<p>I am planning on spending my summer in the FSAP program, and I have a few questions:</p>
<p>1) How much workload do the two college courses constitute? I'm assuming all the courses listed on the website is for intro-level freshman, but it would be nice to know how challenging it is in the end. ie) # of tests, pace in lectures</p>
<p>2) Can "Intro to Writing about literature" replace the first-year required Writing 101?</p>
<p>3) What can students do outside of class? ie clubs (There won't be any since it's summer vacation, no?)</p>
<p>Well, as a parent, I will help to answer what I can.</p>
<p>My son was initially a reluctant participant in FSAP but came to really enjoy it. </p>
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<li><p>The work load seemed to manageable but this may depend on what professor you have and what course you select in addtion to the "writing and literature.</p></li>
<li><p>No writing and literature does not replace writing 101. This is not made clear at the beginning of the program and came as a surprise to a number of students (and parents)</p></li>
<li><p>The weekends are filled with activities and field trips. It is a wonderful way to get to know other students. As I had mentioned in another post, my son’s closest friends are from FSAP even though they are not in any of the same classes this year.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I went to FSAP last year, and LOVED it…honestly, it was better than orientation/first-semester combined, and I encourage everyone to consider it unless you have way more awesome summer plans, like backpacking around the universe or saving orphans.</p>
<p>1) Workload is NOT bad at all. It does depend on the class, but no one was stressed out the way they are when school actually starts. I think FSAP profs know it’s supposed to ease you into the college life, and try to make it not that hard. Not everyone get’s all A’s though, but it’s very possible.
2)No. But it does help you with college writing a lot more than Writing 1 does! I liked the class a lot.
3) The best part about FSAP is the fact that since you don’t have clubs/frats/etc to fall back on, you decide to actually explore St. Louis, which is a very fun city during the summer! Metrolink is good for random trips, and with a little googling and talking to your RA’s, you’ll find things to do. On the weekends there are required activities that are mostly really fun and campy and get you to bond with everyone in the program. Otherwise, it’s just awesome to be on a mostly empty campus with great (though humid) weather…so many awesome nights where we walked around at like 2 AM or went to the forty to swing on hammocks and stuff. And the dorm life is so much more awesome because you literally get to know everyone, not just a select few people. You won’t be bored ever, trust me!</p>