Last summer, after my sophomore year, I decided to enroll in a one-week summer course at Barnard College in New York City, another state away.  I wasn’t sure what I was getting into at the time. I have pulled together my findings to help you decide if a pre-college summer program is right for you.

Pre-college programs are opportunities that universities offer to high school students.  Commonly during the summer, these programs allow students to take college-level classes at the school.  Generally, the two kinds of pre-college programs are residential and commuter.  The program I was in was residential, and so I lived on campus for the week.  Though I am not too familiar with commuter programs, I would recommend residential programs for people looking for more of a social experience, and commuter programs for those who are more interested in just the experience of taking a college level class. 

Be prepared for hard work

With these summer classes, it’s important to remember that the courses offered are college level.  So, they’re not easy, and you won’t be able to just fake it through.  In my particular course, which I assume to be on par with most other pre-college programs, I had a three-hour class in the morning, and was assigned a short paper and about 50 pages of short story reading each night.  On top of this, I had to read a pretty dense book for Friday as well and had a thesis paper due at the end of the week.  Doable?  Yes.  What you really want to be doing during your summer vacation?  Maybe, maybe not.  Just make sure to consider the work that a pre-college course you’re interested in entails before you make a decision. 

College workload

But before you completely rule out the idea of a summer course, consider that there are a lot of advantages to them.  For one, if you’re stressing about what college classes will be like, what better way to see what they’re all about than to sample one?  Plus, it’s pretty useful to take a class taught by an actual college professor and see what expectations are.  My professor happened to teach a writing course at Columbia University, NY, during the year, so she had a lot of suggestions about how to up my writing to a more college level.  So, if you’re willing to do school work during your vacation, then a pre-college course could be really useful. 

College life

Along with a college-level class, residential programs in particular offer a college-level social experience.  I was given relatively free reign and could roam the city as I pleased after class.  The less intense supervision was a nice change from my regular high school life and gave me a taste of what having greater independence will feel like. I also had a roommate, lived on a floor with 20 or so other kids, had an R.A. (Residential Assistant), ate in the cafeteria, and shared the bathrooms.  In other words, I lived an authentic college dorm life that I will more or less be living two years from now.  It was a nice preview and really a lot of fun.  Plus, as people at the program generally have similar interests, it was easy to find people who I clicked with instantly.  After only a week, I left Barnard with a lot more Facebook (and Twitter!) friends and plan on keeping in contact with all of them. 

Sizzling Headstart

Pre-college programs broaden your worldview, allow you to meet other highly motivated students, and experience college life.

What suits you

Finally, most high school upperclassmen have ideas about where they want to go to college.  Taking a pre-college program is a great way to try out some of the colleges you’re looking at, as you’ll get a sense of what classes and daily life are like there.  Even if you’re just looking at one aspect of colleges, for example an urban campus or specific school size, trying out schools with the characteristic you’re looking at can be very helpful in discovering what you really want.  For me, my time at Barnard showed me that I was born to live in a city, while other people I met found the exact opposite.  Chances are, if nothing else, you’ll walk away knowing a lot more about where you want to go.

Overall, I think that taking pre-college summer courses is a fun and useful experience for anyone who doesn’t mind doing the work.  If you’re interested, many colleges all over the world offer exciting programs.  For a complete list, check out StudentsReview. Also, if you’re interested in a particular college, you can check out its website and see what you can find.  It may just be the perfect summer experience you’ve been looking for!