What Summer Programs Are Available for High School Physics Students?

[lingualatina]

I am a freshman in high school, and I would be really interested in doing some sort of physics program over the summer. I'd be especially curious about doing an unpaid internship or taking a class at a college. Would this be at all possible? If so, what programs could you recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[eri]

Anyone can pay to take a class at a college, during the summer or during the normal semester. However, chances are good you don't have the necessary math background to take a physics course. Algebra-based physics expects you know math through pre-calculus, and calculus-based physics expects you've taken at least one semester of calculus. Remember, even if you fail the course, you still must tell future colleges you apply to about that grade.

As for research, you can try asking around at local colleges, but don't expect much. Taking on a research student takes up a great deal of a professor's time, and they don't get any benefit from taking on a high school student. You don't have the math or science background to do anything very useful, you'll take a lot of training to be useful for anything, and their own students have top priority. Many of their own students can't get research positions.

If you want a shot at something a few years from now, spend your time learning some skills that can make you more useful. Study math up through calculus. Learn some computer programming and Linux skills. There are summer internships available for advanced high school students through NASA, NIH, and MIT. Try applying for those a few years from now.

 

[lingualatina]

Thanks a lot for the information. Do you have any recommendations for introductory computer programming/Linux books or calculus books? For math proficiency, I've taken Algebra I and I'm currently in Geometry.

 

[eri]

I'd suggest watching lectures from the Khan Academy. It's free and includes practice problems. You can find information to learn Python online for free as well; that's a good programming language to start with.

 

[lingualatina]

My teachers all really like Khan Academy, so I will be sure to take a look at it. I'll look into Python as well.