CTY

[Max Lobovsky]

For those of you that don't know, CTY (Center for Talented Youth) is a great summer program that I'm sure a lot of FIRSTers have been through. Students spend 3 weeks taking a course at various sites across the US (and Ireland). It has a lot of the same club-like feeling that FIRST has. I just wanted to see if other FIRST people enjoyed it as much as I did.

Personally, I was at Baby CTY in Bethlehem, PA in 1999. Then at Saratoga Springs, NY in 2000, and 2001 taking Chem and Bio respectively. I recently got in touch with some friends I hadn't spoke to in a while and it just really reminded me of what an awesome place it was.

Well anyway, if you went, or if you want to go (it's awesome, if you aren't a junior yet, you should) please post here.

[edit]maybe I should have searched before posting, there was a thread about this a few months ago.[/edit]

[Eugenia Gabrielov]

It's okay I think, new people are here and don't have the same perspective as older ones. I'd be interested in something like this. It sounds...just totally fascinating. Either that or summer at some college. How did it compare to courses you took in school and courses you might take at a college? How is the atmosphere? Stuff like that.

[Max Lobovsky]

It was just so much more friendly and close. Probably a lot more like college than high school. As for the learning, you take a high school course in 3 weeks (about 2/3 hours of a high school course), so it definitley is harder than in high school, but I think they do a reasonably good job at covering everything. If you want to, you can definitley learn all the material.

I've heard mixed ideas about CTY. Most people I talk to say this is a really great program, but some asy that it is a con-act that overcharges for the benifits you get, So...
[Digress] ...I've never gone to any off-school thing such as this ( Turned down CTY ever since 4th grade, lol...My first one, SEED at Drexel starts tomorrow) and I was wondering how you thought CTY stacked up against some of the other organizations such as, Congressional Honor Committee (turned them down too, call me lazy ) or any others you have been to. Thanks![/Digress]

Michael

P.S. Could we please have Brandon add to his to-do list to include [Digress] [/Digress] as a valid command?

[DanL]

I'm a CTY Lancaster veteran, and I have the frisbees to prove it.

Here's the thing about CTY... its basically a nerd camp. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way, its just that there are many kids who fit the stereotype of the reclusive antisocial kinda kid. The good thing, though, is that there are many kids like that, and so if you are one of those kids, its really the first time you meet kids like that and realize you're not the only one. Anyways, by no means is that generalization true of all the people there... some of the most hillarious,social, and brilliant people I've met were once CTYers.

Also, CTY being a nerd camp, you realize there are many... eccentricities... about some of the traditions and people about it, but then again, thats one of the really unique things.

Long story short, there are always people that don't like things. If you don't let yourself open up to people, then of course its going to feel like a long three weeks, but thats true at just about anything. At Lancaster, they used to say something to the extent of while you're there, it feels like a year, but once you leave, it feels like it lasted only a day. Personally, CTY was among the best things I've done, and I'm thinking about going back next year to RA or TA.

The only problem I've ever really had about it, though, is its big on liberal arts stuff, but not really science stuff. I took an "engineering" class the second time I was there, but it was all mainly introductory high school physics... if they had some more "hands on" building types of classes, that would be great. But then again, JHU's strongest department is writing and medicine, so us engineers can expect only so much. I also was never a fan of the strict supervision and heavily-enforced-but-superfluous rules.

[Max Lobovsky]

Originally Posted by SuperDanman

The only problem I've ever really had about it, though, is its big on liberal arts stuff, but not really science stuff.... I also was never a fan of the strict supervision and heavily-enforced-but-superfluous rules.

If you ask me, those two things are not unrelated. Liberals do Liberal Arts and liberals make superfluous rules . Vote Repbulican!

Anyway, SuperDanman, I'm really thinking about TAing or RAing also. If you do do it, let me know how it went.

[looneylin]

just got back from CTY session 2 lancaster. honestly it depends on what course you sign up for. i know probably and game theory will give u ur money's worth n get u frustrated beyond reason. in that course we moved faster than normal college courses n covered a little bit of calculus in like what 1 1/2 hrs n got tested on it the next day. soooo.... it's the best time of ur life at CTY n u'll make friends that u want to keep forever.