Summer School in American University (French student)

Pre-College Topics Summer Programs
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I’m a French student in a Top Tier business school. I’m in my second year in this school (but I also had 2 years of preparatory classes in Paris before that, and the Baccalaureate before that).</p>

<p>Next year is my Gap Year. I have the opportunity to go to great Asian universities for 6 months (Fall 2012), and I might do my internship in the US after that (Spring 2013). However, nothing’s done yet, I’ll know more in a few weeks about the exchange universities and my internships.</p>

<p>My goal is to pursue a career in the US. It’s been a “dream” for years (more than just a “dream”, I’ve thought about it quite a lot). I’ve been there a few times, and I’ve learned a lot about the American culture on my own. I know the odds are against me, because of the economy and everything, but I might as well give it a shot.</p>

<p>So I was wondering if it might be a good idea to go to a Summer School in a famous university. I was thinking maybe Harvard or another Ivy league school.</p>

<p>For 2 courses per week and 6 week, it costs nearly $10,000 (including fees, accomodations…). So it’s really expensive. I “can” pay for it, but is it really useful ?</p>

<p>I think it would be great on my resume and give me a true experience in the US. I think it could complement well my internships/exchanges, and really be a plus, because of the “Harvard brand”. It would also be an opportunity to follow management classes, but also to meet new people from around the world and to visit Boston (and New England). So, it’s a bit like holidays too. My course managers think it may be a good idea, my parents think it’s a bit too expensive, and I have some friends who are wondering at Summer schools too…</p>

<p>But on the other hand, maybe recruiters think that a Summer School is just a way to “pay his way” into a great university and wouldn’t value it., since there’s no real selection, apparently. Maybe the campus is half empty and there’s no atmosphere… I don’t know if the courses are really interesting. Lots of questions that remain unanswered. Is it really worth all that money ?</p>

<p>So, I have may questions, as you can see. Do you think it is a good idea ?
Do you have any advice, testimonies, opinions or alternatives (other opportunities or universities that you would recommend) ?</p>

<p>Thank You for your answers !</p>

<p>(I know it is supposed to be the pre-college issues, but I couldn’t really find any section of the forum dealing with Summer Programs for Undergraduate students).</p>

2

<p>Bonjour! Bienvenue a CC :).</p>

<p>

This really is very expensive; if you go to a good but lesser known university for summer school, you will probably learn about the same (it’s summer school, after all), but pay less. So I would look at other universities’ programs as well.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Not especially - summer school doesn’t really matter; most people familiar with such programs know that Harvard’s is very expensive and not particularly special.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Again, for summer school, “going to Harvard” is not really that special. If you pay for it, they will accept you</p>

<p>

Any large university will offer you this :).</p>

<p>

These are very legitimate questions. My response to “is it worth it” is no; others may disagree. As I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of good American universities that offer summer courses at a cheaper price than Harvard does.</p>

<p>Examples of cheaper summer sessions include those offered by the University of California system:
[|</a> Berkeley Summer Sessions](<a href=“http://summer.berkeley.edu/registration/fees]|”>2024 Summer Fees | Berkeley Summer Sessions)</p>

<p>[Fees-Fees</a> fees](<a href=“http://www.summer.ucla.edu/fees/fees.htm]Fees-Fees”>http://www.summer.ucla.edu/fees/fees.htm)</p>

<p>[Visiting</a> International Students: Fees](<a href=“http://www.summer.uci.edu/services/students/intl_visiting/fees.aspx]Visiting”>http://www.summer.uci.edu/services/students/intl_visiting/fees.aspx)</p>

<p>(You may have to look around the websites to find the additional costs for housing/meal plans.)</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your answer. It’s true that UC really offers classes at a relatively low price. Only $3300 full-time (8 units) and I could gain $1500 on housing/accommodation, apparently. Berkeley is probably the best of the bunch (in the UC system) and it’s really a renown college. I would also save money because I wouldn’t have to pass the TOEFL (since they accept the TOEIC at Berkeley and I already have it). It seems that they offer all kind of business classes. so that’s really a helpful advice.</p>

<p>I still have to think it through, though. Because I would still have to fork up a large amount of money. But it’s definitely an improvement over Harvard (costwise), for a pretty comparable quality.</p>

<p>What’s do you think ? Should I go forward with it ?</p>

<p>And if other people have an opinion, I would be glad to hear it !</p>

4

<p>I would still look at other colleges’ summer schools, just to be informed of your choices. Pricewise, I think that the University of California system will be the cheapest. (UC-San Francisco also offers good prices: [Summer</a> Session - Visiting Students - Lifetime Learners - Tuition](<a href=“http://summersession.ucsd.edu/visiting/lifetime-tuition.shtml]Summer”>http://summersession.ucsd.edu/visiting/lifetime-tuition.shtml).)</p>

<p>The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill will cost a little more, but their housing is pretty well priced: [Tuition</a> and Fees Schedule: Academic Affairs – Summer School](<a href=“http://summer.unc.edu/financial-information/tuition-and-fees-schedule-academic-affairs/]Tuition”>http://summer.unc.edu/financial-information/tuition-and-fees-schedule-academic-affairs/).</p>

