As summer approaches, we are all ready to dump all our books and enjoy our well-deserved vacation. We are ready to delete the words homework, schoolwork, and classes from our vocabulary and replace them with beaches, tans, and parties-- at least temporarily. Not so fast!
While, summer is sometimes synonymous with relaxing, you should consider doing something productive that does not involve continuously playing games in your phone or trying to get back all those hours of you lost during the school year by sleeping in the whole day. I’m looking at you Rising Seniors. Now’s not the time to give in an early case of senioritis!
Participating in a Summer Enrichment Program* is not a necessary, but highly recommended, way to spend your summer. Before I go into detail as to why, there are some attributes about summer programs that you need to be keep in mind.
While, summer is sometimes synonymous with relaxing, you should consider doing something productive that does not involve continuously playing games in your phone or trying to get back all those hours of you lost during the school year by sleeping in the whole day. I’m looking at you Rising Seniors. Now’s not the time to give in an early case of senioritis!
Participating in a Summer Enrichment Program* is not a necessary, but highly recommended, way to spend your summer. Before I go into detail as to why, there are some attributes about summer programs that you need to be keep in mind.
Types of Programs
General: Offer students a variety of summer enrichment opportunities and programs. Does not have a sole concentration like other summer programs. These programs typically focus on providing a balanced and fun learning summer experience.
Pre-Collegiate: These programs allow students to take college courses or to participate in campus programs, while getting a taste of college life.
Subject-Specific: Programs that allow students to gain more knowledge about a particular area of interest. Various universities offer free or low cost summer enrichment programs, in different areas, ranging from the humanities, to math and science.
Study Abroad: Programs like these allow high school students to travel to other countries to learn first-hand about different countries, culture, and lifestyle. Some of these programs may even offer coursework.
SAT/ACT College Prep: Introduces students to the SAT/ACT and helps them prepare for scoring high on these standardized tests.
Sports Camps: Open to student athletes of any skill level. Programs like these help sharpen an athlete’s abilities.
Faith-Based: Most of these camps are affiliated with either the Christian or Jewish faiths and incorporate both religious and non-religious activities. The emphasis on religion varies greatly from camp to camp.
Specialty: Different than Subject-Specific. Has an emphasis on a particular activity.
Pre-Collegiate: These programs allow students to take college courses or to participate in campus programs, while getting a taste of college life.
Subject-Specific: Programs that allow students to gain more knowledge about a particular area of interest. Various universities offer free or low cost summer enrichment programs, in different areas, ranging from the humanities, to math and science.
Study Abroad: Programs like these allow high school students to travel to other countries to learn first-hand about different countries, culture, and lifestyle. Some of these programs may even offer coursework.
SAT/ACT College Prep: Introduces students to the SAT/ACT and helps them prepare for scoring high on these standardized tests.
Sports Camps: Open to student athletes of any skill level. Programs like these help sharpen an athlete’s abilities.
Faith-Based: Most of these camps are affiliated with either the Christian or Jewish faiths and incorporate both religious and non-religious activities. The emphasis on religion varies greatly from camp to camp.
Specialty: Different than Subject-Specific. Has an emphasis on a particular activity.
Advantages*
- Exploring your interests more in-depth
- Gaining high school/college credit
- Previewing the college experience
- Exploring potential college majors, field of study, and careers
- Gaining experience working in your intended field of study
- Working with experts in a field
- Continue learning during the break
- Learning beyond the school curriculum
- Enhancing interpersonal skills through collaboration with peers
- Meeting others with similar interests, and developing friendships
- Staying physically and mentally active
- Developing confidence through the acquisition of knowledge
- Having peers with whom to discuss topics of interest
- Gaining new perspectives on
- Learning how to communicate (verbally and non-verbally)
- and many more...
Things to Consider Before Applying
- Length: Summer Programs can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks. How long do you want to participate? Do you want to participate in several short programs, or one long one? How much ‘free time’ do you have during the summer? Ask yourself theses questions as you consider applying.
- Concentration: Some Programs are geared towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), volunteer service, academics, athletics, religion, the arts, study abroad, SAT/ACT prep, or , Some are general and have a mixture of focuses. Consider what you like, and want to learn about when looking at these programs. Keep an open mind and do not dismiss a program because you don’t have enough experience. A major part of these programs is GAINING EXPERIENCE!
- Location: Programs are not necessarily restricted by geography. Regardless of your residence, you can apply to programs out-of-the-state. However, consider how would you reach your destination? How much would it cost? Where would you stay if not provided with housing?
- Expenses: Some programs are free, while some programs cost a minimum of $1000-- or more-- to attend (However, some of these programs provide full and/or partial scholarships that can help you afford the program. Contact an official to learn more about scholarships, as your application may have an earlier deadline. If you cannot get a scholarship, you can fundraise the money. Plan ahead, so you can prepare an adequate fundraiser(s) to help you raise the money.) If applicable, make sure to know how the organization defines ‘full’ and ‘partial’ scholarships. The cost of the program is not the only thing to consider. There is also food, insurance (if applicable), traveling costs (if applicable), and personal expenses. This is something to wary of. (Fortunately, there are ways around this disadvantage. It may be an extra process by itself, as you have to show proof of not being able to afford the program without financial assistance and may have some different requirements than other applicants.)
