About Upper Camps

From Culverpedia

1 General

General

Culver Upper Camps are the Culver Summer Camps offerings for high school-aged boys and girls. They consist of 4 concurrent six-week summer camps with an emphasis on leadership development and take place on the Culver Military Academy's Main Campus, located 80 miles south of South Bend, Indiana along the north shore of Lake Maxinkuckee in the town of Culver. Founded in 1902 to complement the academy's winter boarding school program, they is among the United States' oldest overnight summer programs. Facilities include 69 sailboats, including a square-rigger "The Ledbetter"; a functioning airfield and fleet of Piper and Cessna aircraft; and a world-class riding hall.

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Men's Curriculum

Male attendees choose between three tracks: Culver Summer Naval School, Culver Summer Aviation School, and Culver Summer Equitation School. Depending on their choice, they are either housed with one of the five naval companies (Companies 1-4 or the Naval Band), one of the two aviation units (Aviation A or Aviation B), or the Troop. All units compete in room inspections, precision marching, athletics, rowing, sailing, and standardized testing on camp rules and procedures. Units compete for various awards, including the E (for Naval units) and "the Pegasus" (for Aviation and Cavalry Units), each awarded at the end of the camp to the units displaying the most efficiency and excellence throughout the summer.

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Ladies' Curriculum

Female upper camp attendees are split into six units called "decks" , which are groups of about 30-40 girls who live together in the dorm. There are awards in various weekly competitions for both males and females, including the Naval Banner, Athletic Banner, and the Military Banner. These banners are awarded each week and are carried with the units when they are in formation.

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Unit Orgniazation

Upper Camp is structured militarily, with campers earning rank and leadership positions depending on the number of summers they've attended camp and their performance within their unit. Campers are supervised by their unit's staff of three counselors and a naval ensign however much of their instruction and guidance comes from more senior campers: First Classmen (2 pervious summers) and Second Classmen (1 previous summer). Student leadership carries primary responsibility for ensuring that the unit performs well in military competition, (Room Inspections and precision marching), athletics (soccer, basketball, and the like), naval competition (rowing, sailing, kayaking, and signalling), as well as in special programs like Tuxis, the Great Race, Communications Relay, and Pegasus Drill.

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Tuition

Basic Tuition-$4,200

Camp tuition covers instruction in nonfee courses, room and board, laundry, awards, instruction in athletics, subscription to camp newspaper, movies, and use of all facilities, including the golf course. Tuition does not cover the registration fee nor uniform expenses.

Registration Fee (Non-Refundable)-$200

Boys Estimated Uniform Costs-$675

Boys Estimated Uniform Costs In Horsemanship-$1300

Girls Estimated Uniform Costs-$500

Uniforms provide an opportunity for campers to display achievement. They function as a symbol of leadership in the military system, and enable young people to focus on achievement rather than fashion.

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