Excel

Summer Programs
Amherst, Massachusetts; Paris and Provence, France; Oxford, England; Florence, Italy; Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; and Beijing, China


		Program Description Program Overview Visit Web Site Get Free Info See Photos

For More Information, Contact
Patrick Noyes, Director
345 Hickory Ridge Road
Putney, Vermont 05346
802-387-5000
Fax: 802-387-4276
http://www.goputney.com

Type of Program: Precollege academic enrichment
Participants: Coeducational, students completing grades 9–12
Enrollment: 100–150 per session, U.S.; 70, Europe and China
Program Dates: Three-, four-, and seven-week programs in June, July, and August
Heads of Program: Jeffrey Shumlin, Peter Shumlin, and Patrick Noyes, Directors

Location

Excel at Amherst College is based on the campus of Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts. Located in the heart of the Pioneer Valley, Amherst College and the town of Amherst offer a picturesque setting for learning and adventure. The college campus and adjacent town common form the heart of the “Five-College Area.”
    Excel at Oxford/Tuscany is located at St. Hilda’s College in Oxford, England, and at a sixteenth-century villa outside Florence, Italy. Each location serves as an ideal base for active, focused study of the history, archeology, literary traditions, and politics of the region. Excel at Madrid/Barcelona students explore the rich and varied culture of Spain from the modern campuses of universities.
    Excel Paris/Provence begins with two weeks in Aix-en-Provence, a dynamic university town nestled between the small hill villages of the Lubéron to the north and the dramatic cliffs of the Mediterranean coast to the south. In Paris, the group stays in the Marais district in the center of the city, a short walk from the Place des Vosges, Île St-Louis, and Centre Pompidou.
    Excel in China is based on the campus of the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing. Students can focus on studying Mandarin or can join active seminars on topics such as history, art, contemporary cinema, international relations, and economic development. During the third week, the entire program takes a week-long excursion to Hanzhou, Shanghai, and the island of Putuoshan.

Background and Philosophy

The Excel programs are sponsored by Putney Student Travel, now in its fifth decade of offering educational programs for high school students. Excel emphasizes growth and education through the challenges of hands-on learning by doing, exploring and adapting to new experiences, working cooperatively in small groups, and setting and achieving high personal expectations. Students select two areas of study and work in small seminars, undertaking extensive field trips and projects related to their subject areas. Each course culminates in a final project—a theatrical production, student newspaper, art and photography exhibit, mock trial, video, and debate forum are among the possibilities, depending on the course. Course work is intellectually challenging, but credit is not offered and grades are not given, because Excel students typically attend high-pressure schools during the academic year and want to focus in a more informal context during the summer on subjects that genuinely interest them. Outside the classroom, Excel offers a variety of athletic and cultural activities, and many are organized by students themselves. Students who are best suited for the program are those who are motivated to stretch themselves intellectually, artistically, and physically and, in so doing, have fun.

Program Offerings

Courses are divided into five categories: arts (drawing and painting, photography, architectural design, writing, theater production, music composition, fashion design, dance, ceramics, and video production), humanities (ethics, film studies, history, and philosophy), languages and rhetoric (journalism, French, Mandarin, and Spanish), social and natural sciences (archaeology, international relations, criminal justice, and behavioral and social psychology), and specialized courses, SAT preparation, and structured writing, which are offered on the domestic campuses only. There is also a program at Excel Amherst featuring college visits and small workshops to introduce students to the college admissions process.

Enrollment

Enrollment at Excel Amherst ranges from 100 to 150 students, who are selected from across the country and around the world. International programs are generally limited to 70 students.

Daily Schedule

The daily schedules at Excel Oxford/Tuscany, Madrid/Barcelona, Paris/Provence, and China are flexible, allowing for frequent field trips and in-depth exploration of the surrounding regions. The community meeting is a crucial part of the daily schedule of all programs.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

During afternoons and evenings, students choose from a wide variety of organized activities, ranging from swimming and Ultimate Frisbee to community service and from on-campus coffeehouses to off-campus visits to arts productions in the local area during the evenings. Instructional sports clinics in soccer, tennis, and golf are offered three late afternoons a week at Amherst. On weekends, all students and staff members participate in excursions to areas of local and regional interest, including Cape Cod, Montreal, the White Mountains, the Adirondacks, and Vermont. Excel at Oxford/Tuscany allows students to explore the rich heritage of Europe with frequent day trips and a weekend interlude in Paris. Excel at Madrid/Barcelona includes day trips and small-group weekend excursions to Segovia, Toledo, and Salamanca, among others. Excel at Paris/Provence offers students the opportunity to explore the hills and coast of southern France and includes a weekend excursion to the beautiful and historic beaches of Normandy.

Facilities

Students are housed in residence halls of each campus. Meals are provided in one of each college’s dining halls. In addition, students at each campus have access to college athletic facilities, libraries, art studios, computer rooms, and language labs.

Staff

Excel faculty members are among the finest in their fields, drawn from some of the world’s best colleges and universities. They are chosen for their extensive knowledge of and enthusiasm for the course material as well as for their dynamic teaching methods and their willingness and ability to work closely with their students. A complete set of biographies of Excel instructors from the summer of 2007 is available at http://www.goputney.com.

Medical Care

There are excellent medical facilities within easy reach of each campus. All students must provide a medical form completed by their physician and a medical treatment release form prior to the beginning of the program.

Religious Life

Excel is nondenominational. Students may attend area religious services if they wish.

Costs

The tuition fees in 2007 were as follows: Excel at Amherst College, $5190 for the four-week (July) program and $4390 for the three-week (August) program. The tuition for Excel at Oxford/Tuscany was $7590. Tuition for the Madrid/Barcelona program was $7290. Tuition for Paris/Provence was $7590, and tuition for China was $5890. Tuition includes instructional programs, all regularly scheduled activities, room, board (two meals on the European programs), overnight excursions that are a part of the Excel program (including lodging, meals, and transportation), use of college facilities, afternoon and evening activities, and transportation to and from the local airport.

Transportation

Amherst, Massachusetts, is within a 3-hour drive of New York City and Boston. The airports in Hartford, Connecticut, and Albany, New York, are nearby. Staff members pick up students at these airports and at nearby train and bus stations on the first day of the program and drop them off on the last.
Excel organizes group flights for its Oxford/Tuscany, Paris/Provence, China, and Madrid/Barcelona programs, in which students can participate if they so choose.

Application Timetable

Admission to Excel is selective. Applications, which must be accompanied by a personal statement and two teacher references, are carefully considered by the Admissions Committee. Maturity, intellectual curiosity, integrity, and a cooperative spirit are all important admissions criteria. Students should apply early, as limited spaces in small classes are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.