PRE-COLLEGE SUMMER PROGRAMS give high school students an opportunity to experience college academics explore careers and work (and sometimes live) with other students on a college campus. A few programs even allow you to earn college credit! Attending a pre-college program also shows colleges that you’re serious about taking on challenging work.
Some summer programs are residential—you live on a college campus in a dorm. Others are commuter programs intended for students living near the school or who can arrange their own accommodations.
Pre-college programs are offered either directly by colleges or through other organizations.
Here is a sampling of just a few programs.
- The Junior Statesmen of America (JSA) hosts two summer programs. “Students learn about the issues that affect their lives and communities get training in effective advocacy and even interact with the political power brokers who can help them make positive change,” explains Jeff Harris, CEO of the Junior Statesmen Foundation. Students complete college-level work which gives them a tremendous advantage when they apply to college. “Our mission is to prepare today’s young leaders to become active engaged civic participants and the leaders of our country tomorrow,” Harris adds.
- The JSA Summer Institute takes place over three or four days on a college campus. The courses explore leadership and political and policy topics. Students meet with elected officials and reporters engage in debates and plan grassroots campaigns on various topics. The JSA Summer School offers advanced placement courses such as constitutional law U.S. history macroeconomics and Chinese history language and culture. Alumni of the JSA programs have gone on to become members of Congress policymakers business leaders journalists and more.
- At the University of South Florida high school students can spend one to four weeks studying subjects as wide-ranging as music production and performance mechanical engineering and global sustainability. In the university’s selective high school STEM (science technology engineering and math) Academy 20 students research a special topic in depth. In 2012 the topic was “Diabetes: From Basic Research to Bedside.”
- Georgia Tech’s PEAKS (Programs for Enrichment and Accelerated Knowledge in STEM) summer programs offer courses as diverse as “Life on the Edge: Astrobiology” “Intro to Mobile App/Game Development” and “Wall Street on West Peachtree.” The latter course teaches students the fundamentals of finance risk and return and stock trading. Students meet on the school’s state-of-the-art trading floor!
- Connecticut’s Post University is the summer home of the CSI Academy where students can work alongside police officers and other crime-scene investigation professionals to learn about criminal justice and forensic investigation. Students investigate a mock crime scene. “They will learn aspects of crime scene investigation such as ballistics fingerprinting … crime scene documentation report writing and courtroom testimony,” says Scott Flebotte, director of the program. That hands-on experience could help spark a future career in criminal investigation.
If you’re eager to get a taste of college life while you’re still in high school or you have an interest in a particular subject or career there’s sure to be a summer pre-college program for you.
