WHETHER YOU’RE JUST HEARING about pre-college programs or knee-deep in research for next summer’s options you’ll be best equipped to narrow down your choices if you know a bit more about how pre-college programs work.
Many colleges offer pre-college summer programs on their campus. At Emory University (www.precollege.emory.edu) for example high school juniors and seniors live in a dorm during their two-week noncredit program or six-week credit program. “[Participants] take a morning class in subjects such as neuroscience sports medicine public health writing psychology and economics and enjoy afternoon co-curricular and extra-curricular activities,” says Senior Program Associate Elizabeth Elkins. “Students also take field trips throughout … Atlanta to places such as the Georgia Aquarium CNN the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site and Six Flags.”
With Blueprint Summer Programs at Haverford College (www.haverford.edu) students choose the major that most interests them then explore different minors each week. There are no tests or homework and everyone lives in a single dorm. At Minneapolis College of Art and Design (www.mcad.edu) 16- to 18-year-olds complete “rigorous coursework” build a portfolio and earn two college credits in one of the two-week courses offered in areas such as digital photography animation and comic art.
There are also summer programs offered to high school students by organizations other than colleges. If you’re considering one make sure you understand the program’s focus.
“Use summertime to gain additional knowledge skills and academic training to really excel in coursework or extra-curricular activities during the school year,” advises Jeff Harris, CEO of The Junior Statesmen Foundation.
At the Junior State of America (www.jsa.org) summer schools for example students live on campus at Stanford Princeton Georgetown or Capital Normal University in Beijing and take college-level courses in political science or other subjects designed to prepare them to be leaders.
National Student Leadership Conference (www.nslcleaders.org) offers six- and 10-day summer programs held on college campuses in Washington D.C. Chicago Atlanta New York and San Francisco. The programs cover areas such as business and entrepreneurship intelligence and national security engineering forensic science theater and more.
David Lowitz, Director of Operations for the Chicago programs for NSLC points out that the NSLC programs are highly interactive and experiential. “Our goal is to provide students with a day-in-the-life understanding of a future career,” he explains. “We offer 14 different career programs … incorporating a variety of activities (lectures hands-on workshops leadership seminars field trips and social activities).”
As for what questions to ask as you delve into the many options of pre-college summer programs Elkins says students should ask questions like: Are the classes for college credit? How will this program help me prepare for college? What financial aid is available and when is the deadline to apply for it? What is the tuition? What activities do you offer outside of class?
While you want to choose a pre-college program that you’ll enjoy and benefit from don’t stress yourself out making the decision. Just use some filters to whittle down your list based on priorities (program cost location etc.) and go with your gut. Chances are no matter what program you choose you’ll achieve your main goals: learn something get a taste of college life and have fun!
