<p>Have a child who is currently a high school sophomore; just started searching for possible summer programs for him. Not looking for a "talent" camp (e.g. music, theatre or sports), and it'd better not be taking a course type either (e.g. CTY). Maybe an internship, some program of academic research nature? (Need brainstorm ideas...) Academic interest wise, he is generally well-rounded, and not a math/science "nerd". He's been active in model UN and is moderately interested in politics. He took a macro economics class and loved it... Any suggestions please? Thanks much for any input in advance!</p>
<p>My D worked on an off-the-grid eco-friendly ranch last summer - it was hard work but she received more than 40 community service hours and became very environmentally concious. Learned about alternative energy, reforesting the rain forest, growing organic food and learned to live in a closed loop environment. This year she is going to “save the turtles” and learn more about marine biology…she went through Rustic Pathways.</p>
<p>Seaworlds have summer camps with marine biology focus but very “camp” in spririt. If you hadn’t ruled out CTY I would have suggested that. You can google the various organized research programs but most only take rising seniors.</p>
<p>Does your state have Governor’s Schools? Are you wanting him to try a college residential atmosphere to give him some insight into a few years down the road?</p>
<p>Check out the Summer Programs forum.</p>
<p>[Summer</a> Programs - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/summer-programs/]Summer”>Summer Programs - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>Thanks for pointing me to the summer programs forum. I’m always a bit intimidated by the task of searching a forum with huge amount of information. Would love some input from experienced parents. Maybe I should post it as well…</p>
<p>I’ll check out the Governor’s School option. Is it open to sophomores? What selective camps/programs are available to sophomores? Anything you know that focuses more on humanities?</p>
<p>If your kid has a special interest, have him or her contact local nonprofits that work in that area and offer their services as an intern, perhaps for community service hours. They will learn a great deal, develop new skills, meeting amazing people, have considerable flexibility in terms of hours and service dates, and it could turn into a job, a great letter of recommendation, and some interesting essays, by the time they have to apply to college.</p>
<p>Our state discontinued governor’s schools several years ago (budget cuts). Through Naviance we received a list of about 500 summer programs. I went through them quickly and bookmarked about 10 for D to research. A lot of colleges have high school summer programs, many with humanities concentrations. I showed her the sea turtles one that momofboston mentioned, and she flipped.</p>
<p>Have you looked at Concordia language Villages? My daughter went a few summers in a row and really enjoyed them.</p>
<p>My Ds also have spent several years at Concordia Language Villages and loved it, so I would second that. The high school credit programs are a lot of fun. D wrote a college essay about her experiences there that she used very successfully in her admissions process; Concordia ended up using her essay in a brochure they produced about how to leverage a language camp experience in a college essay. She also ended up getting a scholarship to spend a summer abroad in the country whose language she studied; I think having the language background helped her qualify for the scholarship. Not saying every kid can leverage the experience that way, but it was great for her.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. Likewise, our state’s governor’s school discontinued as well. M’sMom’s community service idea is very well put. I’ll definately explore the local nonprofit organizations. Other than the usual food bank, local government office, etc. what other good opportunities do you see are out there? </p>
<p>Checked out the Concordia Language Villages. Looks great, but not sure if it’s for him. He’s taking one classical and one modern language this year. Spending more time on languages in the summer? i don’t know. He doesn’t intend to major in a language in the future.</p>
<p>
momofboston, your mention of sea turtles caught my eye because it so relates to our son. In the future, your d may want to check out opportunities through [The</a> SCA (Student Conservation Association)](<a href=“http://www.thesca.org/]The”>http://www.thesca.org/) I have no familiarity with SCA’s high school component, but am very familiar with the college summer internships which are just wonderful. Our DS2 spent one summer with a Nat’l Seashore on the east coast and one with a Nat’l Wildlife Refuge on the west coast, and an “alternative spring break” at Padre Island Nat’l Seashore in TX. There’s an exceptionally wide variety of positions which can be searched both by type of work and geographic location. Among them, working with sea turtles! Most internships include housing, stipends for food and for travel to & from the site. Many also include an AmeriCorps grant. Our son also received academic credit at this college. His positions were challenging and enjoyable and turned out to play a pivotal role in his academic focus as well as his employment after graduation. SCA made a huge difference in our son’s life. I can’t recommend it highly enough.</p>
<p>Two of my kids participated in National SCA High School Corps. Both had great experiences. They built or restored trails in national parks. They were in crews of 6 to 8 high school students from all over the country with two crew leaders. Accomodations: camping, sometimes in remote areas. The program is volunteer, and you have to pay for their transportation to the site, plus you have to get them basic camping equipment (backpack, boots, sleeping bag, etc.) so it involves a little expense, but not like these expensive programs. The program supplies tents, food, tools, supervision, and an end-of-assignment recreational trip, usually backpacking for a few days. Most assignments are four weeks. The kids should have a good fitness level in order to participate, and they need medical clearance. It is a lot of hard work but very rewarding and, as the poster above mentioned, potentially life-changing.
