The Distant View of College: A Look into Summer Pre-College Programs
Ellington Dorr, Co-Arts/Entertainment Editor
Over the summer, five of The Crier's sophomore writers attended Pre-College programs. Many schools provide intensive programs for highschool students. Within the course’s time frame, students stay on campus from a week to a month, taking classes from professors and meeting with professionals in the subject they have chosen to study, some of which include musical theater and creative writing. These opportunities allow high schoolers to test the waters with certain schools and see what living on campus is like. These five students attended programs at the School of the New York Times, University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins, and Brown.
An attendee of one of USC's summer programs, Aanika Kumar ('26), who hopes to double major in some forms of both science and music, took a month-long Musical Theater course. She "benefited immensely" from it, and it "provided [her] with a wide range of valuable experiences." Aanika said that there were impressive instructors, and the experience really made her feel like she was "a freshman at USC," such as opportunities of living in the dorms and going about her day with the freedom of a college student.
Sutton Fraley ('26) took a two week course on Environmental Journalism from the School of the New York Times. Though the program was not directly through a university, she had the opportunity to tour multiple NYC colleges, such as NYU, and partook in classes taught by professionals and professors. She "fell in love with the idea of going to school in New York.'. She said that the course really "gave me insight on what I want out of my future."
This summer, Johns Hopkins hosted the Global Health Leaders Conference, which Lauren Kim ('26) attended. Within the program, Lauren spent much time with health professionals and medical students, as she is planning to major in the medical field for college. The "experience within itself was really special," she said, and she also got a better understanding of "what it's like to be an important figure in the medical field!"
Christopher Bankhead ('26) was also occupied over the summer with a creative writing program at Brown. He stayed on campus for two weeks, practicing and workshopping his writing with a professor. Christopher "loved the environment [the program] fostered," and he expresses great interest in Brown. He also stated that he "grew in my writing skills" thanks to the course.
These experiences really benefit students' views on schools and preparing them for a university setting. I would highly recommend taking a Pre-College course for anyone who is wanting to do something both enjoyable and academic over their summer. Students also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a subject or even hobby they love, surrounded by people who share that interest. Professors and those who have careers in all these different subjects aid high schoolers with insight on what a soon-approaching devoted four years of their life will look like.
*Full disclosure: I also attended a creative writing program at Brown, though my course only lasted a week. Having the ability to stay on campus and live similarly to a college student has made me consider certain aspects of universities, such as housing, campus, student body size, and more, in a different light. I loved my workshop, and I not only learned so much and met truly interesting people, but also produced some really fun work for the future.
