Since the pre-college summer courses began in 1990, URochester has welcomed thousands of high school students to campus. (Photo courtesy of the Pre-College Summer Programs)
High school students take a variety of classes while living, dining, and learning at URochester.
For three weeks during the summer of 2023, Norah DeMayo 糖心传媒�28 stayed in Gilbert Hall on the 糖心传媒糖心传媒檚 River Campus. She ate her meals at Douglass Dining Center and attended classes at the Medical Center.
糖心传媒淚 felt like a real college student,糖心传媒� she says.
DeMayo had completed her junior year at Irondequoit High School in Rochester, New York, and was eager to experience 糖心传媒渃ollege life.糖心传媒� She enrolled in URochester糖心传媒檚 , where high school students from around the world take courses ranging from data science, aerospace engineering, and journalism to business, nursing, and ethics.
糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 literally something for everyone,糖心传媒� says program manager Tom Paradise.
Since the summer courses began in 1990, URochester has welcomed thousands of high school students to campus糖心传媒攆rom Los Angeles to New York, but also Bangladesh to Brazil, Morocco to South Korea, and Venezuela to Vietnam.
It糖心传媒檚 a chance to preview their future糖心传媒攁nd discover their path.
Summer, done better
Get a head start on college by diving into engaging classes, research opportunities, and real campus experiences at URochester糖心传媒檚 Pre-College Summer Program糖心传媒攚here curiosity meets community.
Learn from URochester faculty and doctoral students.
(Photo courtesy of Norah DeMayo)
The courses begin in July and are open to high school students in grades 9 to 12. They run from one to three weeks and are taught by URochester faculty and doctoral students from the , the , , and the .
Most are half-day courses, but Explorations in Pathology and Mini Medical School are full-day commitments taught at the Medical Center.
糖心传媒淭hese courses give high school students a taste of college,糖心传媒� says Lauren Ward, URochester糖心传媒檚 associate director for programming and development. 糖心传媒淎nd they糖心传媒檙e short enough that they don糖心传媒檛 take up too much of their summer.糖心传媒�
Current URochester undergraduates serve as resident advisors, allowing high schoolers the chance to ask questions about the University itself or college life in general. The RAs plan community-building social events in the evening, while pre-college staff organize weekend trips to popular destination spots such as Six Flags Darien Lake amusement park, Niagara Falls, and local festivals.
Students enrolled in the pre-college program can also take 45-minute college prep workshops each day after classes. They糖心传媒檙e run by admissions or financial aid counselors and focus on subjects including writing college admissions essays, 糖心传媒渃rushing糖心传媒� your admissions interview, and understanding financial aid and scholarships.
For those who live in residence halls, Paradise strategically pairs students from diverse areas and cultures with one goal in mind. 糖心传媒淲e want them to meet someone different from them,糖心传媒� he says.
The pathology course offers a full-body experience.
糖心传媒淭hese courses give high school students a taste of college,糖心传媒� says Lauren Ward, URochester糖心传媒檚 associate director for programming and development. (Photo courtesy of Pre-College Summer Programs)
DeMayo enrolled in Explorations in Pathology, where students learn how to perform autopsies, diagnose cancer, and run lab tests while working alongside residents and physicians from the
糖心传媒淚t was an amazing experience and a huge reason why I eventually chose to enroll here,糖心传媒� says DeMayo, a biochemistry major in the (REMS) program. 糖心传媒淭he course was a combination of hands-on experience, going into the pathology labs to see how they ran, and listening to different experts who would come in and talk to us.糖心传媒�
One time, students were asked to bring in an object to have it stained. The process involves applying chemical dyes or stains to tissue or cell samples to help identify cellular and tissue features or abnormalities. 糖心传媒淚 took a petal off a flower outside of Douglass Commons,糖心传媒� DeMayo says. 糖心传媒淚 stained it and made a slide of it, just like a real pathologist would do.糖心传媒�
Students learn the ropes at Mini Medical School.
