Hey all! Can anyone give me any information regarding the selectivity of SPICE, specifically the China Scholars Program? Also, how much work is it really, and is it highly regarded by colleges?
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My kid did SPICE Japan Program as a high schooler during Junior academic year and the work involves reading several books, listening to weekly lecture over internet, participating in discussion and writing a 10 page paper at the end which gets included in a program book distributed to I don’t know where. My kid noticed that every kid who participated in this Program ended up going to really good college but this may have been because every kid who participated in this program was a highly motivated kid. This program did increase my kid’s interest in language and culture. I have no idea if participating in this program helped him get into Stanford REA.
@websensation: Ohhh, I just found this program, and thread, and this program sounds like just the right fit for certain types of kids.
Tell me, did you find that meeting the ‘real-time virtual classroom’ component was something which was much more feasible for that of a HS junior’s schedule, than for that of a HS senior? (Meaning, did you and your son discuss or determine afterward that it was great to have done it and had the experience in the junior year, than to have him do this in the senior year?)
@Waiting2exhale My kid was selected to participate in the Program (it’s not easy to be selected) during 1st semester of Junior. He did not participate in athletics but was nevertheless a busy kid, but the real-time virtual lecture given by “experts” in various areas were scheduled in evenings, so the schedule was no issue.
My kid told me he learned more from this class than from his high school class, and he enjoyed it more. Basically, there are around 20 participants across the U.S. – and most of these kids are pretty smart and ended up going to elite to very good colleges for some reason – who read several books, listens to 1 hour lectures given by “experts” or authors; the students they carry on discussions on some computer system, and then for Finals, they have to write around 10 page paper which is included in some large book. One time, I was curious at the quality of the discussions, so I took at look at the discussion boards, and I was pretty impressed. The level and quality of discussions seemed to me equivalent to the ones at top colleges.
If you do this as a Senior, you might not be able to write down this activity as an EC on your college applications. As I remember, most of the participants were Juniors. There were only one or two Seniors.
Thanks so much for that, websensation.
I am actually the parent of a HS Junior, and while these things do help to show some level of intellectual rigor and what one is made of, we don’t tend to emphasize that. Sometimes I have become concerned that my kid does not have others enough with whom to speak about certain issues he finds interesting and engaging, and so we seek to keep him alive in that area, and help him to see there is a world of young people much like himself out there.
Again, thank you tremendously.
I just committed to China Scholars for this coming spring semester so if anyone has questions feel free to ask.
@StreenaSkywalker, what grade are you, and what grades are considered for the programs. My S1 is currently in 8th, with an interest in both Japanese and Chinese affairs. I’d love to have him to Reichaurer in 10th and China Scholars in 11th, or vice-versa. Are 9th and 10th graders considered for the programs?
Definitely will connect and learn from other students. My kid told me learning about other kids across USA was a big reason he liked the SPICE program. And having to write a 10 page paper is a challenge in high school. My kid wasn’t a good writer, but he learned the importance of improving his writing.
NSLIY is even better in this aspect because you have to live as a group for 7 weeks or 10 months if AY Program. Many kids ended up crying when they parted. They probably developed closer connections and learned about each other, even more so than they will from college experiences.
I myself was happier he got into NSLIY programs than when he got into HYPSM. It was a no brainer decision to take a gap year. You can always get college experience but not NSLIY experience. All expenses paid. I calculated the monetary value of Academic Year NSLIY Program, and imo it would cost around $70k+ if you tried to get similar experience yourself.
It was a surreal experience to see your kid who could not communicate in that foreign language return to US and converse with ease in that foreign language. One year of NSLIY is worth at least 4 years of language classes in a college.
@renaissancedad I’m a senior. They consider sophomores, juniors, and seniors, but they generally tend to accept juniors and seniors.
This sounds like a wonderful program, @StreenaSkywalker. I hope you enjoy it.
@Waiting2exhale Thank you! I’ll post about my experience afterwards too.
This sounds like a wonderful program.
@StreenaSkywalker Do you mind sharing about the topics in the classes, just some samples are good enough?Appreciate it.
Sure! So right now we finished up US-China politics and we’re on economic relations. Some examples of modules to come are Mao and the Communist Revolution, social control in China, ethnic and religious minorities, culture, and the Asian American experience.
@StreenaSkywalker thanks for sharing. Appreciate it. How many hours do you need to work on this class each week? Is the final paper an individual project or team project ?
I wish to know more about this too! I’m applying for it this year and can’t find many resources or alumni online. I even looked for a Facebook group like Ask NSLI-Y alumni and blogs lol. This is super late but I just found this thread!
@wordgenius Did you get your decision back?
Yep, got in! 
(Sorry for the late reply, I don’t get notifications from cc for some reason?)