Messenger - Vol. 4, No. 2, Page 8
1995
Summer College

     Each summer, academically strong high school juniors have the
chance to sample college life at the University of Delaware's Summer
College. The five-week program, sponsored by the University Honors
Program, is offered to high school students entering their senior
year. Summer College prepares students for campus life, giving them
confidence in their ability to handle the academic workload and
showing them how to balance their studies with everyday life.
     Heather Irish, a freshman food science major from Newark, Del.,
attended Summer College in 1993. She said she thought that early
exposure to a college atmosphere would make her transition from high
school to college easier. Patricia Powers of Hockessin, Del., a
sophomore math major, who also attended the program that summer, felt
it was important "to see what it was like to actually be away from
home and in college." She wanted to "experience college before she
actually got there" so she would be ready to handle all the
responsibilities that come with living on her own.
     Reflecting on the experience, another Summer College student
said, "I've learned a lot about who I am and who I want to be." Other
students noted that they had learned time management, how to do their
own laundry and "when to study, when to party and how to live with
others."
     Ninety-six students attended the 1993 Summer College program.
According to Marti Collins-Owens, the Summer College coordinator, more
than 60 percent of the students who attended that year's program
decided to enroll at the University-the highest number to do so in the
program's 11-year history. Twenty-three of the students entered the
University Honors Program.
     Summer College students can enroll in two classes and may earn up
to seven college credits. These credits can be added to the University
of Delaware transcript, if the student decides to attend, or can be
transferred to other universities. Using these credits, along with
Advanced Placement credits from her high school, Powers was able to
enter Delaware as a sophomore.
     Eight courses are offered, ranging from introductory biology to
the philosophy of film, and they are especially designed to allow
students to interact with one another.  Jodi Mackenzie of Smyrna,
Del., a freshman accounting major, believes her current courses are
more difficult than the ones she took over the summer, but the program
"helped her to adjust more quickly" to the amount of work she now has
and the time she needs to spend on it.
     To enhance the college experience, students are housed in central
campus residence halls, paired with roommates and allowed use of all
University facilities. Summer College students also are involved in
numerous social activities on weekends. They may attend recreational
and cultural events on campus or spend a day touring New York City,
tubing down the Brandywine River or catching a Philadelphia Phillies
game at nearby Veterans Stadium. Talent shows, a 4th of July picnic
and dances also provide informal opportunities to meet new people.
Irish and Mackenzie said that making new acquaintances was one of the
best aspects of the program, and they have kept in contact with many
of the friends they made.
     For more information or an application, contact Collins-Owens in
care of the Honors Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716-
1256; telephone (302) 831-6560; or fax (302) 831-2045.
                                           -Lisa Wiseman, Delaware '95