Over the course of this year, a number of families asked me about specific programs they can attend for enrichment courses.
Last year, I wrote a post on what students should do over summer vacation. I stick by my prescription: fun should be paramount (SAT word!). If, as I said last year, a student actually wants to attend a summer program, these types of programs can be fabulous ideas. The key is to consider these types of programs when students are in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades. Older students can still get a great deal out of them, but students in 11th and 12th grades have better options.
I should stress that this type of programming is generally quite expensive. If you’re considering these options, start with the price tag to see if such a program is feasible for your family. I think that we often get the idea that, if it’s expensive, it must be good, and there is an extent to which that is true.
Some of these programs have scholarship options, however, and if you live close enough to them, the day options are often cheaper than the rate for those who have to board. Because I work in the American Northeast, a slightly higher proportion of these programs are from that area, but I do highlight a number of global options.
Here are a few programs that my former students were a part of.
High School Programs
There are a number of high schools that offer summer programming, fitting a wide variety of interests. Of course, many private high schools run some programming in the summer, but it tends to be boarding schools that have the most resources and largest variety of coursework.
For pure academics, the Choate Summer Program is among the best. In the interests of full disclosure, I taught in this program for several years, so I may be slightly biased in its favor. But, many of the students I worked with who’ve gone through it found it to be instrumental in helping them achieve success in the future. One student, in particular, who later went to Yale, highlights the fact that he learned more about writing during his 5 weeks at Choate than he did throughout high school. Choate also boasts excellent programs for English language learners, those interested in American government, and women in science.
A similar program, which I believe to be equally good, is the Exeter Summer Program. Exeter has an excellent leadership institute, and very solid programming for budding artists.
However, if music if your passion, the Hotchkiss School has among the most amazing summer programs for piano I’ve ever seen. With faculty from some of the most respected music schools in the world, and dozens of practice rooms, Hotchkiss is well equipped for students who want some intensive music training.
Collegiate Programs
All colleges, everywhere, have summer classes for college students who want to get ahead on credits, or might be staying at the school over the summer for a job, often find summer classes worthwhile. Several schools, however, have programming for high school students, in particular.
My favorite is the program at Columbia University. Apart from the fact that one gets to live in New York City for several weeks, Columbia has wonderful programs for writers, scientists, artists, students interested in business, and the social sciences. They have excellent faculty, and the students with whom I’ve worked with learned a great deal from their experience, and even gotten Columbia professors to write them letters of recommendation for their college applications. They also have satellite campuses in Barcelona, Hong Kong, and Jordan.
A similarly top-notch program is Johns Hopkins. One of the things I love about their programming is that it is not limited to their main campus in Baltimore. They also have summer programs in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, and Hong Kong.
If you’re on the West Coast, Stanford University has a solid summer program.
And for those in the South, Rice, Emory, and the University of North Carolina are good options.
Internationally speaking, my favorite program is at Oxford University, perhaps the best university in the entire world. Their courses are often shorter, but are very intensive and give American students an experience of travel that can’t be beat.
Sports Programs
There are so many athletics programs in so many disciplines that I’m not going to highlight any in particular, although I do plan on writing a post specifically about student athletes in the near future. However, some thoughts about summer programming in athletics for high school students: make sure that the coaches are, at the least, college coaches and current college athletes.
I’m not saying that your local high school coach doesn’t run a good clinic, but if you’re truly looking to improve your skills, you need to work with people at a higher level. It also doesn’t hurt to get noticed by college coaches if you are hoping to be an athletic recruit. So, while there is nothing wrong going to a local high school program for the summer, in terms of admissions - and athleticism - working with college coaches and athletes is far preferable.
There are, obviously, hundreds of programs I’ve left off this list, in part because I’ve never had a student attend, so I’m less familiar with them. I’m always interested in hearing students’ perspectives on the courses they have taken. But, to the extent that I have a go-to list of ideas, these are them!
Mr. K
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