Summertime, and the livin’ is easy by Keri G. '10
Unless, of course, you've decided to do something with all that free time.
I said I’d do it, no?
Many of these websites won’t have information about Summer 2007 programs up until around January, but the info from last summer is still comprehensive enough for you to take what you will from it.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANY SUMMER PROGRAM TO GET INTO MIT, by the way. I’m putting up these links simply because they’re all interesting programs that some of you may want to look into, what with summer often involving large amounts of free time.
Let’s start off with the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, or CTD. At CTD, you spend 6-7 hours a day for three weeks taking one course for high school credit, while living in a dorm on campus. I was in this program for two summers (I took AP European History the summer after 10th grade, and AP US Government and Politics the next summer) and really enjoyed it – so much so that I’m considering applying to be an RTA this summer, too! Along the same lines as CTD, there’s CTY at Johns Hopkins University, which Jess went to.
Both CTD and CTY also offer distance learning courses during the school year, which may or may not work for you. (I took a couple of online classes and found it more difficult to learn material, but I tend to learn more from sitting in a lecture and listening. To each his own.)
Duke University’s Talent Identification Program offers the option of either taking classes for college credit or doing field studies (in marine biology or medicine, for example) both in the United States and abroad.
Boston University’s High School Honors Program for incoming high school seniors, Cornell University’s Summer College, and Harvard Summer School’s Secondary School Program also have summer classes you can take for college credit. Also, check out Questbridge, which offers help with the costs of summer programs at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. They also have a scholarship program for high school seniors applying to colleges, but it’s limited to the program’s participating colleges and universities (which include Williams, Columbia, and Princeton). The Questbridge applications are closed for the year, though – sorry!
For the artistically inclined, we have Columbia College’s High School Summer Institute. Also, University of Miami’s Summer Scholar Programs offer a diverse range of classes in visual arts, sports medicine, and more (and come on! Miami in the summer! </shameless plug>).
I know what some of you are thinking, since I worried about the same thing when I was first looking into these: “WHY ARE ALL OF THESE SO EXPENSIVE?!” And they are – some of them cost even more now than they did when I was in 10th grade (and since that was only three years ago, you can understand why I find that so discomfiting). Many of the aforementioned programs offer financial aid, which often covers anywhere from 1/4 to the full cost of the program. Others cost nothing at all, such as the Telluride Association Summer Programs for sophomores and juniors. The Telluride Association is well-renowned for its residential programs for students in high school and college; my friend Rachel did TASP at UT Austin last year and loved it.
Of course, I can’t forget MIT’s own summer programs – Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES), Women’s Technology Program (WTP), and the Research Science Institute (RSI). MITES and RSI are free; WTP is partially subsidized and offers some financial aid.
Finally, go look at Fastweb, for anything I haven’t already thought of (and a few things I did).
Okay. You’ve gotten two posts from me in one day. It’s about time I did some work.
For all you high school juniors in Florida, there’s the Young Scholars Program at Florida State University. Google it? It’s a 6-week math and science program and it’s FREE. Room and board is paid for (free food!!!!). sooooo, you guys should all apply. It’s so much fun…I had the time of my life there.
University of Michigan has a comparatively inexpensive program, Michigan Math and Science Scholars, http://www.math.lsa.umich.edu/mmss/.
CTY isn’t necessarily at John Hopkins, by the way. They just run it. I went to the one at Loyola for a few years (in LA), and then at Carlisle (PA).
yay for summer programs. i remember CTD. good ol… haaha im not sure.. i dont think i liked sitting in a room 7 hours a day in silence reading out of a precalc textbook. *shudders*
well have fun REUing there this summer if you shall do. and yea, the different is that CTY has like a bajillion sites at like a bajillion different universites, but at each camp they still have the same (but slightly altered) traditions. i think its on wikipedia too. =)
So, I go to a boarding school… so summer is kind of make-up family time… ie I didn’t really do anything. Is that really ok? Really? Like, out of the 12% of applicants who actually get accepted, they’re really going to pick someone who didn’t take advantage of their summers?
Sorry
I just know how many people don’t get in, and I’m ridiculously scared of that.
Elizabeth –
THE CAPS LOCK MEANS I AM YELLING IT
Trust me on this one. You don’t have to do anything with your summer.
Teehee… okay, sorry. I’m going to try and stop being so pathetic–I was just linked to one of Ben’s old entries, from last year when decisions came out online–you know the one I mean, the really heart-felt one–and it was pretty depressing. But this is the end of me being a loser. Here. Now.
Erm… folks… Does any of these programs accept international students? Sorry if that was obvious fact that I missed, but I’ve just come home from school and I’m tireeeeddddd….
In my junior year I was considering doing the CTY. But my parents couldn’t afford it and I ended up going to travel. It was fun. Nice job on giving info!
Yes, I went to CTY and every year there was an international camper… The only one I remember, though, was from Taiwan.
Does CalTech still have the YESS program? It was a free summer program in the style of MITE2S.
The advice that is often given to current students about getting UROP can also apply to high school students looking for something to do over the summer: E-mail a professor (of a local college, I guess, if you’re in high school) and ask if they want help with their research. Many professors will be happy to have an extra set of hands around the lab, and you’ll gain valuable experience that will not only look good on your application, but you’ll learn something too.
Boston U’s HSHP program accepts international students. I believe RSI does so as well, but I could be wrong.
Hey, there’s another cool program in Florida, if anyone wants to experience that hot, humid wonderfulness that is FL summer. YSP is fun and free of course, but there is also University of Florida’s “Student Science Training Program.” It’s seven weeks and costs money, but it’s totally worth it, especially because you get more time in lab (5 days for sstp v. 2 days for YSP). YSP is more class-oriented while SSTP is research-oriented.
Oh yeah, and YSP only accepts people from Florida, while SSTP accepts out-of-state and International students.