- Start and End Dates of a Program: Make sure that the days of the program do not conflict with school, or other important dates.
- The Application Process: How long is it? What does it require? When is it due? Can you meet all the application requirements before the deadline? Are you willing to complete it as accurately as possible and to the best of your ability?
- Limitations: Do you have any health concerns that may limit your participation in certain activities? If so, make sure that the program can accommodate.
- Competition: Some programs (typically national) are more competitive than others. .If you are applying for a competitive program, it is good to apply to a multitude of programs, just to be safe. This can provide some security that you’ll have a good probability of attending a program (if your application is competitive enough-- in a local or national level).
- Safety: What precautions and security measures are taken to assure the safety of the program participants? Make sure you would feel safe wherever you apply.
- Accessibility to Health Facilities: Does the program have facilities such as a hospital nearby?
- Housing Accommodations: Is housing provided? Or do you have to provide your own? CAN you provide your own?
- Reputation: Does the reputation of a program matter to you?
- Accessibility to Adults: Is the ratio of adults to students small or large enough to your liking? Do you want a small ration for personalized attention? Or do you not mind not being close to your assigned adult/supervisor?
- Feedback from participants: What do official testimonials from previous participants tell you? What do unofficial testimonials let you know? Is there a discrepancy between the testimonials? Is it negligible, or does it flash any warnings?
- Credits: Some programs allow you to earn high school/college credits. If this matters to you, check what courses are available, and if your high school/college will transfer these credits.
Where to Find Summer Programs:
Universities: Many universities offer pro-collegiate programs to high school students. Here are the links to some:
- http://www.brown.edu/academics/pre-college/
- https://summerinstitutes.stanford.edu/high-school
- http://www.summer.harvard.edu/high-school-students
- http://scs.georgetown.edu/departments/21/summer-programs-for-high-school-students/
- http://summer.yale.edu/
- http://cty.jhu.edu/summer/
- http://www.sce.cornell.edu/sc/
- http://apps.carleton.edu/summer/
- YMCA
- Boys & Girls Club
Tips
- Be wary of some programs. Some aren’t a good fit for students. You can read more about this here: http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2013/04/23/prepare-teens-for-summer-college-prep-programs
- Free may be the way to go, especially if you are low-income.
- Consider what you want to take away from the experience before applying, and use that to determine what programs to apply to
- Apply early! Many deadlines for these summer programs begin in February
- Save a copy of your application for future reference
This is just an overview of what to look for when applying to summer programs. Links are provided below for further/more detailed information. Also, the file below have a good amount of programs to look into. This is by no means all the programs available. However, I hope it is a good start if you are considering applying to a summer program, Remember to follow up with your own research, as information provide here is not all that is available. ***
More Info About Summer Programs: http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10786.aspx
Types of Summer Programs/More Programs: http://studenteducationprograms.com/programtypes.html
More Programs: http://www.fastweb.com/college-search/articles/summer-programs-for-high-school-students
Math Camps: http://www.ams.org/programs/students/emp-mathcamps
More Programs: http://www.nyu.edu/employees/life-wellness/family-care/child-care/summer-camp/teen-summer-programs.html
More Programs: http://www.studenteducationprograms.com/
More Programs: http://www.questbridge.org/for-students/summer-programs
More Programs: http://www.jkcp.com/program/summer-camp-high-school-students/
More Programs: http://www.collegexpress.com/lists/list/top-summer-pre-college-programs/1761/
More Programs: http://www.oxbridgeprograms.com/
More Programs: http://www.whatkidscando.org/featurestories/2012/04_summer_academics/
More Programs: http://www.summerstudy.com/enrichment-high-school-students
*This excludes internships, which will be discussed in a different section to due to volume of information
**Vary depending on the concentration and other aspects of the program
*** Details may be different than the ones stated on these documents, so please verify any information on the official website, or with an official from the program.
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Credits
The summer_programs (1) were found in the 2014-2015 QuestBridge Family (College Prep + College Match). Facebook Group. The document was uploaded by Sarah Perry.
The summer_programs (2) documents was created by Ana Yanes.
The summer_program_for_sophomores and summer_programs_for_sophomores were found in the 2015- 2016 Questbridge Family (College Prep + College Match) Facebook Group. The document was uploaded by Raelynne Benjamin, created by previous Questbridge-affiliated Facebook Groups.
Written by Elizabeth Aguilar and Ana Yanes
More information about summer programs can be provided by Elizabeth Aguilar and Ana Yanes
Published: 28 February 2015
Last updated: 8 March 2015
The summer_programs (2) documents was created by Ana Yanes.
The summer_program_for_sophomores and summer_programs_for_sophomores were found in the 2015- 2016 Questbridge Family (College Prep + College Match) Facebook Group. The document was uploaded by Raelynne Benjamin, created by previous Questbridge-affiliated Facebook Groups.
Written by Elizabeth Aguilar and Ana Yanes
More information about summer programs can be provided by Elizabeth Aguilar and Ana Yanes
Published: 28 February 2015
Last updated: 8 March 2015