Generally, people think summer vacations are boring and not so fun as you have nothing special or adventurous to do. However, joining summer schools is something that’s becoming increasingly popular among students from all over the world.
Joining a Summer School in the USA can help you to learn new things and meet people from different cultures worldwide. Students around the world aspire to join a summer school in the USA but more often than not, applying to one seems to be too big a step. Lack of the right information about the summer schools may be one of the reasons for this.
In this article, we present to you points that will make you familiar with everything you should know about joining a summer school in the USA.
What is summer school?
Summer school is a program that is generally organized during summer vacations by any university or sponsored by a private organization for the supplementary or remedial study of students or any other kind of extracurricular activities for personality development.
What are Summer Schools in the USA?
Summer Schools in the universities of the USA are organized between May and August. The duration of the summer school is two to twelve weeks. The exact schedule depends on the particular university. The schedule includes the batch timing and timing of a particular class.
Purpose of the summer schools in the USA
There are two main purposes of summer schools in the USA.
- Improvement in Grades
Students who get low grades during their regular classes can improve their grades by joining summer school as remedial classes are a part of the summer school programs. They just need to enroll themselves in the remedial or supplementary classes of summer school.
- For other courses or any other activities
Students who want to do something extra or advance or want to enhance their knowledge and skills should join the summer schools. There are many courses or activities which are organized in summer schools which will polish your skills and help you to learn new skills. Various workshops and webinars are conducted. Many research workshops are also organized.
Activities during summer schools
Summers schools in the USA give you the chance to engage in a wide range of activities. You can choose any of them based on your interests and needs. Some activities are mentioned below.
- Remedial Classes
For students who fail to perform well in their regular classes, remedial classes are conducted in summer school. These supplementary classes prove to be a very helpful means for students to enhance their records.
- Courses for the preparation of entrance exams
If you are planning to attempt any international entrance exam, then joining summer school might be of great help in cracking the exam. Many summer schools offer specialized programs meant for students to achieve their goals.
- Courses for enhancing English Skills
For learning excellent English skills, joining summer schools can be a pretty good option. Generally, summer schools provide intensively good courses for improving English skills as many international students also join summer schools in the USA for enhancing their verbal and written English skills.
- Entrepreneurship Programs for Youth
Summer schools also conduct various entrepreneurship programs for youth to give them a brief idea about entrepreneurship. They conduct various workshops also. This helps the students to experience little exposure to building and running businesses. Some programs also include scientific research opportunities that offer various workshops, events, and conferences with prominent people from different fields.
You will have more access to opportunities as a result of your active participation in the class. As these summer schools usually involve fewer students as compared to regular classes, it becomes fairly easy for students to interact with each other as well as the instructors.
Benefits of joining summer schools in the USA
Now the question is, why you should join the summer schools in the USA? There are plenty of reasons, as evidenced by the rising popularity of summer schools over the world.
Some reasons are given below that are going to help you to decide why you should join.
- Smaller Class Sizes
The class size in most of the courses in summer schools is less than in the regular classes. This is an advantage for the students as there is room for more student-teacher interaction. On an individual level, you can pay more attention in the class as the teacher will pay more attention to every student. You will be mentored according to your level and skills. You will have more access to the opportunities for your active participation in the class. As there will be a small crowd, you will be able to approach every classmate and make new friends.
- The idea of the Future
If you are thinking of pursuing a full degree course in a university, then a summer course at that university will give you a brief idea about the quality of education at the institute. You will become more familiar with the campus environment, faculty and staff, and college infrastructure. The experience will help you to decide whether you are a perfect fit for the university or not or we can say that the university is best for you or not.
- Social Exposure
In the summer schools, you will not only enhance your academic status but you will also get good social exposure as there you will be going to engage in several other activities. You can participate in various contests, webinars, etc. These webinars will include an international crowd also. So you will meet people from different backgrounds and cultures. You will make friends globally. For those who are interested in business, this will be a great networking opportunity. In summer schools professionals can also apply. So you will experience some professional stuff also.
- Work /Internship Opportunities
As summer classes conduct various workshops and research activities in which prominent people from different fields are invited, you will have an opportunity to show your potential. This might help you to get an attractive internship opportunity. This is going to benefit you in the future as you will have good working experience.
- Impact on your CV
The activities conducted during summer school help you to gain new skills and polish the old ones. They also help you to enhance your knowledge. These skills when mentioned in your CV will give a good impression.
Furthermore, if you have done any kind of internship during summer school, it will boost your CV as experience has its value. The upgraded CV will help you with getting a prestigious job in your respective fields.
- Intensive and Disciplined Learning Environment.
