Santa Clara University

What Is The Young Scholars Program?

Planning for college naturally leads high school juniors and seniors to ask themselves some uneasy questions:

- Am I really prepared for college?
- How is college different from high school?
- What are college professors like?
- How do I choose a major?

Santa Clara University’s Young Scholars Program is designed to help high school students find answers to questions such as these.  Each year select, highly-motivated, college-bound students explore the world of higher education in a five-week intensive program that includes university courses, advising, and meetings with key people on campus.  Students leave with a hands-on experience of college life and units that will apply toward their eventual university degree.

Since it began in 1991, Young Scholars have gone on to study at top-ranked universities, including Princeton, Brown, Northwestern, Stanford, campuses of the UC system, and Santa Clara.

What Do Young Scholars Do?

The Young Scholars Program challenges students to grow personally and academically within a supportive community of students and faculty.  The program has two key components:
- Courses and Advising
- Camaraderie

Courses and Advising
Instead of thinking and talking about what might happen in college, Young Scholars directly experience it by taking college courses in Santa Clara’s summer session.  In consultation with the program director, each Young Scholar enrolls in one or two lower-division university courses from Session I of Santa Clara’s summer program and earns college credit.  Previous Young Scholars have enrolled in classes such as:
- Western Culture: Literature I
- Chemistry in the Modern World
- Calculus and Analytic Geometry
- Basic Ceramics
- Introduction to American Politics
- Spanish
- Introduction to Mass Communications
- Statistics
- Human Disease/ Human Health

These courses are typically part of the core curriculum at most universities. Young Scholars learn how to manage the workload and the responsibilities of college-level study.  During the program, Young Scholars have access to the program director and college advisors who assist them in resolving problems or responding to other questions.

Extracurricular Meetings
At orientation, Young Scholars will be given a list of campus leaders.  Young Scholars can select and meet with two of those individuals.  Choices include department chairs or admissions counselor.

Alternatively, a Young Scholar might chose to meet with a financial aid counselor about options for paying for college.  These extracurricular sessions provide Young Scholars with an opportunity to address their individual concerns about university life with members of the Santa Clara community.

Camaraderie
The summer program’s small size allows Young Scholars to interact with students from many schools by sharing courses and attending program events.  On Orientation Day, students receive tours of the campus, ACCESS cards, books, and lunch with faculty.  ACCESS cards allow group meals or exercise breaks during the program.

When Does It Happen?

The Young Scholars Program takes place during Santa Clara’s Summer Session I – from mid -June to the end of July.  Students should expect to be on campus for a portion of each weekday for classes, advising, study sessions, and extracurricular workshops. This is a full-time non-residential program.  No campus housing is available.

Why Should I Choose Santa Clara University?

Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley, Santa Clara University has provided education for the whole person in the Catholic and Jesuit traditions for 150 years.  It offers top-quality undergraduate and graduate programs distinguished by their Jesuit character and a commitment to an ethical, values-oriented curriculum. 

Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 and is California’s oldest private institution of higher learning.  Santa Clara University’s professional programs in business administration, engineering, and law are recognized both regionally and nationally.  U.S. News and World Report again ranked Santa Clara University as the second-best comprehensive university in the Western region. Young Scholars is a way for you to become a part of that rich tradition.

Transportation and Campus housing are not available for Young Scholars.

 Santa Clara University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and/or ethnic origin, gender, marital status, sexual preference, disability, religion, veteran’s status, or age in the administration of any of its educational policies, admission policies, scholarships and loan programs, athletics, or employment-related policies, programs, and activities; or other University-administered policies, programs, and activities.

If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation, please call Ann Ravenscroft, Disabilities Resource Coordinator, at (408) 554-4111 (voice) or (408) 554-5445 (TDD).