Summer Discovery

Loved all of the activities

My daughter loved all the evening activities and field trips that Summer Discovery arranged. I also appreciate all of the quick responses I received from Summer Discovery.

Needed more info given ahead of time

The activity’s planned were rlly fun! I wish the classes let us know what we needed to know ahead of time (if you understand what I mean) for example in the aerospace class, i’m going into 10th grade and I didn’t know physics or trigonometry so it was hard to follow along because when i signed up for the class it didn’t say I needed to know this ahead of time. I also wish there were more hands on projects.

The campus was wonderful

The campus was wonderful. The food was abundant. The course was a unique experience and provided lots of challenge. The final presentation was a great way to put the learning into practice, do research and teach classmates. The website is not straightforward but the SummerDiscovery team answers emails from parents really promptly.

Good location good staff pretty good…

Good location good staff pretty good food nice thoughtful activities but too expensive for the experience

Dan’s expertise

What made my experience feel good was the fact that Dan was always there to help me whenever I was homesick. In addition, my teacher was very good for creative writing. The only tip I would give would be to add A/C to the dorms if possible. and also add some more activities to do outside

l enrolled my son in this summer…

l enrolled my son in this summer program with very high expectations, especially considering that both he and his friend each spent approximately $24,000 to attend. Unfortunately, the experience fell far short of what we expected from a program associated with Yale. One of the first concerns was the food. On orientation day, my son scanned the QR code for one of the meals and found an ingredient list containing around 60 ingredients. Because of this, he and his friend chose to order their own food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day instead of eating the meals provided by the program. The housing conditions were equally disappointing. My son and his friend stayed together in one of the suites, and when they arrived, there was no air conditioning at all. They had to purchase fans themselves just to make the room bearable. The suite was also extremely dirty, covered in dust, and there was no room or suite cleaning provided by staff throughout their stay. The common areas became so messy that they found themselves asking other students to stop throwing trash around. We have photographs documenting these conditions. Academically, my son enrolled in both the Business and Neuroscience courses. We were surprised to learn that neither instructor was a Yale professor, but rather teachers from other schools. The Business course was one of the primary reasons he chose this program, yet he came away feeling that he learned very little. Additionally, the two guest speakers were brought in over Zoom rather than in person. According to my son, the presentations were so unprofessional that even the Business instructor remarked that they would not be invited back in the future. For the amount we paid, we expected a program that reflected the reputation of Yale. Instead, our son experienced poor housing conditions, food he did not feel comfortable eating, and an academic experience that did not justify the cost. We have photographs supporting the concerns regarding the accommodations, and we hope the program takes this feedback seriously so future students receive the quality of experience families expect when making such a significant investment.

Amazing program!

Classes were great. Activities were awesome too!

Wonderful experience

More than I expected it would be!!!

it was very fun

Truly the best summer of my life

Truly the best summer of my life, not even in a corny way. Met so many amazing people and had the time of my life and discovered something about who I am. Recommend strongly.

“We were very disappointed with this…

“We were very disappointed with this program. It was marketed as the ‘Berkeley program,’ giving the impression that classes would be taught by Berkeley professors, but in reality the camp simply rented the campus facilities for the summer — there was no actual affiliation with Berkeley faculty. Given the price charged, this felt misleading. Additionally, we were told kosher food would be available on-site for our son, but this was not the case. He had to order his own meals every lunch and dinner instead of being provided adapted meals as promised.

Participating in the Summer Discovery at UT Austin …

Participating in the Summer Discovery program at The University of Texas at Austin was an amazing experience! I learned so much, especially through the opportunity to participante in the medicine course and gain insight into the healthcare field. This experience made me even more confident that I want to pursue a career in medicine. Beyond the academics, the program was well organized, safe, and gave me the chance to meet students from around the world. I’m truly grateful for everything I learned and experienced, and I would highly recommend Summer Discovery to any student looking to grow, learn, and challenge themselves. It was an unforgettable experience that I’ll always remember!

Solid experience but disappointing class

The program was well organized and outings and counselors were solid. My daughter said the classes she took were disappointing and not very engaging. I guess that's on the teacher they hired. But had a good experience being on her own on a university campus for a couple weeks and seeing what college life might be like.

Thank You

The staff and people throughout everything where very welcoming the food was good, and I made a lot of new connections with friends I felt at home and had a lot of fun.

Good experience overall

Good environment to meet new people. Great to hear experiences from college students and professionals in the classroom. Food was good and the availability of facilities. Rooms were pretty dated/didn't feel the cleanest.

The social aspect and experience was…

The social aspect and experience was good, the academics was lacking which was the primary purpose for us to choose this program. My daughter's class was in the same building as her dorm room , so she didn't event get the experience of having to get to class.

Amazing program and experience

My son attended the Summer Discovery program at UCLA, and it exceeded our expectations in every way. The entire experience was incredibly well organized from start to finish. From the first phone call to get information, to the registration process, check-in, check-out, and every detail in between, everything was smooth, seamless, and professionally managed. The instructor was outstanding. It was clear they were an expert in their field, but what impressed us even more was their ability to truly engage the students. They sparked genuine curiosity, made the subject exciting, and inspired the students to learn. My son came home talking enthusiastically about what he had learned, which says a lot. The activities outside of class were another highlight. They struck the perfect balance between fun and educational, giving students opportunities to experience campus life while continuing to learn and grow. Perhaps the most valuable part of the program was the people. My son made wonderful friends from across the United States and around the world in just two weeks. He was also inspired by the successful guest speakers and mentors he met throughout the program. The connections he built—with both his peers and his instructor—made the experience even more meaningful. Summer Discovery provided much more than an academic program; it gave my son confidence, lasting friendships, valuable mentorship, and memories he’ll carry with him for years. We are so grateful for this incredible experience and highly recommend it to any family considering the program.

The child shared thaNot the Learning Experience We Expectedt the teacher spent…

My child shared that the teacher spent a significant portion of the class playing videos, with relatively little direct instruction or interaction. As a result, the lessons felt monotonous and it was difficult to stay engaged. Overall, the learning experience did not meet our expectations. My child felt that they did not gain the knowledge and skills they had hoped to learn from the course. We hope the school can provide more teacher-led instruction, classroom interaction, and hands-on learning activities in the future.

Camp Advisor at UC Berkeley wasn’t great. Other than that everything was nice!

Teachers and actual course material were great. Camp advisor didn’t handle issues between students well and many students went home feeling upset because of that. RC’s were very helpful and kind.

My honest feelings about my experience at summer discovery

I liked the trips and I learned a lot in class however, I felt unincluded due to the fact that there were not many other people like me there. I also did not enjoy having rumors spread about me even though I had done nothing to anyone, that's not really the programs fault though.