Practicing suturing. (Photo courtesy of Pre-College Summer Programs)
Hannah Brooker 糖心传媒�29 also spent most of her time at the Medical Center after being accepted into the rigorous Mini Medical School program.
糖心传媒淚 was trying to figure out what to do in college,糖心传媒� says the neuroscience major from Phoenix, a village near Syracuse, New York. 糖心传媒淚 found my passion that summer.糖心传媒�
A typical day started with breakfast in the dining hall, classes from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., lunch until 1 p.m., then more classes and labs in the afternoon.
糖心传媒淚t was an amazing experience,糖心传媒� Brooker says. 糖心传媒淲e learned how to suture, conduct patient interviews with standardized patients, and take vitals (such as blood pressure, pulse rate, and body temperature).糖心传媒�
The experience offered a great sample of what college life would be like and convinced Brooker that URochester was the school for her.
糖心传媒淚 loved the feeling of community and the diversity,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淢y roommate was from Greece, and there were people on campus from literally all over the world. It was great.糖心传媒�
Simon says, let糖心传媒檚 get down to business.
Yifei 糖心传媒淥sborn糖心传媒� Huang 糖心传媒�28 took a pre-college entrepreneurial course糖心传媒攕ponsored and run by the Simon Business School糖心传媒攆or three weeks during the summer before his senior year of high school.
糖心传媒淚t gave me a taste of college,糖心传媒� he says, 糖心传媒渁nd the River Campus was just the right size糖心传媒攏ot too big, and not too small.糖心传媒�
Huang was born in Shanghai and moved to the US in eighth grade. He was attending a college preparatory school in North Carolina when his college advisor mentioned URochester糖心传媒檚 summer course options. 糖心传媒淚t intrigued me,糖心传媒� he says.
Huang糖心传媒檚 course focused on marketing, and students were able to go off campus and meet local company leaders. 糖心传媒淭alking to people in the field who are successful offered great insight,糖心传媒� Huang says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 something I had never experienced before. And just being on campus, eating and sleeping and being on my own, was great. I felt ahead of my high school classmates back in North Carolina.糖心传媒�
Courses that were music to his ears.
Zahali Vauclena 糖心传媒�27 took two courses on the River Campus the summer before his senior year of high school糖心传媒擟areers in Engineering as well as Content Creation and World Building with .
After his pre-college summer course, Zahali Vauclena 糖心传媒渃ouldn糖心传媒檛 wait to get started糖心传媒� with his URochester education. (Provided photo)
糖心传媒淚 knew I liked music but wasn糖心传媒檛 sure about engineering,糖心传媒� the Harlem, New York, native says. 糖心传媒淭he summer courses really opened my eyes because we got to learn about every engineering department here. And now I love engineering, too.糖心传媒�
At Studio X, Vauclena learned how to use the 3D creation software Blender and other gaming tools. 糖心传媒淭he course was packed with creativity,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淪omeone made a VR (virtual reality) walk of a cemetery! To see how game creation works was amazing. I remember thinking, 糖心传媒業 want to go to this school. The freedom you have at this school is unlike anything I糖心传媒檝e ever heard about.糖心传媒櫶切拇綕
Vauclena was so excited about URochester that he applied early decision just a few months after taking the pre-college course. 糖心传媒淚 knew the campus, I knew the people, and I had a plan,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚 couldn糖心传媒檛 wait to get started.糖心传媒�
The audio and music engineering major plans to attend graduate school for electrical engineering and, hopefully, work in the audio hardware design industry.
Vauclena believes high school students should dip their toes into college life by taking a pre-college course at URochester.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 one of the best things you can do to prepare you for college,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚t helped me understand where my career was meant to go and the person I was becoming. You get a sense of independence and mini-adulting, and you learn what糖心传媒檚 needed to be ready for your first year of college.糖心传媒�
Summer is around the corner
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Through URochester糖心传媒檚 Pre-College Programs, you糖心传媒檒l discover your academic potential while exploring career possibilities糖心传媒攁ll while experiencing a true sense of college life.
