<p>^^ I think yes… and no. I’ve done both TASS and a Brown summer course, and the two most “structure-imposing” things about TASS were/are shared by Brown courses (and just about any summer program, for that matter): be at class by a certain time in the morning, and back in your room/in your dorms by a certain time at night. Neither was particularly onerous.</p>
<p>But my friends spent <em>a lot</em> of time at TASS exploring Ann Arbor, just hanging out, doing fun stuff. No less than at Brown, and maybe more.</p>
<p>Yes, our TASS did have rather a lot of outside reading and essays to do (I should be careful to point out that these things- amount of out-of-class work, freedom- can vary depending on your seminar and tutors), and it certainly had much more than Brown. Maybe that’s your thing, maybe it’s not. Personally, I doubtlessly learned drastically more at TASS, and the work we did for class only provided further discussion fodder with friends.</p>
<p>One last thing I think is important is the issue of community. TASS definitely had more “unity” as a group than my Brown seminar, where the only interaction that every participant shared was class every day. Because TASSers all live together (not just in a dorm with other kids doing other seminars, which was my experience at Brown) and do a lot of stuff outside of class together, we definitely had a greater sense of community. And maybe less freedom… ? I dunno. Perhaps. I guess it’s something of a tradeoff that really depends on what you value.</p>
<p>That being said, OP, I think we’ve gotten off the topic of your thread. Sorry. If you’re interested in doing a summer math program, well, TASS isn’t one. :)</p>