There are also local SCA affiliates in some U.S. cities where kids live at home but work in municipal parks, urban gardens, etc.</p>
<p>D went to a university summer program last summer (as a rising junior)-- hers was theater but there were others running concurrently in math/science etc. It was a wonderful way to begin thinking about what she wants from college and such a valuable experience overall. </p>
<p>Kids she knew did EXPLO…3 weeks, last summer it was at Yale but it may move, I’m not sure. It’s much less specialized and academic, which might be right for someone with a number of interests who doesn’t really want more school over the summer, but could use a college-like experience.</p>
<p>Both my D’s have gone to Vanderbilt Summer Academy which for rising juniors is 3 weeks. It’s academic from 9-3 but then they have fun stuff in the late afternoon & evenings. It was a nice intro to dorm living too as well as exposing them to academic areas they’d never have seen in a HS setting (for D1 medical anthropology, for D2 linquistics; she’s currently reading Steven Pinker & Oliver Sachs.)</p>
<p>Why not get your son on CC to start looking for camps and summer programs, if he’s a sophomore? Teenagers should be able to scope out their own summer activities and if this is too much for them, it would therefore make it a great developmental experience.</p>
<p>-Gov. School
-Concordia Language Immers. (my daughter loved the Japanese Camp this past summer and is applying to gov. school for next summer in VA)
-Earthwatch (have lots of science programs, with more hands-on and travel/community service combined)
-UVA Young Writers Workshop (my son has done it for two summers --fantastic program if you have a gifted writer)</p>
<p>to answer your other questions – yes, gov. schools are open to Soph. and Juniors. They have plenty of Humanitites options. Check out your states’ gov. website to find links to the various applications (some due dates have already passed but some will be due in Jan.). You can also have your child talk to their school counselor for more info. and help getting a nomination from a teacher which is required for some programs. Good luck!</p>
<p>Our daughter attended Columbia’s Summer Program for High School Students three years ago and loved every minute of it. The Program offers a wide range of possibilities, although our then-Year 10 daughter selected an Intro to Creative Writing class because of her special interest. Students attended from across the world (we’re from Australia, but there were students from Pakistan and Hong Kong and Brazil and even New Jersey, amongst many Americans). Interestingly to me, too, because of Facebook, they continue to keep in touch. The classes were stimulating, the students were interesting and their writing very often sublime, the instructors knowledgeable and encouraging, residence hall life was fun, the campus food services were suitably marginal and the planned excursions in NYC were outstanding. All up, the program was first-rate, one our daughter would recommend considering without hesitation. As her parents, we second her views. Perhaps it might be added to your list to think about?</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I work with The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS for short), a non-profit with more than 300 member schools in both North America and abroad. I read your post about summer programs for your child and thought you might be interested in checking out TABS at <a href=“http://www.boardingschools.com%5B/url%5D”>www.boardingschools.com</a>. Some of the schools may have summer programs that may be of interest to you and your child.</p>
<p>One of the best ways to check out different boarding schools is to use TABS School Browser. You can search by zip code, and even view an A-Z listing of nearly 300 member schools. Each school has its own page and profile with lots of key information, and you can request info from multiple schools at once. Its quite the time-saver!</p>