Boston University’s Summer Challenge pre-college program has made College Consensus’ list of the top 30 pre-college programs in the United States at No. 18. The Summer Challenge offers programs in a variety of disciplines for high school students from June to August.
The list was released by College Consensus, a website that releases lists ranking the reputations and quality of universities. Carrie Sealey-Morris, managing editor of College Consensus said in a press release that the ranking was based on the experiences the programs provided students.
“Institutions in the Best Pre-College Programs are chosen based on the benefits they provide for high school students: College Credit, Mentorship, Residential Experience, and Scholarship Opportunities,” Sealey-Morris said. “Schools have been ranked by their College Consensus score (which combines published academic rankings and real student reviews).”
The University of California, Berkeley is ranked first on the list, and Brandeis University is the only other school in Massachusetts, along with BU, to score in the top 30.
BU’s Summer Challenge program costs $4,130, which includes tuition, housing and meals, and has a nonrefundable $50 application fee, according to its website. Financial aid is not available for the program.
Sealey-Morris said pre-college programs allow students to build relationships with other students who have similar interests.
Erin Salius, associate director of Boston University Summer Term — which includes programs for high schoolers — said the university’s pre-college program has been successful over the past few years because it allows students to experience life on campus.
“We are offering a real widespread experience, and we touch many different college experiences here,” Salius said. “I think that one of the hallmarks of our program is that BU faculty and researchers are teaching all of the seminar and coursework. This lets the high school students get a real experience of what BU has to offer. It is really eye-opening for the students.”
BU’s pre-college program is expanding every year, Salinas said. For the 2019 summer term, they have implemented a new writing course.
“We are listening very carefully to students who want these programs, and Creative Writing class was in high demand,” Salius said. “We are developing that right now to be ready by July for rising juniors and seniors as a new [Academic Immersion] program.”
Salius said there is increasing interest in STEM-oriented programs, including the Research in Science and Engineering program which offers internship lab programs and practicum research programs.
Gracie Abdalla, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, is on a pre-dental track and was a part of the Academic Immersion program for Introduction to Medicine.
“It was really cool,” Abdalla said, “and I got to experience things hands-on. Not only that, but we got to stay on campus, so that was really fun, too.”
Courtney Zenner, a freshman in the College of General Studies, is not from Massachusetts and did not do the summer program. She said she would have liked to experienced Boston before coming here.
“I wish I would’ve done the college program,” Zenner said. “I visited Boston through a field trip in school, but a summer program would’ve been cool, too. It would’ve been a good preview.”
CAS freshman Ashya Sing also participated in the summer program, and said that it helped her assimilate into the city and university.
“The summer program was really helpful,” Singh said. “It made me not only like my career track, but also Boston and BU itself.”
