James M. Waldron, Ph.D.
Links to UC Summer Programs:
www.admissions.uci.edu/ats/2009/2009prog.html
Discovering Interests and Talents Through Summer Experiences:
www.admissions.uci.edu/ats/2009/summer_experiences.html
After participating in the UCI Academic Talent Search, you and your parents will probably have a sense of your readiness to engage in tasks and projects that will expand and enhance your current academic level. Each University of California campus offers various summer programs designed to do just that, and by participating in a UC summer program you can gain important exposure to the University and to college-level course work. These programs can open you up to the methods and mentalities of University learning.
You will interact with professors, graduate and undergraduate students, and with your ATS peers. And, of course, you will have the unique advantage of using the facilities and resources of the University of California. This could mean using HyperStudio to create multimedia portfolios of your academic achievements, constructing light bulbs in a campus research laboratory, or studying dance with some of the University's renowned dance faculty.
The UC's summer programs are varied in both length and the grade level they are geared to. For example, Gifted Students Academy is a week-long program designed for junior high students who are ready to stretch their critical and creative thinking skills and to engage a topic on an intense level. At the other end of the spectrum, the UCLA program of High School Students is a six-week-long program for those entering high school. It provides the chance to take University-level courses for credits that are transferable to most colleges and universities. And, the UC Santa Barbara campus offers a Research Mentorship Program to provide highly motivated high school students with the opportunity to do research and present their results under the guidance of an active UCSB researcher. Cosmos, the University's newest summer program at UCI and UCSC, emphasizes math and science skills.
If you need more information on a specific program, contact the campus where the session will be held. Phone numbers and addresses are listed in the UC Summer Programs chart.