High School Sophomores Earning College Credit

More than 70 high school students have gotten a head start on college this month by participating in Ithaca College’s unique new Summer College for High School Sophomores program. The two-week program gives students an opportunity to get a college-level experience, and what’s more, they get the credits that go along with it.

"It is rare for a pre-college program to focus on students who have not yet entered their junior year," says program director and academic coordinator Warren Schlesinger. "We hope that in their two weeks here, students will not only become part of a close-knit academic community but also find enjoyment and enrichment through all that Ithaca has to offer."

Participants, each of whom demonstrates an above-average academic profile, leadership skills, or special talents, earn two college credits for completion of their chosen course. Students can enroll in 1 of the 6 course offerings, each of which reflects the diversity of faculty interests and expertise: Courts and Torts; Foundations of Musicianship: Music Theory, History, and Composition; Exploring Mathematics with Computers; Introduction to Financial Markets; Instrumental Techniques in the Science Lab; and The Self-Shifters (or Self-Makers): Examining Autobiographies through Time, Place, and Culture.

The program places a special emphasis on hands-on learning, whether it be in the laboratory, the Ithaca community, or the "virtual" community of the World Wide Web. Outside of academic hours students are participating in a variety of special seminars to assist them
in making future choices about attending college. "The seminars focus on student needs," said Schlesinger. "That’s what all of these programs are designed to do."

In their free time, students can take advantage of an abundance of recreational activities, from attending a play and going ice skating to seeing a baseball game.

Participants hail from nine states, including New York, Maine, Virginia, and Connecticut.