@nicoleica - THe HTC program worked well for my son, who is very independent and self-driven. The individual attention and the support for outside projects was excellent. For example, my son wanted to learn about something the school did not teach, so it paid for him to go to that class at Stanford one summer. It also supported projects requiring international travel.
As for my son finding it a valuable experience, here’s an update: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/visual-arts-film-majors/1863254-sorry-i-cant-hold-it-in-any-longer-update-p1.html
MTV VMA VFX winner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47dtFZ8CFo8
2015 Demo Reel: https://vimeo.com/123982157