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Johns
Hopkins: Summer Program for Academically Talented Youth
By
Sybil Maimin
Pre-college
students of exceptional academic ability have a chance to immerse
themselves in a challenging intellectual world at the Johns Hopkins
Center for Talented Youth summer programs. To be eligible, pupils
must be in grade 7 or higher, but under age 17, and achieve a
prescribed minimum score on the SAT 1. Classes are held on the
lovely Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore, MD (a very
popular choice) and 19 other sites in the United States. Students
live in residence halls or commute. In addition to academics,
a very full program of social, athletic, and cultural activities,
supervised by resident advisors (mainly college students), is
offered. In 200l, students came from 45 states and 26 countries.
Sixty-seven percent came from public schools, 26 percent from
private schools, and 4 percent from parochial schools. Most students
were between 15 and 17 years old.
After selecting one course from a wide array in writing, the humanities,
science, or math and computer science, pupils devote three weeks
to intensive study in the subject of their choice. The courses
cover a great deal of material and are taught at a fast pace and
high level. Classes are small and instructors top notch. As Charles
Beckman, who works in the program, explains, “Some of the work
may be esoteric, but you can’t fool these kids. Teachers are chosen
who know their subjects really well.” The learning is vigorous:
mandatory classes are from 9 AM to 12 noon, 1 to 3 PM, and 7 to
9 PM, five days a week. The broad and exciting course offerings
include: in writing – a general foundation in college-level writing
including, the crafting of fiction or poetry, and the critical
essay; in the humanities – classics and ancient languages, ethics,
twentieth century art, Gandhi’s India, and the Harlem Renaissance;
in science – neuroscience, fast-paced high school chemistry, and
paleobiology (studying fossils using modern biology); and in math
and computer science – cryptology, probability and game theory,
and mathematical modeling.
The Hopkins program provides exceptional students with learning
experiences usually not available to youngsters their age. They
meet peers with similar academic abilities and motivations. They
can assess their own skills and potential and develop educational
goals and interests. The residence halls are an important component,
encouraging new friendships from within a learning community.
Dana Wilson, a ninth grader from Brooklyn who attended CTY last
summer and plans to return this year, explains that, “Classes
are really fun. For example, we learned math while participating
in fun group activities. All of the friends I made there are going
back.”
Hopkins summer program participants are very bright. Their test
scores put them in the top 2 percent of their age groups. Minimum
SAT scores are, for example, 620 points in the verbal portion
for ages 15 years 6 months to 16 years 0 months for humanities
and writing courses. The minimums for math and science courses
for the same age group are 570 in math and 1190 combined math
and verbal scores. For residential students, tuition, room, and
board is $2,375. Need-based financial help is available.
More information is available online at www.jhu.edu/gifted/ctysummer
or by writing to Center for Talented Youth, Johns Hopkins University,
P.O.Box 64434, Baltimore, MD 21264.#
Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001. Tel:
(212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of
the publisher. © 2001.
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