High school students join summer classes

High school students will be joining undergraduates in the classroom during Duke’s second summer session. 

The Summer College for High School Students—open to rising juniors and seniors—will allow students to take for-credit college courses. The $7,450 program will be running for the first time this year, and will offer 23 academic courses to students. The students will live in Few Quadrangle for the duration of the program.

A similar program, known as Pre College, was discontinued seven years ago, said Nicki Charles, director of international student recruitment for summer session of Duke continuing studies and summer session. The original program was longer, more expensive and did not offer students the ‘community’ atmosphere of college, which led it to be discontinued. 

“Honestly, I feel that we have listened closely to students, adapted to their needs and kept the integrity of Duke standards as these students will be studying with Duke undergraduates,” Charles said.

This year’s program will work in conjunction with the Duke Talent Identification Program, which offers services and programs to fourth, fifth and sixth grade students who exhibit advanced intellectual abilities, Charles said.

“Duke TIP was so popular that we wanted kids to have another opportunity for a longer and more authentic college experience,” Charles said.

Students can choose from a wide array of academic courses, ranging from an economics course on game theory to courses from the theater studies department, Charles said. The program also offers five not-for-credit enrichment courses in the evening, which include intensive language study in English or Chinese, a course on preparing for success in college, a leadership class and a course in the fine arts. Students who choose to take the language courses will have the opportunity to practice with native speakers in the program.

Duke looked at other university summer programs, such as Harvard and Stanford, when designing the Summer College for High School Students, said Paula Gilbert, associate dean and director of Duke continuing studies and summer session.

“We researched programs offered by peer institutions and then designed a program that takes into account the Duke context,” Gilbert said. “Thus, while our program will be of a similar type to others, the Duke Summer College for High School Students will also be unique in terms of its particular aspects.”

In addition to taking one four-week intensive class during the day, students will receive academic support from the Thompson Writing Studio. 

“Students will receive two hours of academic support every day,” she said. “Adjusting to the rigor of a college course can be hard, and we didn’t want them to come here and then just leave them on their own.”

Of the 105 participants in the program, about 50 percent are international students, with the majority from China, Charles said. He added that over half of the program’s residential staff speaks Mandarin Chinese to accommodate Chinese students. 

“We expect to have a very vibrant community,” Charles said. “In addition to taking classes, students will have a full residential experience.”

Katya Wesolowski, lecturing fellow of cultural anthropology, said that she was either not told or had forgotten that high school students would be taking her class this summer. 

“I was actually quite surprised and disconcerted to realize I had seven pre-college out of nine students registered for my medical anthropology class,” Wesolowski wrote in an email Wednesday. 

She added that three students on her roster appear to be from China. 

“This is worrisome as I have no idea what to expect in terms of the level of their English reading, writing and speaking,” Wesolowski said. “This being said, I have not made any substantial changes to my syllabus as this is supposed to be a college level course, and I also have a rising senior and a [Master of Arts] student enrolled.”

Welsolowski added that she is prepared to simplify course reading or make some texts optional if she needs to.

“The class may prove to be an additional challenge, but it may also prove to be particularly interesting and exciting given the diversity of students,” she said. “I find, especially with teaching anthropology courses, that when there are international students the discussions can be extremely rich and provocative.”

Gilbert said that only one or two of the 23 instructors voiced concern about high school students being prepared for the rigor of college courses. She added that the program only accepted students that had the aptitude to be successful in a college setting. 

“The application process included personal essays, transcripts, test scores and, in the case of international students, English language test results,” Glibert said. “No doubt there will be a bit of adjustment for both instructors and students in the first few days, but the experience should be similar to first-year Duke students in their first semester of college.”

During the weekends, students can choose to go on organized trips, which include trips to Washington D.C. or a Durham Bulls baseball game.