<p>My son went to SUMAC two summers ago and enjoyed it. He particularly liked Rick Summers, the man who runs the program. My son loves math, but is not a prototypical "math Nerd". He said the kids in the program were 1/3 math nerds, 1/3 nice kids with not much other interests, and 1/3 "regular kids" with other interests who love math. He still keeps in touch with a couple of kids and with the director. One thing I found different about the program was that the a lot of kids were from foreign countries, although most of them attended boarding school in the U.S. The American kids were a cross section of private and public school kids (mine is a public school student). The math was abstract algebra, but I have no idea what that means. The program was well-supervised, mostly incoming seniors (my son was a junior) and a good experience. Of particular value for my son was the experience of not being the smartest one in math. He always wins county math competitions etc, but at SUMAC he felt he was in the top 1/3, but not 1/4, of the camp. It gave him some perspective. As the students were from all over the country, I hope that he will find some familiarfnext year when he goes East to college.</p>
<p>How about some creative writing programs? Or something not academics, away from home, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg? </p>
<p>:| Oh and what I'd rec is: </p>
<p><a href="http://www.mlw.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.mlw.org/</a> - Maryland Leadership Workshop </p>
<p><a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/SummerJournalismWorkshop.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/SummerJournalismWorkshop.html</a> - Columbia Journalism Workshop</p>
<p>I am looking for a four-week program in Spain for my 15-year-old which will give her high school or college credit for Spanish 3. So far, all the programs I have found are for older kids (16+) or, like TASIS, cost an arm and a leg ($5000 exclusive of airfare). Any suggestions?</p>
<p>My 12th grader took physics and drama for college credit at UCLA last summer as a commuter, did well in the classes, and liked the school so much that she ended up applying there.</p>
<p>My 7th grader went to Stanford last summer for a week for the Education Unlimited speech and debate camp, and absolutely loved it. Can't wait to go back again.</p>
<p>Are you looking for a program in the United States or abroad?</p>
<p>My son did 2 different summer programs:
Cambridge College Programme
Stanford SUMaC
He initially heard about the Stanford programs after taking PSAT as soph. He was very interested in the physics course, applied in Feb of his soph year, but he really didn't have the required base of knowledge they wanted.....so he was not accepted. Then we received the info about the Cambridge College programme and off to England he went. They require 1 mandatory class, British Culture and History and kids choose 2 other classes from about 50 offerings. He took the Hitchiker's Guide to Physics and a course on Cryptopgraphy, which reviewed solving the Enigma Code, lots of WWII history. My son is a math guy who had never expressed much interest or proficiency in history... and he came back from this program with a lot of knowledge and true interest. It was absolutely a great experience, co-ed, tightly run/chaperoned, lots of great trips around the countryside and into London. Cambridge is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The program is 3.5 wks and we met him at the end, spent 2 nites there and then a week in London. Definitely broadened his horizons in a multitude of ways. Not cheap but worth every penny. Meeting him at the end made it a "family affair" too. </p>
<p>Summer btwn junior and senior year he attended SUMaC at Stanford. This was the perfect chance to try on math and see if he liked it enough to do it for 4 wks, heads down. Turns out he really enjoyed it. Like Smomb said, Rick Sommer who runs it, is a great guy. Before my guy went out there, when I read the description of the course, it was all about the math. After my son returned, when I reread the description I saw a lot more of the verbage about kids with this unique interest/skill able to spend time together exploring math in a fun, social atmosphere. They worked hard in the morning, had free afternoons with a lot of ultimate frisbee (in itself an accomplishment because it was sooo hot) and then nights with problem sets. There were lots of international kids there, a reasonable combination of abilities, social skills etc. My son had gone to a national math counts contest in 8th grade, so he already knew that there were many kids who easily trumped him in innate ability and skills. This time however, what he got was the knowledge that he could hold his own with the kids in the camp.....that he liked math enough to pursue it in college (at least initially, they say that 2nd semester soph yr, 1st semester junior yr is what breaks the backs of most math majors.) Dorm living was great, food was fine, the math was challenging. Being from the east coast, as a parent, what WE liked was that he got 4 wks at Stanford instead of 4 yrs. I took him out the week before the program started, we visited 6 schools including Stanford....in the end he only applied to Stanford as California was just too far away. But he will always have his "Stanford" experience. </p>
<p>I feel fortunate that we were able to provide him with these programs.....since he was able to get in.....I definitely believe that he did better junior and senior year in HS because he was challenged by the "new peers" that he met in these programs, folks that were very easy to stay in touch with via IM and e-mail....</p>
<p>This is a great thread, I have already seen a program worth investigating for my next one who is in 8th grade, as his interests are different than S#1.</p>
<p>the jerome fisher program in management and technology (joint degree program at penn for engineering and business - so enrollment in both engineering school and wharton) is starting a summer program this year for rising high school seniors called MTSI (management and technology summer institute). Its goal is to introduce students to business and technology and show how the synergies exist, which is the essence of the M&T program. the program is new, so not certain how it is, but it should be good because:</p>
<p>1) breadth of topics covered with real world application
2) exposure to penn, the engineering school, and the wharton school
