There are many universities and colleges that refuse to go on a break during summers. Instead, they choose to keep their doors open for those students who wish to further expand their existing knowledge.
What are Summer Schools?
Universities and colleges in India and abroad offer students short courses of their choice that last from one week to eight weeks. Summer schools offer courses which help students increase their knowledge about new fields or help them refresh their memory of subjects taught in the previous academic year to further explore the already known subject. Apart from offering academic courses, educational institutes also offer fun and lighter courses which develops the creativity of students.
Admission Process
The admission procedure for most of the summer schools start from January but the schedule might defer from college to college. The process of admission and the eligibility requirement for summer schools is easy and flexible as compared to other common forms of academic studies. For advanced schools, however, students might be required to fulfil certain criteria or take short entrance exams. Students are usually qualified from these schools by giving exams and receiving a course completion certificate for the same.
Benefits of Applying For Summer School
Not only do summer schools increase knowledge, but also helps in complete personality development.
- Boosts Self Confidence: Travelling to a place away from home, learning new skills, and interacting and working with other students who too, come from different background, increases confidence, and teaches one to be independent.
- High Chances of Being Admitted to University: With admissions getting more and more competitive than ever, building your profile becomes very important. Studying an additional course and acquiring rich experiences can put a student on the edge as the universities today are constantly in search of profiles that speak high of students.
- Increases Social Understanding: In a summer school, students meet new people and gel with them. Interacting with people coming from multifarious backgrounds, on various issues, topics and occasions teaches them to groom among people, carry themselves well in a social gathering, express and put forth ideas and opinions, and learn how to communicate.
While applying to a summer school, here are a few aspects that students need to consider:
- Pick a course and university that perfectly tailors with your interests.
- Check the fee structure and ensure it is affordable for you. Make sure you include other expenses like accommodation, food, travelling, in addition to the tuition fees.
- Pick a place that is in proximity to your home as travelling becomes easy.
- If you are travelling abroad for a summer program, make sure you know the language used there.
- Get in touch with the alumni and research about the course and program you wish to opt for.
Cost: Summer schools abroad cost between 1,00,000-2,00,000 and 55,000-1,50,000 in India
Top International Summers Schools To Look at:
- LSE(London School of Economics), UK: Largest summer school in Europe, LSE helps students enhance their learning and research abilities.
- Oxford University, UK: Their summer school provides the best learning environment to its students and offers a wide variety of courses ranging from arts and STEM.
- Harvard University, USA: This university has over 300 courses on its plate for its students. The courses are taught during the day, in the evening and online.
- New York University, USA: The duration of summer courses offered in the university is for three weeks, six weeks and twelve weeks. Some of the most popular courses offered are Journalism, Music, Performing Arts, and Literature.
- University of California, Berkeley, USA: The university offers more than 600 courses every summer. The courses begin at the end of May and end in mid-August.
- Stanford University, USA: The university provides a combination of academics and extra-curricular activities. It works towards instilling academic excellence and global responsibility in students.
Top Summer Schools to Look at in India:
- Symbiosis Summer School: With national as well as international faculty, the school provides rich quality education in the fields of filmmaking, photography, liberal arts, creative writing, theatre, climate change etc.
- Amity University Summer School Programme: The duration of the course is two weeks and it offers courses in the field of Travel and Tourism, Hotel Management, Law, Science and Technology, etc.
- Young Scholar’s Program at Ashoka University: One of the leading summer schools in India, the program is well known for its Liberal arts course. If you are looking forward to learning liberal arts, Ashoka University is the right place for you to be this summer.
- Doon School’s Summer Programme: Located in the beautiful city of Dehradun, this school stresses on teaching its students the skill of leadership. The courses offered here encourage creative learning, problem-solving and brainstorming, self-discovery, etc. Subjects are inclusive of case studies, group activities, community service, and design thinking.
