<p>We live within a couple of hours of three big state schools. They all offer different programs for High Schoolers in the summer.</p>
<p>My d is a current freshman. One of the colleges offers a Summer Academy where they live on campus for 4 days and take math, english, and critical thinking classes. They also do some SAT prep and some recreational activities in the college town.</p>
<p>We are wondering if it would be a good investment to send her to this? It would give her exposure to a state university and also give her some good SAT prep this summer. </p>
<p>Just jumping in to say that some of the state programs are limited to kids from that state (i.e. Governor’s Schools.) In our state (TN) those programs are limited to rising juniors & seniors. If your child participated in a Talent Search where they took ACTs or SATs in middle school, they could be eligible for a program geared towards GT kids (i.e. Vanderbilt’s Summer Academy among many others. ) There are also programs for specific subject areas (i.e. writing, engineering, etc.)</p>
<p>My older DD did 3 summer programs and they were all great. She was able to take some classes in areas she didn’t have access to in regular school, plus she lived in a dorm, had to deal with roommates AND do her own laundry :)</p>
<p>octoberdana, we sent our oldest daughter (now a freshman in college) to a Summer Math Academy at a state U. It was a very good experience for her. She was more pumped up about looking at colleges after that and it gave her a point of reference when we discussed campus life.</p>
<p>We also felt, from a timing perspective, that the summer after freshman year of high school was the best time for that. She was too young to get a job, and it boosted her confidence in her math classes going forward which kind of gave her an edge in pre-cal and on PSAT/SATs.</p>
<p>There are also organizations, some with prestigious names, who rent space in well-known campuses and hold summer camps at over a grand a week. As part of our “parential schooling process” we did indeed send our kids to these entities, in some cases very excited that our kids even qualified to get in; these camps, in my opinion, primarily contribute to giving the kid an experience living away from home, which, while it was a good experience, wasn’t really a great “investment”; the qualification was primarly a good visa card. The teaching was not very different from what they had at their local public school. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve heard very very few students or parents ever complain about their experience in the Governors school, however that program is now in a big financial tsunami.</p>
<p>I would suggest you check with other kids or parents from your child’s school who may have attended these in past years to see if they are worth it.</p>
<p>My kids attended both in state programs and OOS programs (public and private) and found them to be very beneficial. The University of Washington, for example, provides wonderful programs beginning in the 5th grade. The University of California awards “admission points” for attending programs that prepare one for college. Others may do this as well.</p>