I'm a female high school student who is really interested in computer sciences. I was really excited about attending a summer program for computer programming because I wanted to be around other people who were excited about CS, too. I also was really looking forward to being taught programming concepts in a classroom. I researched several summer programs and chose iD tech. Their website advertised the program as something that was great for younger kids, yes, but mainly high school age students who were serious about learning computer skills. If you go on their website, you'll see countless photos of *high school age people* having a good time. If you read their course information, they all sound like serious week-long courses that will really teach you something useful. I was excited for iD tech. I am very disappointed to say that, in reality, iD tech was an extremely unenjoyable experience, and it wasn't because I was one of only two girls staying overnight that week or because the other kids had to be forced to shower on Tuesdays. For one, the social aspect was awful. I was surrounded by very young little boys. I'm talking anything from ages 7-14. I counted only about five people, including my roommate and I, who were actually in high school. This was a shock to me; the website's photos were all of kids my age! So I was living in a dorm surrounded by little boys. I was eating lunch surrounded by little boys. There were few people my age. The first night I got there, I was told to sit in a room filled with laptops and have fun. How? Play the video games on the laptops. Now, I do enjoy video games very much, but for three hours I was stuck in a room surrounded by people not my age, listening to them scream at each other as they (virtually) shot each other. Meanwhile, there was really loud music being blasted. It alternated between dubstep and tracks from The Little Mermaid. If you don't like video games, or even if you just don't feel like playing them, there is little else for you to do. Throughout the day, classes were given video game breaks (at least thirty minutes long but sometimes longer). At nighttime, I was given an entire three hours to just sit in a room in front of a laptop. During other times of the day I could have played a board game, except it didn't seem like that much fun to play Munchkin with people who were so much younger than me. The disappointment of not even being around people my age (which, again, was expected by the way the iD website advertises itself) loomed over me for my entire stay. The thing about being stuck with a lot of really young kids is that you have the same amount of responsibility as them. I'm sixteen. I can legally have a job and drive a car. I can take care of myself. And I had to walk to meals in a double-file line with children who came up to my shoulders or below. I couldn't go outside unless we were all going outside so there would be multiple adults to watch me. There was absolutely no freedom or independence for me or the other high schoolers. It was such a frustrating experience. I would have stayed the whole week if my course was worth it, but it was not. It was nice to have an instructor around to ask questions, but class time was spent with me independently going through the iD tech learning track on my computer. It is a series of instructions relating to different programming concepts. It's important to be able to learn these skills independently, but come on.This camp costs over $1000. The only thing I got away from the camp was this online learning track, and I could have found a C++ resource just like it on the internet for free. As I said, I am an intermediate level programmer, which is what the course's suggested skill level was. I was basically retaught things that I had learned independently using free resources on the internet. In short, my educational experience was a huge disappointment as well. ***Here's the thing, though: iD tech camp is a lot of fun for some kids. It's fun if you are a boy, especially a young boy (middle school age or below) who loves to play video games no matter what. If you want to go to a camp to play games and kind of learn about some computer skills in a very shallow fashion, then go here. If you are a high school age student who is serious about learning some computer skills, this is not the place for you. I'm really sorry to say that. I was excited to go, but in every possible way, my iD tech camp experience was a disappointment. ***And, I will say that the staff, especially the directors, were very very kind, and that was a relief to me. They were very friendly and fantastic and took good care of the kids. The problem was that iD is, at its core, NOT the program for me. If it weren't for the horrendous display of false advertising on their website, I wouldn't have gone through one of the most miserable experiences of my life. read more

I am trying to enroll my son and would like to talk to someone here in Lake Forrest campus. To my disappointment, i could not find a single phone # to contact here in Illinois, its only 1888 xxxxx which is in pacific area. This shows me that they are not an approachable educational institution. Right now i could say the service is REALLY DISAPPOINTING and DISCOURAGING. Hope they'll improve their customer service. read more

