<p>Hi, I am a Junior in HS, and I am attending the summer program in American History this summer, and I was wondering if anyone here had ever done it? How hard is it? I am staying in Preston Hall, what are the rooms like there?</p>
<p>hrm... I have a friend from high school (who is now a freshman at W&M) who did this program. He had a lot of fun. I don't know how hard it was, probably not too bad.</p>
<p>Preston Hall is in the Randolph Complex, and is home to language houses during the school year. You can check it out here: <a href="http://www.wm.edu/reslife/residenceHalls/randolph.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.wm.edu/reslife/residenceHalls/randolph.php</a> (scroll down to Preston) you can click on the rooms for dimensions and such. Preston Hall was recently rebuilt, as it burned quite heavily during Final Exams in Spring 05.</p>
<p>If you want to see pictures of the fire, you can look here:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookiejak/sets/297615/%5B/url%5D">http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookiejak/sets/297615/</a></p>
<p>hey theaterbrat... i was in the NIAHD program last summer and i have a few pointers and observations...</p>
<p>i LOVED it. youll have tons of fun and meet some awesome people. everyone is super nice. to tell the truth, i was really worried that id be with a lot of really studious boring people, but i was soo wrong. yea, they wanted to do well but having fun was a huge part of the experience. i have so many great memories and stories i love to tell... (im sounding like a brochure, aren't i?).</p>
<p>they say no one gets As, but its possible (personal experience).
as for the difficulty, its hard. but not terribly hard. expect to stay up until 12:00 reading at night (history + highlighter + lamp = a lot more free time when the boys (or girls) are still allowed in the other dorms.) and then get up at 7. and then ride in a bus for 2 hours. youll know your classmates really well, you get to the brink of delirium and the funniest things can happen on a two hour bus ride. DONT PROCRASTINATE ONE YOUR JOUNAL. JUST DONT.
if you want to see an example (mine) :
<a href="http://www.wm.edu/niahd/journals/index.php?browse=user&id=anmass%5B/url%5D">http://www.wm.edu/niahd/journals/index.php?browse=user&id=anmass</a></p>
<p>i lived in the building next door... it was nice by way of dorms. this one is new, and might be nicer, but some of the things i found really helpful, if not neccisary, were:
-a mattress cushion, the foam kind. i bought mine at the walmart nearby halfway through. best idea ever.
-food (that you can eat while writing 10000 journal entries)
-highlighters for the readings.
-a little lamp! mine clipped onto my bed... love.
-and a rug. i thought this was a stupid thing to bring but its tile floors and so it was actuallly really nice.
if you have the opportunity, bring a laptop. its a pain to walk all the way to the comp. lab (on old campus) from your dorm, esspecially in the dark. and you might want to bring a personal digital camera, the ones they hand out are kind of weird. mine didnt work so well, but it was really useful for at least separating the "work" pictures from the "play" one.</p>
<p>wow, im getting a little jealous as i write this.
anyway, i loved it. thats pretty much what im getting at. its really cool in a really dorky history way (my bus was laughing for an hour pointing out all of the mistakes in a pocahontas coloring book...). CW (seedubs, as we called it) will become your second home. see if you can check out the senior drum corps... (uh... theyre really good?) they're adorable. this is getting obnoxiously long, sorry.</p>
<p>if youre there in July, you'll see me, digging in the dirt at the WM Archeology Field School (either in front of wren, at the peyton randolph house, or the windmill).</p>
<p>wow. have sooo much fun. if you dont live in virginia: never underestimate the power of massive humidity. wera light clothes.</p>
<p>Hey! I'm going to that too! Which session are you going, theaterbrat?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the tips, midwestandcrazy... I hope this year's group is as nifty as yours sounds.</p>
<p>I am going to the first session, and studying Jamestown- American Revolution</p>
<p>Darn. I'm going 2nd session, although I'm doing the same course.</p>
<p>Would you suggest bringing boots this summer, and also, what kind of sheets do we need, extra long or regular? How many notebooks, dividers, general school supplies do we need? Sorry to have so many questions.</p>
<p>oh not a problem. well, i spent most of my time in flip flops, so obviously you don't <em>need</em> to have boots. i brought like three pairs of sandals and two pairs of sneakers and wore them all, but i never did boots. you do walk around a lot but its not like hiking or anything, the places you visit are mostly pretty pedestrian but tourist-friendly. i would suggest wearing sneakers to the digs, if you opt to go on a weekend.
bring extra long sheets. and its hot outside but the dorms can be cool, so bring a fleece blanket or quilt.
bring a good sized notebook, and a folder or two. or a binder or whatever. and a computer if possible.
bring a highlighter or like 5. i brought a new one and actually ran out of ink. i didn't know that was possible... but it is.
if there's anything else i can help with, just let me know.</p>
<p>less than a month, right? right.</p>
<p>oh and if you need anything else, theres the campus barnes and noble in merchants square, which has everything. and a starbucks.</p>
<p>My daughter is attending the first session and your posts have been very helpful. Do you attend W & M now?</p>
<p>Hello! This is now the "mom" talking .... My daughter is a high school junior. Today is her last day of school. She has three finals today! ACT tomorrow.</p>
<p>How much cash should we bring to the program?</p>
<p>I'd say the amount of "cash" varies by individual factors such as whether or not you're on a meal plan, your spending habits, etc. My parents would put money on my W&M Express card (this can be done online via a credit card) periodically throughout this session and it has worked fabulously. It's probably safer to carry around than cash, and you can use it to buy food and supplies at quite a few places on campus and even in Williamsburg.</p>