Summer@Brown

WHO:  Students completing 9^th-12^th grades by June 2012
WHAT:   Residential summer school at Brown University
WHERE:  Providence, Rhode Island

WHEN: June 17 - August 10, 2012

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  No application deadline for most programs

FOR MORE INFO (website): http://brown.edu/ce/pre-college/pre-college-courses.php

Student Participants Summer 2011: Will Sano ('12), Jesse Greenfield ('12), Robin Casset-Johnstone ('12)
A perspective from Will Sano ('12): 

NAME OF PROGRAM: Summer@Brown

SHORT SUMMARY OF PROGRAM: Summer@Brown is a summer academy for high school students that takes over the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The experience is meant to allow students to enroll in college-level classes while simultaneously enjoying their summer in the company of their intellectual peers. The length of the program depends on which classes you sign up for; some classes, like the Existentialist Literature class, last just a week, while others, like the intensive Pre-Med class, last almost seven. Class typically lasts about four hours per day, but this again depends on which classes you sign up for.

HIGHLIGHTS: I took a class entitled Laboratory Techniques in Biomedicine, and what I found most rewarding about this class was that I got to do experimental procedures and protocols too advanced for my high school curriculum. I also really enjoyed the activities Summer@Brown provided me outside the classroom, like a trip to Boston, a beach day in Newport, and a party on the last night. The quality and variety of the food options around Brown is excellent. I found myself returning to places like Kabob and Curry, East Side Pockets, and Mama Kim’s Korean Food Truck whenever possible. Though you might expect kids who go to summer school voluntarily to be insufferably intellectual and boring, I did not find this to be the case. Although I attended Summer@Brown with two of my friends from Bay, I met a whole group of kids who shared my interests with whom I could be myself and have fun.  

LOWS: This may be just a perceived low, but the classes at Summer@Brown do give out homework, and some even have tests and essays. While this does require you to spend some of your precious summer hours doing work, I can assure you it is work that you will enjoy. All of the classes at Summer@Brown are obviously elective, so your homework will likely interest you. Summer@Brown can also be very expensive, especially for those of us coming from the west coast who would require cross country airfare. Attendance for a two-week program (my suggested length of stay) is $3,540 for residential students, and $2,498 for students staying off campus. Scholarships are available, but are limited and competitive.

Feel free to contact me with questions about this program

Will Sano wsano@bayschoolsf.org