<p>My son did the ID Tech camp for two summers in middle school. The first year, he had a good time, the second year he was bored. There were only about 20 kids at the program he attended (UCSD) and about a quarter were daily commuters. So, there wasn't much sense of a "camp" experience. Most of the other kids were also in middle school and the few high school kids seemed like they didn't have much fun. The learning part of the program was OK - son knew most of what was covered in his "advanced" class already just from noodling around on the computer by himself. There was very little actual "instruction" and son actually was recruited by the teacher to help other kids because the teacher didn't know how to use the program they were working with very well. Frankly, I thought it was a little expensive for what he got out of it. I would definitely check on how many kids they typically have at each session for the campus you are interested in and, if your child is in high school, ask about the average age of attendees.</p>
<p>Kmom - Friends daughter went to Interlochen in Michigan. It's known for music, of course, but they have programs for theatre, writing, dance, studio arts.</p>
<p>ti388 - I sent my daugher to CAEN years ago. She didn't care for it - but I don't think she's a computer geek at heart - also the ratio of boys to girls is about 200:1. BUT, just because she didn't like it doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. They do a huge repeat business and the camp sells out every year. I applied late - and they were only willing to allow my daughter in because they wanted more female students. </p>
<p>My son went to Kenya for 5-6 weeks with Experiment in International Living. It was a fabulous experience - community service, safari, culture study - and a homestay where he lived in a house with a dirt floor and no plumbing or electricity for 10 days. He loved it. Really provided him with the courage to go off to college.</p>
<p>Carolyn - Thanks for the information about ID Tech. My son will be 15 by the summer, and I am sure he would want to be around kids mostly his own age, if not a little older. I'll ask about the ages at the location he'd probably attend (UNC). I'm a little more troubled by the instructor who wasn't proficient in the program they were using, and I'm not sure my asking will yield a straight answer about that. Since my son is most interested in the film/video area, I think we'll keep looking and would welcome any other suggestions - preferably on the East Coast somewhere.</p>
<p>Northwestern University in Evanston, IL has a 4 week National High School Institute Program in Media for kids going into senior year. It is not cheap but my kid loved it.
There are other NHSI programs in Music, Theatre, and Journalism.</p>
<p>Nceph - Here are some film programs --- including the one at Northwestern mentioned by 3boysnjmom:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/%5B/url%5D">http://www.northwestern.edu/nhsi/</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.bu.edu/com/itrp/%5B/url%5D">http://www.bu.edu/com/itrp/</a></p>
<p>Thanks for the great suggestions. Since my S is only a h.s. freshman now, some of those programs won't work for him this summer, but we'll definitely file them away for a later summer. It will be nice to have some different options to explore in a year or two.</p>
<p>carolyn and nceph, ID Tech courses would indeed be too elementary for 15-year-olds. When my sons reached 14, they "graduated" to the older-students versions of their classes through Digital Media Academy. These are either commuter or more often residential week-long courses for older teens, and often include some college students and even adults (although the teens are all housed together, separate from these other groups). My sons have taken their graphic design and modeling, and computer game creation courses, and were fairly happy with their experiences. They have a fairly broad set of digital video courses now, I see.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.digitalmediaacademy.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.digitalmediaacademy.com/</a></p>
<p>S attended the pre-college program there and enjoyed it a great deal. Although it was summer, he didn't find it all that hot.</p>
<p>We have done almost nothing in the way of organized summer programs. Each child has been involved in a sport or dance at a high level, so their summers have been devoted to traveling with their teams to different parts of the country--sometimes with us and sometimes not. It has been a fabulous education about various parts of the U.S., high level competition, and learning how to pack and travel efficiently. </p>
<p>We travel together as a family on summer vacations and also have a fair amount of down time, reading, (chagrined look) watching TV and playing video games, and hanging out with friends. My son did a one-week academic camp at Stanford for two summers, which of course convinced him that Stanford was the only place to be. My daughters will be doing two weeks of French immersion, in preparation for French AP next year, at Concordia Language Villages in Minnesota, early this summer--then back for the national dance competition and soccer tournament circuits and probably that same academic camp (through Education Unlimited) at Stanford right before school starts.</p>
<p>Summer Academy In Architecture at the University of Texas - Austin
5 week program (approx 50 students)
June 6 - July 8, 2005
16 years and up (including college students and adults)
Tuition $2125.00 including tuition and board
<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/center/academy%5B/url%5D">http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/center/academy</a></p>
<p>My daughter did this program when she was 16 and still uses what she learned, today.</p>
<p>Landmark Volunteers
2 week summer programs around the country
14 years and up (high school students only)
Tuition approx. $500.00 including board and service hours
<a href="http://www.volunteers.com%5B/url%5D">www.volunteers.com</a></p>
<p>My daughter did the program at Snug Harbor, NY the same year that she did the
above architecture program because she needed the service hours.</p>
<p>Rhode Island School of Design Pre-College Program
6 week program with a concentration
June 18 - July 30, 2005
Tuition $4935.00 including tuition/board Art supplies extra.
