Hi! I found out a few months ago that I got a scholarship to UCSD’s Academic Connections program, so I’ll be attending it this July! I’m taking “Introduction To Bioinformatics.” Have any of you gone to this program? What was it like? Did you have to use the buddy system like they mentioned in the info packet? Would you recomend a rising sophomore take the SAT prep course? Do you have any advice? Also, has anyone taken the Bioinformatics course? It reccomended already having taken AP Bio, and I haven’t. Will that be a big issue? Should I study anything in particular before taking the course? I think I might watch some Khan Academy/Bozeman Science videos.
Thanks!
Did you attend this program last year? If so, can you share your experience?
Yes, I did attend Academic Connections last year (the summer after my freshman year of hs). I had a really positive experience! I took the Intro to Bioinformatics course and it was challenging (largely because I was the youngest person in that class and one of the only students who hadn’t taken AP Bio, Algebra II, or AP Stats), yet interesting. I learned so much both academically and personally. You stay in dorms in Muir College, which is probably the best college to stay in since a lot of the rooms have ocean views. Most of the classes are located near the dorms, and the dining hall is also very close by, so you don’t have to travel across campus on a regular basis. We had class every week day from 9:00-11:30 and from 1:30-4:00. After class, there were activities (sports and crafts, mostly), campus tours, panels/seminars about college and life in general, an optional SAT class, and, every night starting at 9:00 PM, we had a suite meeting with other people in our suite (each suite is composed of about 10 dorms, each dorm has either 1 or 3 occupants) and our RA. That meeting would last for an hour (we usually either had discussions or played games) and we would have 1 hour to get ready for bed and take a shower if we hadn’t already. By 11:00 PM, we all had to be in our suites with our lights off until the next morning. On the weekends, we went on trips. One weekend, we went to the beach and the other weekend, we went to the mall. There was a talent show during another weekend and “therapy fluffies” where we got to pet cats during another weekend. Overall, it was a really fun time and I am going back this summer as a Research Scholar!