, with some acceleration at school but no contest math or actual abstract math. The entrance problems had taken me three or four times longer to do than all of my friends, and at Ross, I worked for about two hours longer than the rest of them each day (e.g. eating a quick lunch alone and not getting distracted in the afternoons). In the end, we all stayed on set until about the same place. I learned a ton, had a delightful time, and made several wonderful friends. If you love math and can stay focused, if you’re not afraid to be the slowest in the room, if you want to learn from kid who are leaps and bounds more experienced by you, if you want to learn how to cope with impostor syndrome – at least try. A lot of the people I was friends with were rejected the first year they applied and accepted the second, so there’s really no harm in trying. PM me if you’d like more info on the spread of Ross kids. You’d be surprised how wide the range in mathematical ability was.
Also, HCSSiM might be right up your alley…but really really really look at MathILy!
Other math programs include the one at Williams (which is shorter – only 10 days, I think) and AwesomeMath (though that one is way more competition-based).
@pseudoprimal Thanks for the suggestions! I’ve looked at MathILy before and it looks perfect for me, I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the EAR! Having more unstructured time appeals to me, I’d like to have a “work hard, play hard” sort of environment where you spend a decent amount of time in math but also have recreational time to just hang out with the other campers and have fun. I also saw mention of students going for runs there, which is very appealing to me, as a cross country runner who needs to get those summer miles in.
Some programs I’m considering for another year but will probably have to eliminate for now because I’m planning on taking two online classes this summer and that causes some issues. One only takes up the first month, roughly, and the other seems to take the entire summer but I’ve heard it’s not that much work so maybe I can work ahead and just put a little work into it at camp? Obviously that’s not happening with the super intensive programs, I know, but maybe I can balance it for the ones with more recreation time?
I’m still figuring out the details though, so if I get into a program and I really want to go to then I could probably just take the class the next summer.
PROMYS and HCSSiM look cool, although unfortunately I’m not sure they’ll work for this summer because they end only a few days before my school year starts : ( It seems like both of them have pretty interesting problem sets, if the application problem set is any indication.
Williams is also on my list! Competition math tends to interest me a little less so I’m not sure AwesomeMath would work for me, though.
Right now my favorites are: (in no particular order, although MathILy is definitely my favorite!)
MathILy
MathCamp
Williams
All Girls/All Math
@DogsAndMath23 I hope that works out for you! Let me know where you end up 
What did you think of MathRoots?
MathRoots is for underrepresented minorities/communities, isn’t it? I’m white and definitely wouldn’t call my area “underserved”. I mean I am a girl, which isn’t a minority as a whole though is underrepresented, and I’m a minority in that I’m sort of Jewish and I’m not straight, but I don’t know that those are underrepresented.