My son has been to two ID tech camps and will be attending his third this summer. He has done both the day camp and sleep away camp. I can not say enough good things about the camp! My son was thoroughly engaged! He learned more than I could have imagined and loved every second of it! The counselors are just amazing with kids! (And they are truly tech savvy)! If I could change one thing it would be that there were more locations and more courses offered... It's really that good! read more

My 2 sons, Jack and Graham Mahoney, just completed their first week at ID camp in Lake Forest. We are from Peoria so it was quite an effort to travel to Chicago and take up residence at a hotel for a week. I did not know if they would enjoy the camp. I was prepared for them to want to bail out after the first day. They are 8 and while this is not their first camp--it is definitely their first "big kid" camp. They loved it! They were so happy. Every night! The first 2 nights all I heard was "can we sign up for another week?", "Why don't we get to spend the night?" Jack was actually crying because he wanted to do more! They wanted me to get them up earlier so they could be at camp earlier and pick them up later! The staff was spectacular. Duke always took the time to ask how the boys liked the camp. Obviously he was worried when Jack seemed upset. He was happy to know he was upset becasue he wanted to do MORE. On Tuesday night Graham said, "Summer camp is Fun!" Today at shout outs he shouted out at least twice. He is usually a pretty quiet little guy but he was so comfortable in your environment. We will be back for more next year. We were so lucky to have found some open spots so late in the summer. I only found out about your camps late in the spring and most of them were full. I am thinking the Washington University camps may be more convenient for me but I think they have bonded with the instructors in Chicago and won't let me switch. I really could go on and on. I have an infant (1 year old) as well as Jack and Graham. I want you to know I am exhausted from the week but your camp was so amazing that I felt I could not go to bed without praising the entire staff--especially Duke. At this late hour I cannot think of the boys Robotics instructor but he too was so amazing. He took the time to tell me how they did over the week and the message on their diplomas was very touching. I cannot believe what a great staff you have. I could go on and on. The small number of campers (61) and the ratio as promised!! I am sure you could have filled the camps 2 and 3 times with students but you kept to your word. The boys had 7 kids and one teacher. But really they talked of many teachers. They loved Gobo and Patches and McSwagger cracked them up. It just floors me to hear the boys talking about "their lab" and calibrating "their robots"--they can barely pronounce calibrate. Thank you for the outside time-again as promised. They really do need the time to disconnect and I heard lots about CTF-or in our day capture the flag. I was worried they would need help in the cafeteria-of course the staff helped and they loved that part of the day as well. Just wow. I want to post on the web but I am not sure people will believe that I am not an employee planted recommendations. REally thank you. Thank you Duke and Thank you to their robotics instuctor (again I wish I remembered his name-he is listed as the Game & Watch instructor). Many thanks! Abigail Mahoney OK-one improvement. Better signage for first day. Your instructions online were perfect but with a baby and lots of confusion the signs seemed to point to the Middle and South campus. Very tiny improvement. As soon as I pulled up my instructions I found it. Maybe send the instructions by email the night before--that way people don't have to log in to ID site. read more

My son absolutely loved this camp. The teachers were kind and helpful the entire week and he learned a great deal. I'm very impressed and we will be sending him again next summer. Customer service was helpful and answered all questions. Upon check-in we received all local information needed (contacts, etc.). Great experience!!! read more

Our 9 year old son attended this camp last year and is looking forward to returning. While he was signed up for sleep away camp last year, he wasn't quite ready. The counselors did a great job of keeping him engaged and entertained. We picked him up late at night, only to return early the next day. He enjoyed it very much and is ready to return for full-blown sleep away camp this year. read more

My son who is 14 and has never wanted to go to any kind of summer camp finally expressed an interest in the programing camp offered by ID Tech at Lake Forest college. It was a one week day camp. He loved it. When I picked him up after the first day he couldn't stop talking about it (him talking to me - very unusual). He loved the teacher, the other kids and the subject. He had a wonderful time and actually learned something useful. The last day when I picked him up he was incredibly sad that it was over. His first words when he got in the car that day was "can I come back next year?" This year he is signed up again. He can't wait. read more