3) residential team advisors are going to be current M&T students (who will be pretty honest) so atendees can learn about the program, which is the best out there for eng+business (see postings under upenn to see why)</p>
<p>to getmore info, the website is <a href="http://www.mandt.wharton.upenn.edu/mtsi.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.mandt.wharton.upenn.edu/mtsi.htm</a>.</p>
<p>In summary -
What: Management and Technology Summer Institute
Where: University of Pennsylvania
Subject: Business, technology and the synergy between
Website: <a href="http://www.mandt.wharton.upenn.edu/mtsi.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.mandt.wharton.upenn.edu/mtsi.htm</a></p>
<p>If your kid is into math, he/she should check out HCSSIM (Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics) at <a href="http://www.hcssim.org%5B/url%5D">www.hcssim.org</a>. I don't know why, but it never quite gets as much attention as PROMYS or Mathcamp, but it is definetly equal in caliber. I went there a few years ago, and I had tons of fun! The students there are some of the best in the nation and the professors love what they are doing. I strongly recommend that one applies to this program.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of summer programs which incorporate science research? </p>
<p>(Other than Caltech's program, MIT's MITES program, RSI, and Rockefeller)</p>
<p>University of Florida SSTP
<a href="http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/sstp/default.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.cpet.ufl.edu/sstp/default.htm</a></p>
<p>High School Science/Mathematics Program
Michigan State University
<a href="http://www.msu.edu/%7Ekurf/HSHSP.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.msu.edu/~kurf/HSHSP.htm</a></p>
<p>University of Iowa
<a href="http://www.uiowa.edu/%7Eprovost/oi/sstp/%5B/url%5D">http://www.uiowa.edu/~provost/oi/sstp/</a> </p>
<p>UC Davis Young Scholars Program
<a href="http://ysp.ucdavis.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://ysp.ucdavis.edu/</a></p>
<p>Texas Tech/ Clark Scholars
<a href="http://www.clarkscholars.ttu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://www.clarkscholars.ttu.edu/</a></p>
<p>Boston University
<a href="http://physics.bu.edu/bu/hshp.html%5B/url%5D">http://physics.bu.edu/bu/hshp.html</a></p>
<p>Also: Check out Science Service website at <a href="http://www.sciserv.org/stp/%5B/url%5D">http://www.sciserv.org/stp/</a>
This will lead you to more programs. </p>
<p>FYI... The above programs prepare students for Intel quality research. They are all highly selective.</p>
<p>ghhizzmo: Thanks so very much for the help!</p>
<p>My son attended a chamber music camp in VT for three consecutive summers, called Point CounterPoint. It's a small program 50 students ages 11-17 right on a lake near Middlebury College. The music is high quality but the atmosphere is relaxed and there are many fun activities to do when they're not practicing. Requires an audition.</p>
<p>This book is out of print but most of the listings are still current. A great resource for students interested in science.</p>
<p>ghizzmo posted some great programs on math/science. Does anyone have any suggestions for programs that might focus on history?</p>
<p>I had no idea when I started this thread that it would yield so many useful posts. It's getting very long, but for parents looking for programs, this is a great resource!!</p>
<p>Thanks to all.</p>
<p>bluebayou: It looks as though Texas Tech offers independent research in history.
<a href="http://www.clarkscholars.ttu.edu/researchareas.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.clarkscholars.ttu.edu/researchareas.html</a></p>
<p>I would also peruse these links (listed by Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, Ohio) for some ideas.
<a href="http://whhs.cps-k12.org/Guidance/CollegeInfo/CollegeSummerPrograms.htm%5B/url%5D">http://whhs.cps-k12.org/Guidance/CollegeInfo/CollegeSummerPrograms.htm</a></p>
<p>Your son or daughter might have to research different history departments at a few universities and contact the professors directly if their areas of research are of interest to him/her. </p>
<p>Wallflowers: You're very welcome!!</p>
<p>bluebayou: I can't think of a better place to be in the summer than the beautiful campus of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine! Check out this program.</p>
<p>Edmund S. Muskie Scholars Program in History, Politics and Government
<a href="http://www.bates.edu/x28656.xml%5B/url%5D">http://www.bates.edu/x28656.xml</a></p>
<p>The Summer Programs for HS Students book by Kaplan and Yale Daily News is a great resource. IT cross lists program by duration, location, theme and cost...</p>
<p>I would recommend sending kids abroad - there're many programs out there that will fit virtually anyone, including those with no knowledge of the country's language. There're sport camps, cultural immersion programs, language programs, and many more. My older daughter went to Spain with such a program when she was 16, the younger one was in Montreal last summer (she was only 14), and will go to France this year. Some are more expensive than others, but many are arranged by non-profit organizations that try to keep the price down. I recommend visiting this web site to start your research: <a href="http://www.goabroad.com/%5B/url%5D">http://www.goabroad.com/</a>
Very good experience in terms of diversity, outside world exposure, new friends and new cultures.
Pamavision, you might want to get in touch with Cultural Homestay International - they arranged my daughter's trip to Spain two years ago. Here's their website: <a href="http://www.chinet.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.chinet.org/</a> The cost was quite acceptable at the time.</p>
<p>I was nominated by one of my teachers at school to attend this summer's People to People: Future Leaders Summit program. The brochure that came in the mail says that this program was "established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956." I'm curious if anyone knows if this program is worth attending and is somewhat prestigious or if it's the equivalent of NYLF's (National Youth Leadership Forum) programs?</p>
<p>Is your S/D considering a medical career? Google "SMEP" and read all about it. Yale is one of (about) ten sites that are hosting programs through the Association of American Medical Colleges--it is arguably the best one, and can really boost one's chances later on in the "game." Hurry, though: the application deadline is March 1st.</p>