<p>I’m a counselor, so I help lots of kids choose pre-college programs like PAVE. While I still love “Vandy” as a whole, this summer program does not measure up. First, there is little diversity. Next, there is a great deal of partying during this program. Lots of semi-local kids who have older siblings nearby gain easy access to liquor. The program’s “dean” told last year’s group, “I know there will be drinking, but don’t let me see it.” My experience with other summer programs at Iowa, Brown, Columbia, Emerson and Cornell are different; if your 16 or 17-year old is caught with drugs or liquor, he/she is home on the next plane – period. Finally, it just wasn’t very rigorous or representative of an elite university’s curriculum. My students found that many kids skipped class, left on weekends, missed assignments and generally weren’t very serious about the program. Even the “finals” were soft…there weren’t any; students had to submit binders of their work, which most kids threw together the night before they were due (hardly a thoughtful, reflective exercise). Overall, PAVE is a lot of money, as most of these programs are, but probably not worth it. There are simply better ones out there.</p>