Anyone have any experience at a boarding school summer program? Middle school sib of our older kid at boarding school was looking at a catalog and was intrigued. I know (and don’t care) that it doesn’t help admissions down the road, but curious how they are academically. Do kids really learn or is it more of a normal summer camp? Nothing wrong with a great summer camp, but it seems like you are paying a premium for instruction.
Hotchkiss’ program (Portals) definitely involves a lot of learning!
1 Like
We are in a similar situation - I have a son going into 10th grade at a BS and my going into 8th grader wanted to “try out” boarding school with a summer program. She did just a 2 week experience, but she definitely had to do work. She had homework everynight and classes most of the days. She loved the teachers and classes, and made some friends from all over (her roommate was from the opposite coast and another friend was from Canada). It also helped her think more about what kind of campus she wants to be on for HS and ultimately I think she is NOT going to apply to the BS she was at this summer, but will apply to others that have more of the feel she is looking for.
3 Likes
Super helpful, thanks.
We do not have experience with BS summer programs but I have a kid at one of these schools and my kids have been to other summer programs for debates ,CTY and Duke tip etc.
Advantages are
- The child can see how they cope with being away from family and dodging things on their own
- They will have lots of experiences to share if they apply to BS and it will help in both interviews and writing essays.
- They will have more insight into the teaching methods of these BS and will help them make a decision if it’s right for them
- They will definitely learn and enjoy it if the topic is something that piqued their interest
Disadvantages
- It will not get you into BS. So don’t spend money with this intention
- It is expensive
Hope this helps
2 Likes
I compiled the following list of academic summer camps. My daughter attended the Wolfeboro School camp in summer 2023 and learned a great deal (writing class, pre-calc and SAT prep). It helped her prepare for the school year, grow in assertiveness + organization + confidence and she had alot of fun. She especially enjoyed interacting with several high-functioning kids. All the teachers are from boarding schools or colleges. Staff was very kind and professional.
Wolfeboro Camp School - https://www.wolfeboro.org/
Andover - https://www.andover.edu/summer/on-campus-programs
Exeter - Exeter Summer - Phillips Exeter Academy
Cushing Academy - Summer Overview | Cushing Academy
Choate Rosemary Hall - Choate Summer Programs
Taft - Programs - Taft School
Northfield Mount Hermon - https://www.nmhschool.org/academics/summer-session
P.S. I attended Hotchkiss summer school ~40 years ago and loved it; they do not offer the same program of academic classes any more.
I am surprised you didn’t include Hotchkiss. Their courses include
- coding and software engineering
- computer science and mobile app design
- environmental science
- writers and writing
- robotics
- rocketry
- speech and debate
- theater
- studio art
- structural engineering (aircraft design)
- piano
- electric guitar building (the physics of sound)
- baseball analytics
- DNA science
Thanks.
I think our kid is going to try one.
I stated “they do not offer the same program of academic classes any more” – Calculus, Physics. I took Geometry and creative writing at Hotchkiss 40 years ago. The classes you list are fun and good engagement and can perhaps keep ones mind active but do not prepare one for the next year – which Wolfeboro did exceptionally well.
Whoa! I would argue that many of Hotchkiss’ classes are helpful for the next year of high school! They are academic. The DNA course, eg, is a partnership with one of the preeminent research institutions in the world – it’s a pretty phenomenal opportunity, and one that does more than keep one’s mind active.
In your other thread you said your daughter was interested in engineering. I would have thought one of those engineering oriented classes could have been quite valuable to her – not only giving her a bit of a foundation in the subject, but allowing her to dip her toe in and see if she even likes engineering.
Totally fine if she and you aren’t interested in Hotchkiss, but I wouldn’t want to give the erroneous impression that Hotchkiss’ offerings weren’t “academic”.
Our daughter attended Phillips Exeter summer program and she really loved it. Yes, the program is academic and she had about 3 hours of homework per day. There are classes 6 days per week but she loved the program. I think the program gives them the opportunity to experience the BS life before they decide if it’s a good fit for them. The program is very diverse with 80-90% of the summer program students are international mostly from China, Korea, Thailand, India, etc. I believe there was only 1 other American student in my daughter’s dorm.
1 Like