OXFORD,
Miss. – Some high school students go to camp in the summer and some get
a job, but at the University of Mississippi, they have the option of
experiencing college life a little early.
The university’s
Division of Outreach and Continuing Education offers a series of
pre-college programs this summer that grant both high school and
college credit.
Last year, more than 350 students, ranging from
eighth-graders to recent high school graduates, enrolled in some sort
of pre-college summer program at Ole Miss, said Jason Wilkins,
coordinator of pre-college programs.
“These programs allow high-ability students to see something different from what they are exposed to in high school,” Wilkins said. “High school classes tend to be more about memorization, and college classes are usually based on critical thinking. These students go back to school in the fall reinvigorated.”
Most students who enroll take introductory-level courses ranging from English to engineering. Wilkins noted that with a combination of summer programs and advanced placement credit, high school graduates can enter college with sophomore status, which at UM requires 30 hours of college credit.
“About half of these students will return to Ole Miss for college,” he said. “Many of the rest choose other highly selective public and private universities, and all of them would say they were better prepared for college after spending time in one of the Ole Miss pre-college programs.”
Students get to live in residence halls, receive a meal plan to eat on campus and interact with students from different cultures. Last year, pre-college students came to the university from 17 states and Mexico, and from as far away as Greece.
Louisville native Natalie Dixon, now a junior double majoring in journalism and Chinese at Ole Miss, said attending the Lott Leadership Institute while still in high school gave her an edge when she got to college.
“It was one of the main things that really made me decide to go to Ole Miss,” she said. “The program exposed me to the intellectual side of Ole Miss.”
Dixon received six hours of college credit and took a trip to Washington, D.C., during the program.
Programs for summer 2009 include:
– Summer Academy, a program for rising eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders with at least a 3.5 grade-point average. Students receive high school credit for classes taken.
– Ninth-grade Lott Leadership Institute, a program for Mississippi residents entering their freshman year in high school. These students are nominated by their principals and then selected by a committee. They receive high school credit for courses taken in politics, government and speech, all with an emphasis on community service.
– Summer College, a program for high school students with solid grades who receive college credit for introductory-level college courses. All students receive some form of scholarship, and many high-ability students receive a full tuition waiver. Acceptance into the program alone guarantees half-off tuition. Generally an ACT score of 27 or an SAT score of 1210 gives full tuition. More than 150 students enrolled last summer.
– Lott Leadership Institute for High School Students, a program for which students are nominated by their high school principals. They receive six hours of college credit and a trip to Washington, D.C. Forty-two of the more than 1,300 applicants were accepted into the program last year.
– Jump Start, an opportunity for high school graduates already accepted to the university to earn six hours of college credit in the July summer session. More than 100 college freshmen took advantage of this program last year.
Most programs have rolling admissions and begin in late May. For more information, contact Jason Wilkins at 662-915-6614 or jewilkin@olemiss.edu.