Stanford Summer College

<p>yeah...Im still a sophomore in high school...I was just wondering if this program HELPS AT ALL for my admission in 2 years...I mean I will be taking actual Stanford courses and get grades for them...I thought they might mean something to other colleges when they see the transcript from Stanford along with my applications...I just got in like a few days ago and I think I will go...I know the program is not rigorously selective...but it looks like a lot of fun...any of you that go to Stanford now attended this program before? plz give me some of your experiences as well...thx</p>

<p>i went last summer and just got accepted to Stanford. it surely helped me because i got 2 A+'s and a stellar rec from a prof. Wether it will help you or anyone else depends on wether you take advantage of the opportunity by working hard and doing your best</p>

<p>i dont think it helps. i knoe people that went therebut arent going/didnt get acccepted. i was invited to go but i didnt. i mean i guess it alldepends on the applicant's strengths/weakneses w/e !</p>

<p>Yeah...it's not that important, per se, relative to other parts of your app, unless you manage to get a great rec out of it. But even then, recs based purely on grades in some summer classes are not looked upon as being well-founded. It's just more grades to your transcript. And in all honestly, summer classes here are so ridiculously easy compared to normal quarter classes--it's like the difference between drinking from a water fountain and a fire hydrant. Stanford admissions, at the least, will know this.</p>

<p>If you don't have other plans, then definitely go, it'll be a sweet experience being on campus and all that. And, of course, make the best of your classes here. :-)</p>

<p>"And in all honestly, summer classes here are so ridiculously easy compared to normal quarter classes"</p>

<p>Care to make any more sweeping generalizations?</p>

<p>Sure. The healthcare system is a failure, all politicians are liars, and every Asian plays piano or violin. Satisfied?</p>

<p>If you disagree, and it's pretty obvious you do, just say so and why, you're not helping anyone by being sarcastic. I'm basing my opinion on personal experience in three classes taken in the summer vs. in the regular school year, and you're basing yours off your experience one summer and getting accepted but not yet having taken any classes in a normal quarter yet. I'm not trying to say your experience is invalid, and I think it's fantastic that you had such an amazing one, but if you're going to doubt something, just ask why I said it, and I'd be happy to explain. Seriously, grow up.</p>

<p>I disagree because unless you have taken the same classes during the school year that you did over the summer and with the same professors, then you don't have much credibility in saying that summer classes are "ridiculously easy" compared to those during the normal school year. I'm just recognizing a gap in first hand knowledge that is neccessary to make such a bold claim.</p>

<p>I suspect that there is a significant gap between the difficulty of summer courses and the difficulty of classes during the year. I know many departments don't accept credits from classes taking during the summer.</p>

<p>Fair enough, I didn't realize that what I was saying was leaving a gap. In retrospect I guess I shoulda explained in more detail the first time. I did take the same courses both in the summer and during the regular school year. Not the same professor in two of the courses, which is why, in many respects, that it was easier. Here's the general rundown:</p>

<p>Bio 41: so much less material to learn during the summer. During the regular school year we went close to the rate of covering one chapter per lecture (~3 a week), whereas during the summer it was closer to a chapter a week. Also, the tests were considerably more straightforward during the summer, making them simple memorization problems and fill in the blanks and MC. I was fortunate that I audited the course during the summer but took it for credit during the fall and became a "veteran", if you will, of the intensity, because I know a good number of people who took 41 in the summer, didn't take any bio in the fall, and then got one hell of a shock in bio 42 during the winter because they weren't used to the intensity. Also, competing with 350 people in the year vs. ~50 in the summer is no small jump. This was taught by basically whatever profs were around during the summer.</p>

<p>Chem 35: this is actually the one class that came close to being as/more difficult than in the year, but that was mainly because it was so short. However, the tests for this class, even though there were four (1 per week) were still shorter and easier than the spring quarter class. The grading scale was also considerably more generous, offering a chance to regain a significant portion of points lost throughout the class on the final (for instance, if you got an 80 on the exam, you'd regain 80% of the points you'd lost on the other exams). This was taught by a professor from San Jose State University.</p>

<p>Chem 36: this is the one class that I've taken with the same prof as during the school year. The two midterms the regular class had? Gone in the summer. Also, 2 of the labs done during the school year weren't done during the summer due to time limitations, and so it was two less lab reports to deal with. Also, because of the fact that the course was shorter, there was less material covered in the final and hence it was easier.</p>

<p>Hope I've given some good reasons for why I said what I did, I don't expect that this sort of thing applies to every summer course, per se, but really, it applies to a lot of them.</p>

<p>I don't doubt there could be a difference in the difficulty during summer vs. the schools year.</p>

<p>But I have a very hard time believing <em>any</em> dept. wouldn't accept a Stanford Course taken during summer for credit. I have heard that some JC classes aren't acceptable, but that would be from a different institution.</p>

<p>Are you sure you have your story straight? Or would you care to amend it?</p>

<p>My dad is a prof at Stanford. He has a regular school year version of certain classes and then the watered down summer version. The summer classes cover less than the regular classes do.</p>