Phillips Academy Andover Summer Session

Your Name: Anni Wen

Class of: 2014

Program: Phillips Academy Andover Summer Session

When you did the program: Summer of 2012

Location: Andover, MA
Link: http://www.andover.edu/summersessionoutreach/summersession/pages/default.aspx

Summary: Phillips Academy Andover Summer Session is a five-week summer program in which students take two core classes of their choice (I took Writing for Success as well as a class on International Relations). In addition to these two classes. Students can take an optional SAT Prep course.

In the afternoons, students interact through sports. Throughout the five weeks, the dorms on campus house more than 600 students from 50 different countries. On weekends, students can take trips to Boston, which is less than an hour away by bus or train. On Wednesdays, students have the option to visit different colleges in Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island.

About how many kids were in your summer program?  more than 600

Who were the adults and what role did they play in your experience? The adults are your house counselors and teachers. House counselors played the role of your friends who made sure you are having fun and adapting to the new environment away from home.

How much free time did you have and what did you do with it? Classes were only in the morning, so in the afternoon, there were optional college counseling program which I was actively involved in. On weekends, I went to Boston with friends or stayed on campus Saturday nights to attend dances. There is an 11 PM curfew on Saturdays and 9:30PM curfew on Sunday-Friday.

Did you have room and board or a home stay in another country? If so, what was your experience like? I lived in on-campus dorms and had an awesome roommate from another country. We became best friends and would tell each other about everything that happened. My neighbors also came from different parts of the world, but despite our differences, we had a great time and even chatted through the night!

What were the other students in your program like and how were the relationships that you formed? Students in my program were from all over the world! Imagine living in an environment so diverse that you hear multiple different languages being spoken at once. We learned from each other and everyone brought a piece of their culture to share.

What kinds of activities, social events, and trips were organized for the students? Boston trips, water parks, beach hang-outs, movies, shopping mall, college visits, Saturday night dances, game shows, and many more were offered!

If you had academic classes or homework, how many hours a day did you spend on schoolwork? 3-4 hours per night. Every minute you spend in class is equal to the amount of the homework you'll receive that night. That's the summer session policy.

About how much of your own money do you think you spent on gifts, food, transportation and other things not provided by the program? $400, mainly on weekend trips.

Did you have a curfew? If so, what time? 11PM on Saturdays. 9:30PM from Sun-Fri.

Did you have internet access? If so, how much time did you spend using it? Yes, but it shuts down at 12PM to make sure students get enough sleep.

How organized was the program? How much flexibility was there with the agendas? How much of a say did the students have in this? Very organized, but students did not have much say in the program since it was all organized before we got there. We did get to take class surveys.

How was the food? Rate from 1-5 (1 being the worst and 5 being the best) 5

What is at least one thing you would do to improve the program? I think that classes should be mixed grades.

What was your biggest take away from the experience/what will you most remember? I learned to appreciate other people's differences and experienced what life is like away from home.

Who would you recommend this program to? Who would this program not be best suited to? I would recommend this program for anyone that is interested in challenging themselves with 3-4 hours of homework per night during the summer. I would also recommend this program to those who are looking for diverse place to learn. This program would not be best suited for those who want to get a home stay or community service experience.

Rate your overall experience: 5 (life-changing)

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

Waynflete School Sustainable Ocean Studies [Maine]

SOS is an inspiring and rigorous month-long summer program focused on promoting ocean health and sustainability.  Through engaging seminars and important field work along the Gulf of Maine, SOS provides a fun, empowering, and relevant learning experience that cultivates important skills for academic success in post-secondary studies.  Filled with adventure and a wide variety of field experiences, this program challenges participants to make full use of both their creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills while studying ecological and cultural sustainability.  SOS pays special attention to learning from local efforts in coastal Maine communities to preserve the marine resources on which those communities depend. Co-sponsored by the Coastal Studies for Girls.  


WHO:  Rising Juniors and Seniors
WHAT:  Month long academic program focusing on the oceans
WHERE: Waynflete School in Maine and Darling Marine Center. 
MORE INFO:  http://www.waynflete.org/podium/default.aspx?t=132374

Sea Education Association Summer Tall Ship Programs

Spend some time on a tall ship this summer studying science and sailing.  SEA primarily runs semester programs for college students that integrate into their college academic experience, but they offer a similar shorter experience for high school students during the summer.

WHO:  high school sophomores, juniors and seniors -- COED
WHAT:  maritime and science focused academic program.  About 10 days on land and 10 days at sea
WHERE:  Maine, Massachusetts or California
WHEN: summer
FOR MORE INFO:  SEA.edu