<a href="http://www.risd.edu/precollege.cfm%5B/url%5D">www.risd.edu/precollege.cfm</a></p>
<p>My daughter did this when she was 17 with a concentration in sculpture. She had no intention of applying to this school and actually none of the friends that she made there, applied either (they went on to attend Smith, Boston University, Brown, SVA and Savannah School of Design).</p>
<p>Emily Carr Institute Summer Institute for Teens (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
4 week program with a concentration
July 25 - August 19, 2005
Tuition CAD$1395.00 Canadian Citizens
CAD$1795.00 International
Does not include board as they have no dorms. Emily Carr will help find accommodations (such as youth hostels) for out-of-town students.</p>
<p>My daughter did this last summer and commuted from her grandparents home.</p>
<p>In between all that she rode her pony, taught riding lessons and volunteered at
SIRE (Therapeutic Riding for the Handicapped Program). </p>
<p>BTW, non of the above appeared on her college applications as the schools were only
concerned with grades, home tests, and portfolio interviews. I think it is important for students interested in attending an art school, to also attend a summer program to see if they are really willing to draw, paint, sculpt all day long! Though it's probably
not necessary if the student already attends a Visual and Performing Arts High School.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any info? Thanks</p>
<p>My daughter also attended Northwestern's NHSI program and it was excellent. As 3boysnjmom said, it's not cheap, but they do offer some financial aid.</p>
<p>My daughter learned a lot, but it was helpful in other ways as well. Applying for the program was a great warm-up for the college application process, and since she already knew she wanted to attend Northwestern, it was a chance to make sure she felt comfortable there. I recommend looking for summer (and spring break) programs at the schools you are most interested in.</p>
<p>Topcat, has your daughter attended other computer camps? My son went to a computer camp last year, but there was too much computer gaming time in the camp. if he can learn some real programming in CAEN, I am willing to drive 9 hours to Michigan. My son is not into girls yet. So a 200:1 boys to girls ratio will not bother him at all. LOL.</p>
<p>I'm late jumping into this string ... and ideas for a prospective architecture student preferably in the greater Boston area. Thanks!</p>
<p>3togo
This may be helpful:
<a href="http://www.architects.org/education/index.cfm?doc_id=35#education%5B/url%5D">http://www.architects.org/education/index.cfm?doc_id=35#education</a></p>
<p>Thanks Mauretania ... it looks like a great resource!</p>
<p>I can recommend these music camps, offered by Eastman School of Music Rochester NY. My son attended the Jazz camp twice. It is fabulous.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rochester.edu/Eastman/summer/%5B/url%5D">http://www.rochester.edu/Eastman/summer/</a></p>
<p>Most important for humanities major:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.tellurideassociation.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.tellurideassociation.org/</a></p>
<p>For scholars:
<a href="http://www.apa.org/monitor/may03/topclass.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.apa.org/monitor/may03/topclass.html</a></p>
<p>I agree with the summer science program. My daughter attended the one in Ojai CA and came back with much more confidence in Science and Math. It was VERY intense. Not for the faint of heart. Very challenging but very satisfying.</p>
<p>My older son went to the following camps:
9th grade --CTY (Hopkins) Law and Politics -- studied lots of supreme court cases, loved it (he has been to other CTY programs)
10th grade -- program in Barcelona with Columbia university, mostly European Union history/politics/economics. Fluff, waste of money
11th grade -- Oxbridge program in Oxford. Journalism and speech and rhetoric. Terrific program, great experience.</p>
<p>Younger son --
6 & 7th grades -- CTY. Science. Not his kind, he would like to try something else this year.</p>