5

<p>Thanks. I still like Berkeley better, because these universities you mentioned required a few things that make them “less” attractive for me (TOEFL, not directed toward International Students, conflicting dates (for registration), and fewer interesting courses for me).</p>

<p>I’m actually not sure other universities could match Berkeley (renown, course choice, campus location, price…).</p>

<p>Do you thing it’s would be a good idea to do a Summer School ? (I know you don’t know much about me and by background, education… but still, what’s your opinion ?)</p>

6

<p>I would check to make sure that the credits earned would transfer over to wherever you want to go to college after your gap year. (But if you decide to go to school in the U.S., the Berkeley stuff should transfer fine.)</p>

<p>I think summer school would be fine in your case, to get a taste of college while having time to spend exploring the U.S. a little.</p>

7

<p>Yeah, I’ll take a look at this credit thing. But I must admit credits and credit transfers always confuse me. Even in France with our European ECTS system (European Credit Transfer System), I’m lost^^. I’ll look precisely at it. Plus I don’t know where I’m gonna be studying after my Gap Year (it’s still 18 months away…). So I think that even if there are problems for credit transfers, it would be a good thing.</p>

<p>And I asked other people who think I definitely should be going to a Summer school.</p>

<p>One last question : I’ll know in only a few weeks if I’m selected for the exchanges in Asia in my Fall 2012 semester. I can only do the Summer School if i am selected in Asia (dates would conflict otherwise). So, best-case scenario, I’ll be able to register in 3 weeks for the Summer Session. Do you think there would be (m)any seats remaining for classes at that point (I’m interested in Business classes of course, but I’m not focused on one particular course) ? Also, would it give me enough time to do the whole procedure (registering to the Summer Session, the courses, housing, getting my I-20 form, then making an appointment at the Embassy for the F-1 visa, and finally getting a visa before going), knowing that I would probably choose session B or C ?</p>

<p>I’m not sure you have much more information than me on these specificities, though.
But feel free to guesstimate :)</p>

<p>Thanks again for your answer.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>If you look [at</a> this table](<a href=“http://sis.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=SU&p_dept=ugba]at”>http://sis.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?p_term=SU&p_dept=ugba), it will list at the bottom of each course listing the number of students already enrolled for the summer. (For example, the first one says: “Limit:59 Enrolled:23 Waitlist:0 Avail Seats:36”.) Some have plenty of room left; others do not.</p>

<p>

I don’t know about this … your parents or someone from your school can probably give you an estimate on this. Or if you call the embassy or even [contact</a> Berkeley](<a href=“https://mysummer.berkeley.edu/contact/contactUs.php]contact”>https://mysummer.berkeley.edu/contact/contactUs.php), you may get advice on how long the process will take.</p>

9

<p>I already saw the table, it’s quite helpful, but I can’t really know how quickly it is filling up, and I can’t be sure they’ll have room left in March.</p>

<p>When I look at the steps for registration, it seems that I’ll have enough time to get everything done in time (I-20 is sent by FedEx within 10 days, it takes less than a week to get an appointment at the embassy), but I can’t be really be sure…</p>

<p>My school doesn’t offer this kind of programs, I already asked them about it and they said they thought it would be a good idea, but that’s basically all they could say. And my parents don’t really know much about it too.</p>

<p>Anyway, I still have a few other people I’ll contact to have their opinion, but I think I’ll definitely be going.</p>

10

<p>Oh, I have yet another question.</p>

<p>I looked up the Session dates, I was initially interested in Session C : 6/18 to 8/10. 8 weeks.</p>

<p>However, when I look at the course table, I can see that classes either begin in late may to end in early july, of begin 7/2 to end 8/10.
So, what’s the point of going of going as early as 6/18 (when Session C begins), except vising the Bay area during 2 weeks ? If I choose Session D (7/2 to 8/10), It seems that I have the same choice of course, but I won’t have to pay so much for housing…</p>

<p>Am I right or is there something I didn’t understand well ?</p>

11

<p>

You might want to call/email the school’s office for a prediction on that, then.</p>

<p>

So the courses that start on 7/2 are scheduled that way for Session D students - I’m not sure if you can take those during Session C - again, you’ll want to call/email Berkeley about that. [Here</a> are the Session C-length classes](<a href=“http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=1&x=14&p_term=SU&p_deptname=--+Choose+a+Department+Name+--&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&p_session=C]Here”>http://osoc.berkeley.edu/OSOC/osoc?y=1&x=14&p_term=SU&p_deptname=--+Choose+a+Department+Name+--&p_classif=--+Choose+a+Course+Classification+--&p_presuf=--+Choose+a+Course+Prefix%2FSuffix+--&p_session=C); if you don’t like any of them, then just sign up for Session D, which would be cheaper.</p>

12

<p>Yeah, I did some research later and I saw that there were some classes that lasted 8 weeks, but that Business classes only last 6 weeks. So yeah, I’ll probably go with session D.</p>