I was recently admitted ED into VT’s college of engineering and was interested in participating in the summer academy track for engineering chemistry. Please give me any feedback on this program if you did it and any tips 
Collegechick2000, Congratulations on your admission to the College of Engineering Early Decision! It is wonderful that the University offers the Engineering Summer Program but I doubt that need that boost. You are in an elite group having been accepted ED to the COE and your acceptance suggests that you have already accomplished the skills that the Summer Program is offering. My son did not participate nor did his dozen engineering friends. All did very well, graduated in four years, and now have good jobs or are in Grad School. His Chem Eng friend is pursuing his Ph.d.
I would recommend that you attend the Women in Engineering Weekend Program so you can meet other engineering students. I also would encourage you to apply for the Hypatia Program. This will help you in getting to know other Engineering students so you can form a good study group. Since you will be living among other engineering students, it will be easier to get help or participate in ad hoc homework sessions. Engineering is a very demanding curriculum. You need a strong support group and the Hypatia and Galileo Living and Learning Communities offer that to you.
If you are concerned about meeting other students before classes start in fall, you should attend Hokie Camp. If you sign up for the last session, you will get to move into your residence hall early and avoid the crowds. This will give you an advantage in getting your room organized and having everything ready before your classes start.
Finally, I would recommend buying a good pair of walking shoes, preferably waterproof, and breaking them in over the summer. The COE Freshmen Engineering Counselors are located in Goodwin Hall. That’s a .8 mile walk from Lee Hall.
Again, Congratulations!
@collegechick2000. My child participated in Summer Academy last year and loved it. There are two programs for engineers during the summer - The Step Program for students who may or want prepatory help and Summer Academy. Summer Academy enrolls you in the actual classes for which you will receive credit. The great thing about the Chemistry Engineering Track is that you will complete two or your entrance to major requirements and get a head start on the rest of the class–might make it easier for scheduling fall classes. The professors and TA’s were pretty demanding. If you forgot your materials (goggles, computer, etc.) for Chemistry lab, you were not allowed in the class and received a 50 for that lab.
A Peer Mentor will be assigned to your track and provide guidance to the team. (This is in addition to the RA on your hall.) You will take two classes (Chemistry and ENGE1215) with the same set of students. If I remember correctly, help sessions were on Friday nights around 6 PM. I believe the tests were at night as well as everyone took at the same time. There are other tracks that are enrolled in General Chemistry as well and you will all take the exams at the same time. Being on campus allowed my student to get acclimated prior to the masses arriving in August.
Housing is in the older (non-airconditioned dorms). However, everyone seemed to weather that just fine. (Bring a window fan.) D2 is the only dining center open during summer academy and sometimes it is overly crowded since everyone is on the same schedule. It was a little crazy during orientation days. On the weekends, various excursions are planned. Some events are mandatory (like Hokie Camp) and others are optional. Hokie Camp takes place the first weekend after classes start. I think classes started on Thursday. Then on Friday after classes, everyone
headed off to the buses and Hokie Camp. You should Google the summer academcy facebook page and look at the pictures to get an idea of the activiteis (Hokie Camp, tubing, paintball, diner outing and Pizza with President Sands).
The best thing about summer academy was the level of confidence my child had when we picked him/her up in the summer. The campus was familiar at that point because he/she had already visited the gyms. health center, dining hall, library and University Mall. One other HUGE HUGE thing was being able to move in prior to everyone else. We moved belongings from the summer room to the fall room-making several trips between the two halls. There were very few people on campus and it was actually somewhat relaxing. Most people just move their belongings, go home and return once the dorms open officially. There might be a couple of people who stayed in the dorm for those few days. If you can get away, I would recommend it. The dining halls are not open, etc.
I have another child applying regular decision for engineering. If that one decides to attend Tech, their preference will be the same Track you mentioned. Good Luck with your decision.
@GradandMom @kooth12 Thank you for your suggestions! The different stances you took allowed me to see the different angles of VT’s Summer Academy. Right now, I am leaning more to the side of not attending SA since I don’t graduate high school till mid-June and would have less time to get everything ready for college. I am applying to be a part of Hypatia, a living and learning community for female engineers and I think that Hypatia will provide a lot of support that I’ll need freshman year. I am planning on majoring in Industrial & Systems Engineering at the moment. Please let me know if either of you strongly agree or disagree with my decision to not attend Summer Academy and again, thanks for the great advice!
Just wanted to say congratulations on your acceptance to Virginia Tech! I remember your thread about “Systems Engineeriing.” Being part of a living and learning community of female engineers sounds like a good plan. Good luck at Virginia Tech! Go Hokies!
@collegechick2000 It is your decision and you can’t go wrong either way. My son ended in mid June last year prior to Summer Academy and it has been non-stop until fall semester ended. There wasn’t much time between the end of summer session and fall semester. The LLC is a geat idea. My son lives in one. In addition, as noted above–definitely go to Hokie Camp. You’ll have a blast.