<p>9th grade S interests in taking an e-learning course in Academic Writing offered by Duke TIP. It’s online and lasts 6 weeks in the summer, $850. Any experience? Thanks! (btw, I am thinking… go buy him a book, and save $800! ;)</p>
<p>No experience w/the e-learning, but S1 went to a summer Duke Tip class 6 years ago. It was a total waste of 3 weeks time and big $$'s. Everyone is different, but the class did not live up the “academic challenge” described in the flyers. I even asked the instructor about S’s lack of challenge when I picked him up, and he said “too bad, the other students couldn’t keep up w/S.” </p>
<p>That said, S did learn some new card games to share w/friends. Highlight of the 3 weeks…</p>
<p>Ultimately, the Duke classes are all about the experience w/other smart kids, not necessarily learning more about an interesting subject. Just my opinion, and individual experience.</p>
<p>If money is an issue, there are definitely cheaper options. Keystone National High School and BYU both offer online courses in English for significantly cheaper (less than half of that). Your son could also take an OpenCourseWare course.</p>