UA News

High school students have spent the summer months taking courses alongside other University students as part of a summer program the Honors College holds to acclimate students to college life.

Victor Ruiz-Cornejo has spent the summer fully immersed in college life – living in a residence hall, taking courses, getting involved in clubs – but he's yet to graduate from high school.

Ruiz-Cornejo, who will be a junior at AmeriSchools College Prep Academy when school begins later this month, has been involved in The University of Arizona's Summer of Excellence program.

The program began more than 20 years ago and offers high school sophomores, juniors and seniors a chance to learn about college during the UA's regularly scheduled summer school sessions.

"I was interested in knowing what it would be like to be independent," said Ruiz-Cornejo, who intends to attend college after high school.

"As teens, we talk about being independent and think we are, but it's different when you are doing it," he said. "Getting to see it for myself is what's been beneficial for me."

During the program, students live on campus and participate in clubs and other activities while also taking freshman-level UA courses. Depending on their grade level in high school, students may take three to eight credits per summer session. The current summer session – the second involving Summer of Excellence students – ends Aug. 12.

"The program enables sophomores, juniors and seniors to experience college firsthand while getting a head start on college," said Alberto Luna, the program coordinator.

Luna said 75 students from Arizona and elsewhere were involved in both of the five-week-long programs this summer. 

Also as part of the program, students are involved in weekly workshops where they learn about college admissions, financial aid and scholarships, time management, careers, UA programs and other resources.

In addition to an orientation to academic life, students are also involved in a range of social events, including cultural events, visits to museums, rock climbing and other types of activities.

"It offers you the freedom of getting to know what being a college student is like," said Courtney Buys, who lives in Sonora, Mexico and will be a senior at Mesa Distance Learning Program this fall.

This, she said, will be especially helpful once she arrives as a full-time student. For instance, Buys noted, she has had to learn how to manage time for her social life and for academics, learning to recognize the all-important balance between newfound freedom and responsibility.

Meanwhile, she has also grown accustomed to certain challenges, such as living with a roommate, and other expansive experiences, such as learning about other people, particularly those from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

"During the first five weeks everything is new, and then the newness begins to wear off," said Buys, who was involved in the summer program last year and said she intends to apply to the UA next year. 

"I knew the newness was going to wear off and that it would start to get stressful," she added. "But this program has prepared me so much. I now know what it feels like, and I know a lot about what the UA has to offer."

One other benefit, Buys said, is that she realizes she must take more courses in English and writing – which she intends to do during her final year in high school.

"There is a lot of writing – and not just in your English classes," she said. "That's something I wasn't expecting."

Students must pay to participate in the program, but Patricia MacCorquodale, the Honors College dean, said the college was able to offer numerous scholarships to students this summer thanks to support from Raytheon and the Arizona Community Foundation.

MacCorquodale said the support has been particularly helpful this year, especially for students "who otherwise would not have been able to participate."