Summer Session: Harvard|Columbia

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
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<p>Good afternoon!</p>

<p>I've been reading through this forum for a while and now I've decided to sign up.
It looks like there are lots of great people on here who can help me on my way to college :).</p>

<p>I'm currently a student from Europe in 12th grade but want to go to the U.S. asap. I went to PA Andover last summer and loved it! This year I want to attend a similar summer program in the US. A friend of mine told me about Columbia University in NY and I pretty much liked it. I also had a look at Harvard's summer program. Unfortunately I can't decide right now, where I want to go/where I should go: In my opinion Harvard offers the more interesting courses (I thought about taking a Maths/Physics course). But Columbia University is in New York. I honestly liked Boston last year but since it would be only my second time going to the U.S. I want to see other places as well...</p>

<p>Now my question: Can you recommend me Columbia University as a summer program?
On their homepage they are offering the following courses in the area of Engineering/Math/Science:</p>

<p>->Biomedical Engineering: Physical Effects on Cells
->Engineering Design Via Community Service Projects
->Explorations in Genetics and Molecular Biology
->Intensive Seminars in Modern Chemistry
->Introduction to Materials Science and Nanotechnology
->Investigations in Theoretical and Experimental Physics
->Issues in Biological Conservation
->Mathematical Boot Camp for Budding String Theorists
->Survey of Modern Mathematics</p>

<p>As you can see they don't have a real "Maths" or "Physics" course. They "only" have courses about particular topics in these topics. Which courses could you recommend me (I thought about "Investigations in Theoretical and Experimental Physics" and "Survey of Modern Mathematics")?</p>

<p>I also want to use the courses to help me strengthen my Maths/Physics skills and prepare me for college. I guess you could say that my Maths/Physics skills are high already so I also don't want to have a "beginners course" though...</p>

<p>Should you know anything about similar summer programs (preferably in NY) which do offer a "real" Maths or Physics course I'd be more than happy if you could tell me about them as well.</p>

<p>Thank you very much in advance!</p>

<p>Looking forward to your responses :))</p>

<p>Greetings from Europe!</p>

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<p>

Funny, I can’t wait to move to Europe after college. You people have better secondary education, better healthcare (well, that could be debatable), better food, better fashion, and better culture. America is a nice place to visit, and even to live (if you’re fairly well off and don’t get into politics much).</p>

<p>Anyways, you should first check out the prices of the summer programs and see if you really want to pay that much money. I’m guessing you want the summer courses for credit (because you’re graduating soon) - almost every major U.S. college offers courses during the summer session, and for less than $10,000, too.</p>

<p>The University of California system has summer courses for far less money - and if you want a new experience, the west coast of the U.S. will be quite different from the east coast.</p>

<p>[Visiting</a> International Students | Berkeley Summer Sessions](<a href=“http://summer.berkeley.edu/international]Visiting”>Visiting International Students | Berkeley Summer Sessions)</p>

<p>[UCB</a> Online Schedule of Classes: Search Results](<a href=“http://sis.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=SU&p_dept=physics]UCB”>http://sis.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=SU&p_dept=physics)</p>

<p>[UCB</a> Online Schedule of Classes: Search Results](<a href=“http://sis.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=SU&p_dept=math]UCB”>http://sis.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=SU&p_dept=math)</p>

<p>Many of their classes are filling up, it seems, so I wouldn’t dawdle.</p>

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<p>Hey! i went to PA too last summer :stuck_out_tongue: i had the exact conflict , and you know what. I applied to Columbia and got accepted. Look, im not sure academiclly speaking which is the best, both are ivy league, so they are very good. Harvard may be more hard to get in, exclusive, but as you said, you’ve already seen boston and it would be interesting to change city. (Btw where are you from exactly? im from belgium :slight_smile: ). It also depends on how many weeks do you want. 7 (Harvard) of 3-6 (Columbia) . I would say chose the one that will bring you the most satisfaction. So think course,town, and whats gonna help you get into college. :)</p>