University of Miami's Summer Scholar Program

Pre-College Issues Summer Programs
1

<p>Academics: Marine Biology was extremely difficult...you have 8 hours of class time. 4 hours for straight lecture, and then 4 hours for a field assignment. Over one week, I wrote 3 lab write-ups, had 50 identifications (of marine shells), and a final! There was also a deep-sea fishing trip, 3 snorkeling days, and some kayaking, which kept the class fun. The teachers? Eh. One week teacher was very enthusiastic, but his class was very work intensive, another week's teachers were bored but generally willing to help, another openly told us he was forced to do this! Many also said they "didn't believe in sunblock" (IN SOUTH FLORIDA!!!). The CA said that this was a very good cross-section of the marine biology classes she took as a freshman at UM. </p>

<p>Other programs, from what I've heard: Film is a great experience (you make a 7-10 minute movie, by yourself or in a group, your choice), Health and Medicine is good, ones that had little work-Global Politics, Forensics, Sports Management, Art, Engineering</p>

<p>Experience: The activities are great. Every morning and night after classes end on Friday afternoon has an OPTIONAL activity. South Beach, snorkeling, tons of stuff. You could suggest activities, and as long as you had enough CA's, you could go, for example, to a restaurant or movie. The campus is beautiful, exactly like the brochures. The other students were really nice and very smart-most, if not all, were in the #1 or #2 school in their state. </p>

<p>Pros: Campus, Activities, In-Class Trips, Other Students
Cons: Lots of work or very little work, Some uninterested teachers, Only three weeks, program ends right after finals, no "totally free" days</p>

2

<p>Is it mostly just for Florida kids?</p>

3

<p>well, about one third of the 200 were from florida, but the rest were from everywhere. There aren't any commuter spots though, everyone is in dorms</p>

4

<p>I don't know when you went, but when I went the only program that did any work was my group- Global Politics. There were only 5 of us so it was pretty intense, but one of our two professors was very distinguished in the field (have seen her on CSPAN, CNN, and PBS several times since 2005) so we got plenty of one on one time with her. The other professor was a sweet guy as well and very knowledgeable, but not at the same level of prestige. None of the other groups- including marine biology- seemed to ever do any work. We had a test a week in both of our classes (and we were in class for 7 1/2 hours a day), 2 research papers, and quite a bit of reading. </p>

<p>But the social aspects were horrible. The RA assigned to global politics didn't spend any time with us and at the end of the year banquet, they had a slide show with a segment on every section EXCEPT global politics. Our RA was never around to ask to go out to dinner or anything- she always went with the film group but never included us. It was so bad that all of our parents called and complained because she seemed so disinterested and hard to get a hold of. Also, since they did room assignments by program, it was harder to meet people. There were 4 girls in global politics so we all shared a suite and since we had so much work, we were always together. All the groups seemed to clique up, but since they were much larger, the social aspects seemed better with them. It also seemed overwhelmingly Floridian that year- at least for girls (the guys seemed to be more diverse).</p>

<p>Besides the amazing girls and guy in my program and the great professors, it was a huge waste of time and money IMO. Most colleges don't take any of the credit offered and it's not looked upon favorably. I probably wouldn't have gone had I not gotten a full scholarship.</p>

<p>Also- watch out for hurricane season. There were 2 pretty bad ones while I was there. Totally ruined all the possible beach trips (which actually were only 2).</p>

5

Hey I really want to join this program it’s like a dream come true and I have everything already mailed but the only thing I’m missing is the payment which is the most important part and I don’t know what to do so could you please tell me how and where you got a full scholarship for this? please and thank you so much