I'm a sophomore, please recommend prestigious summer programs/camps.

cool5s · 12-26-2009, 10:29 PM

I'm a sophomore, and I'm thinking about what I should do in the coming summer.

Any prestigious summer programs/camps I should attend before Junior year?

There are a lot of programs which look good on college applications, but they are for Juniors not for sophomores like me.

Thanks.

math+sci=asian · 12-27-2009, 12:33 AM

This year, I am looking at

MathCamp, HcSSIM, ROSS, PROMYS, AwesomeMath

All very prestigious math camps (not all quite the same, but I don't feel like explaining...that's what research is for). Pretty hard to get into though if math isn't a focus of yours (the admissions apparently revolve mostly around the admissions quizzes...lots of proofs, which I'm worried about). Personally I'm aiming for mathcamp, because I'm friends with 5 alums, who all told me it was awesome. The faculty at these camps are pretty prestigious in themselves (for example, Mathcamp has a guy from Princeton and a bunch of other professors, AwesomeMath had Zuming Feng and other past IMO coaches, etc.)

Basically the only prestigious camps I could find (that applied to me). Don't worry about prestige, just go to have fun (as long as it's academic related lol).

You should also check out (aka google):

TASS (you've read about TASP, I'm guessing, it's by the same people for sophomore minorities), LEAD (prestigious debate thing for sophomore minorities)

Ones that are NOT prestigious that I've looked at for the prestige:

Harvard SSP, other college based fee-based summer programs

I have no idea about:
Sumac (stanford math thing, I'm guessing it's in the vein of harvard ssp)

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Yea, if you find anything else, PM me or something. I've been looking too.

dolee12 · 12-27-2009, 01:31 PM

I thought LEAD was for juniors...
or is that only for thee business program?

Bara2011 · 12-27-2009, 03:09 PM

I would definitely recommend TASS. I was a TASSer last year, and found the experience AMAZING! It definitely helps your writing and your thought process. It also gives you a real life look into what college is like, and gives you an idea about how to accomplish your goals for college. I made some of the best friends I have ever had at TASS this summer, and even though six week sis a long time to be away from home, its totally worth it.

And TASS is not just for minorities, although it is minority focused. I attended the program, and I am not a minority in any way.

thingslost · 12-27-2009, 05:15 PM

Go FENG!!! (He's our dorm fac!)

Carin · 12-27-2009, 07:17 PM

You should know something about TASS before you apply. I won't disagree... it's an AMAZING opportunity and is highly selective, but don't go to camps simply because they're prestigious. I'm also a sophomore and I was considering applying to TASS until I found out that it mainly deals with African studies. There isn't even going to be a science-related seminar this summer, so I won't even bother applying. As seen in my case, since I have a passion for the sciences and not for African studies, I'm not applying to TASS. Apply to camps that you're interested in... don't just go for the name.

proletariat2 · 12-27-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Apply to camps that you're interested in... don't just go for the name.

QFT.
Because if you're just doing it to put it on your college apps, you're going to be bored out of your mind. You have to WANT to be there.
That said, a little prestige-whoring won't hurt.

Carin · 12-27-2009, 07:57 PM

Haha. It's something that a lot of kids on this site need to recognize and should be applied to virtually everything that they do. I hate when people do school activities half-way without any legitimate passion or desire beyond a college application. Now back to the whole summer program situation: Summer is time to relax! But if you want to spend it learning you should actually love whatever it is that you're going to be learning. And I agree. A little prestige, honor, or fame never hurt anyone

Okashii · 12-30-2009, 01:46 AM

Washington University in St. Louis has a 5-week program for students going into 11th & 12th grades.

I attended last year, and it was honestly one of the best experiences of my life.

You choose two classes and can earn college credit for them while learning alongside college students. The choices range from film to creative writing to psychology to math to foreign languages...there are so many choices. I strongly recommend it!

It's not exactly "prestigious" in that everyone has heard of it and it's nearly impossible to get into, but it does require you to be intelligent, and WashU is a very selective school.

glassesarechic · 12-30-2009, 02:34 PM

Firstly, what are you interested in? If you do a summer program, it should make sense in the context of your interests. Go to debate camp if you're a serious debater, Interlochen or Tanglewood if you're a good musician, Kenyon/Iowa/Interlochen if you're a writer, etcetc. Otherwise, it'll look a little weird on your apps.

Do be wary of programs like Harvard SSP and Columbia that are money pits. This isn't to bash on the quality of these programs (the pros and cons of these sorts of programs can be found using the search function). But these programs have fairly easy admissions processes (read: are governed by whether or not you can pay), and so are not particularly impressive on a college app.

pbr · 12-30-2009, 05:45 PM

I would look into Oxbridge. My younger son attended, and loved it. I don't know about its prestige or college admissions boost, but he and one of his classmates in his primary seminar (approximately ten kids) are at Columbia, and his roommate is at Princeton.

cool5s · 01-12-2010, 09:07 PM

Thank you all.
I've read all posts and still thinking...

wombatsoup · 01-12-2010, 09:17 PM

SSP (Summer Science Program) accepts high school sophomores, though I would imagine it would be quite competitive for them. It is well regarded, generally affordable (great FA), and it sounds like a lot of fun: you spend the summer tracking asteroids. The application is due very soon, I remember I was going to apply last year and never found the time to do it.

cool5s · 01-12-2010, 09:58 PM

SSP is very competitive, I think it is too long for me, I have a lot of things need to do in summer.
BTW, deadline for SSP is 3/15, you still have time if you want to apply it this year :-)

musisat · 01-12-2010, 10:38 PM

Maybe CTY Princeton, a CTY location for older students.

I'm applying to THINK at the Davidson Institute (Nevada) this year. You can take two classes and earn 6 college credits, though admission is somewhat competitive. The first admission deadline is tomorrow, but you can still apply after that.

Satori Camp (Satori Summer Camp for Gifted Teens), while not prestigious, is probably much more fun than any stuffy summer camps!