Although the duration of the classes in the summer schools is short teachers strictly stick to their study goals which have to be strictly followed by students also.
As there will be a small crowd, you will be able to push yourself to the detailed and intense knowledge of the course. This will help you to gain deep knowledge of the subject. The disciplined learning environment will also help you to gain some immensely good qualities like curiosity, creativity, and self-reliance.
Also, there will be a disciplined learning environment that will prepare you as a strong workforce for the nation and you will learn to complete the task in the given time.
- Improvement in Grades
As already mentioned, schools in the USA also conduct remedial classes or supplementary classes for the weak students or students who got low grades in their regular classes. This can help the students in improving their grades as there is more attention given to every student as compared to regular classes.
- Improvement in the Language Skills
Summer Schools in the USA are the best in terms of conducting programs or courses that will enhance your language skills. International students struggle so much with language problems. So joining these summer schools will help in resolving the struggle. You can choose not only English but any language program available based on your interests and needs. This will enhance your vocabulary also.
- Increased Self-Confidence
When you learn new things, polish old ones, and gain new working experience, your self-confidence automatically increases which is very necessary to excel in any field. By joining the summer schools, you will surely gain some self-confidence which is going to benefit you in the future.
- Exploring the World.
During the summer classes, you will make new friends from different cultures and backgrounds. You can also get opportunities to visit some cities in the USA if you are doing an internship or participating in any workshop. Exploring the country will be fun also.
How to Find The Best Summer School in The USA?
Once you have decided to join a summer school in the USA, the next step is to ensure that you join one of the best ones. A significant effort should be made to ensure that the institute and you are both the right fit for each other.
Here we take a look at some key points that are mentioned below and they are going to help you to choose the best one.
- Ranking
It is one of the important factors in deciding the status of summer schools in the USA. The ranking will be on the behalf of the campus environment, Faculty, academic criteria for summer school classes and the variety of programs available, workshops conducted during the summer classes.
- Exact Duration of the Programmes
Generally, all summer schools in the USA conduct summer classes between May and August, but the classes schedule fixed by the school that suits you or not will determine whether you should join that summer school or not as the schedule of classes can be different in different universities or schools. You must find the class schedule suitable for you.
- Cost of the summer schools
Different summer schools charge different fees for summer classes. So you should join a school whose fees you can afford. You can check for scholarships also. You should research the fee structure deeply. Many summer schools charge extra money for basic services. So it’s better that you should have a precise idea about the expenditure.
- Recreation
You should also make sure that your summer school offers recreational activities also like gymnasiums, sports complexes, large swimming pools, big tennis courts, and some golf courses.
- The program you want to join
It is the most important factor in deciding on summer school. What is the quality and duration of the program or course you are going to join matters? You should do good research about the particular course you are interested in like what is the duration of the course, what is the scope of the program, and the fees charged for that particular program or course.
Top US Summer Schools with their Programs
Here is the list of some top summer schools you should check out while applying for one.
- Brown University
This is one of the top universities that provide the best summer programs. These are the two summer programs that are organized by Brown University.
- The Brown-Leadership Institute.
- Brown Pre-College Programs.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
They do not traditionally conduct summer programs. They have only four selective summer programs which are mentioned below.
- Research Science Institute
- Women’s Technology Program
- MIT Launch
- The Summer Science Program
- University of Michigan
This University conducts a variety of programs in different fields like Engineering, Computer Programming, NanoTechnology, Research Camps, Great Lake Exploration, Girls Code Camp, architecture, urban planning, and living out workshops.
- Michigan State University School Honors Science/ Mathematics/Engineering Program.
- Northwestern University
This University provides short-term courses as well as long-term courses. The names of the programs are given below.
- College Bridge Program
- The Medill-Northwestern Journalism Institute.
- The Center for Talent Development
- Stanford University
The university provides courses related to art and humanities, business, computer science, engineering, local studies, mathematics, and social sciences.
The program conducted by this university is:
- The Stanford Institute of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
- Harvard University
This university conducts two programs:
- Pre-college program
- Secondary school program
- John Hopkins University
This university also offers two immensely good programs:
- The Discover Hopkins Program
- The Engineering Innovation Program
- University of Chicago
Programs offered by this university are:
- UChicago Immersion
- Research in the Biological Sciences
- Stones and Bones
- Travelling Academy
- UChicago Arts and Science Summer
- Cornell University
This University conducts programs in the field of Arts, Media, Fashion, Business, Hotel Management, Leadership, Literature, Language, Engineers, Robotics, History, Government, Medicine, Psychology, Veterinary Science, and more.
- Emory University
This is also a good university that conducts two summer programs mentioned below:
- The Pre-College program
- The Emory Summer College