Blog #2

This summer, I plan on participating in a college-associated summer program.

I have been looking at the ones in Yale, UCLA, Johns Hopkins University, UC Berkeley, UCSD, UCSB, and NYU.

My goal is to sign up for a short medical program this year, since that is what I want to major in for college. In addition to learning a lot, attending summer programs like these look excellent on college applications.

As of now, I am undecided in which program I’m going to attend, but my parents are leaning towards UC Berkeley. This is because it is close, and my parents have friends who could house me in Berkeley for a few weeks.

In addition to academic summer programs, I have to attend a water polo clinic at Mt. Sac. Since it is arranged by the school, it will be free of charge.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about my academic summer camps. The in-state ones are around $5000, and the ones on the east coast are upwards of $8000.

However, my parents think it is a very useful class, so they are happy to pay the fees.

In addition to summer programs, I plan on swimming solo again. I will work with a coach twice a day, just like I used to do during all breaks before high school started.

While I miss club swimming, there are not very good practice opportunities for those over the age of 13. For this reason, my parents have decided that they will just have me swim with a private coach this summer.

Personally, I feel like I am not ready for living alone on the East Coast this year. I would rather be in-state this year, and try that next summer.

I have even heard about some people doing spring break programs. I would have considered those, but the deadlines have already passed.

In my past summers, I have done mostly robotics and computer science camps. When I was in elementary school, my mom took my brother and I to the science camps at the California Science Center.

In middle school, I went to a computer science camp at Cal Poly Pomona. I also attended a robotics camp that same year.

Overall, my parents and I agree that I learn a lot from summer programs.