Summer Camps for Gifted Kids: Are They Worth It?

Summer is coming. Your child, who has been confirmed by assessment professionals to fall into the "gifted" range, is starting to ask "What am I going to do this summer?" You may be asking that question yourself. Summer camp for gifted kids may seem like a great idea. Parents need to weigh the pros and the cons when examining whether to send their gifted kid to music, chess, computer science, or any academically-oriented camp.

The three big gifted camp programs in the United States are the Johns Hopkins University Centr for Talented Youth (CTY) program, Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) summer camp program, and Summer institute for the Gifted (SIG). Each program has its pros and cons. CTY and SIG are nationwide, with camps for kids as young as kindergarten, all the way through twelfth grade, with options for day camp and overnight camp. Stanford's EPGY summer camp program is available only at their Palo Alto, California campus.

SIG has residential programs at Amherst College, Bryn Mawr College, Drew University, Emory University, Princeton University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Michigan, Vassar College, Fairfield University, Manhattanville College, Moorsetown Friends School, and Stuart Country Day School. SIG's programs have been offered since 1984, and SIG begins with day programs for kindergarteners. The camps offer programs in the humanities, sciences, and mathematics.

Stanford University's EPGY summer programs start with children aged eleven and older. These camps, designed for middle and high school students, start at two week sessions and cover language arts, computer science, and mathematics. In addition, Stanford offers a one-month study abroad program as part of the summer EPGY offerings; this year the camp travels to Beijing, China.

CTY's summer offerings are vast, with camps across the U.S. at universities and colleges such as Moravian College, Washington College, and Mount Holyoke College, among others. Summer courses offered include foreign languages, mathematics, language arts, writing, and more. The CTY programs, like the SIG programs, are well-established and offer a wide array of choices for gifted students.

Parents might also consider not sending gifted kids to camp. Many research studies on gifted kids show that children who are advanced need plenty of down time to simply think, reason, and ruminate. The constant go go go of activities and school may not give them the free time they need to let ideas simmer, and for creative, original thought.

But if you do choose to go with summer gifted camp for kids, EPGY, CTY, and SIG are the way to go.