New Summit Academy Costa Rica

Why choose New Summit Academy Costa Rica?

Established in 2005, New Summit Academy Costa Rica is a supportive boarding school and study abroad experience. Adolescent males (ages 14-18) who are in grades 9-12 enroll for a minimum period of six months to engage in US college prep academics, experiential learning, cultural immersion, adventure and travel, and social-emotional support.

In 2012, New Summit Academy opened its gap program, The Bridge ~ Costa Rica, in which young adult (ages 17-23) enroll for a minimum period of four months. The Bridge is a unique blend of a gap program and a supportive community, providing coaching as well as a strong sense of support and guidance toward building skills for the adult world.

Website

www.newsummitacademy.com

Founded

2005

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Reviews

As someone who has been though the program I feel confident saying that New Summit Academy (NSA) completely changed the trajectory of my life. NSA played an integral role in my own personal growth such as: regulating my emotions, coping with emotional distress, and rebuilding the relationship with my parents.It was not easy, but through family therapy, weekly counseling, and group therapy I was able to slowly rebuild my self esteem and implement healthy habits. Not only did NSA support my interpersonal and cognitive growth, it also helped me find my people. NSA is full of amazing and extraordinary individuals who are with you every step of the way. However it wasn’t only the mental health professionals that made NSA special, NSA is also where I found some of my best friends to this day.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

Some advice I would give to future students and families is to trust the process. At times it might seem hard, however everything that you do is for a reason.The lifestyle plans, the scheduled zoom calls to talk with your family, and the therapeutic groups all play their role. The program is designed to support socioemotional growth for both students and their parents. Although it may seem tedious at times, my advice to future NSA families is to trust the process.

Pros

Personal growth
Cultural immersion
Very social environment

Cons

Challenging
A lot of time spent on campus (can be boring at times)

I would recommend The Bridge to anyone. Whatever history you have, whether you have been in and out of other therapeutic/wilderness programs or you don’t have any experience outside of the circle you grew up in, you will be glad you came. You’ll be in adventures you will never forget, meet people of all sorts and become close to people you wouldn’t have thought it possible. You’ll likely face many difficulties which is a core part of the program, to set you up for your life. Experience, both joyful and difficult, is priceless.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?

I saw myself shaping myself into a person I didn’t think I was capable of being.

Pros

Experience
Nature
Community

Cons

Airports

I could not have asked for a better experience at the Bridge!! I was able to build extremely close relationships with all the staff members as well as the Tico community. The ethereal nature around allows one to take time for themselves to ponder on how they want to grow and move forward in life. The Bridge strides to push everyone to try something new, from internships to education and extracurricular activities. I can not thank the staff enough for their hard work and dedication to each and every individuals growth process.
My time at the Bridge will stay close to my heart forever!

What was your funniest moment?

My favorite moments had to be the aventuras. Exploring and spending time away from everything solely surrounded by nature the local community and my peers.

Pros