USC-SCS Summer Academy

Summer Academy takes place over the course of a six-week term on USC?s campus. The program hours are, Monday through Friday, 9a.m. to 5p.m.

Each instructional day is broken up into two main lectures (reading/writing and Math) and accompanying sections for = additional discussion, review, collaboration and instruction.

At the end of each day, students participate in a workshop and lecture series where they receive presentations on research, potential career fields, and life guidance and mentoring, from USC faculty, members of SCS?s network of professional and career mentors, and SCS staff.

SCS selects students from high schools all over the Los Angeles area. The students who participate in the Summer Academy have their sights set on attending highly selective and selective colleges and want to be prepared to compete at the highest academic and social level once in college.

The SCS Summer Academy cohort is composed of bright and motivated scholars who work with each other, the SCS staff and instructors to create an academic and social environment that is truly reflective of the college experience.

Click here for more information about the USC-SCS Summer Academy.

Our scholarships are intended to close shortfalls between the amount of money offered in the financial package from a university (grants, loans, and work study) and the actual cost of a student's college education. In some cases, these shortfalls would prevent students from attending college altogether.

Scholarships range between $500 to $3,000 per scholar, and are renewable for up to 6 years. SCS has an additional budget for stipends to students to participate for the following uses:

Graduate school preparation classes and test fees (MCAT, LSAT, GRE, etc.)

Airfare and travel expenses

Internship stipends

Study abroad stipends

*Scholarship commitments do not include monies provided to students for: dental/medical expenses, school supplies, personal supplies such as winter clothing, equipment such as computers, and gift cards.

The program provides students with unique summer job and/or year-round opportunities. These jobs not only supplement the income of our students but provide them with opportunities to explore fields in which they have an interest.

SCS has provided students with jobs in medicine, research, law, publishing, advertising, engineering, finance, consulting, accounting and related fields. Students network with employers and volunteers, providing them with a support community during college and in their future careers. At the same time, the jobs build self esteem and provide essential income for the students. The benefits of these opportunities include:

Experience in a work environment

Opportunity to establish professional networks

Professional development in areas such as time management, interpersonal communication, administrative skills, goal-setting, and multi-tasking

Opportunity to confirm (or renounce) a particular career path based on actual experience in that industry

Affirmation of student's skills and capabilities

Renewed drive and focus to perform academically

Our employers attempt to provide our students with increasing challenges and responsibilities to prepare them for their future jobs.

SCS also provides post-graduate job placement assistance. Support includes career coaching, networking workshops, resume review, mock interviews, and introductions to companies. SCS support is supplemental and complementary to services that scholars received from their universities.

Interested in providing an internship to our scholars?

The SCS Jobs & Internships Program provides ongoing career preparation, professional development, and job and internship placement assistance. SCS Scholars come from low-income backgrounds and have limited support in their communities as they navigate their careers. The raw talent and "fire in the belly" motivation that has enabled them to achieve at a high level makes them unusually strong interns, employees, and leaders. SCS strongly encourages students to participate in internships and encourages businesses and nonprofits to take advantage of this unique talent source.

SCS pre screens, supports, and helps select and supervise the Scholars to insure good fit and success.

Internships are win-win partnership for employers and interns. Interns gain practical skills and experience. At the same time, employers gain bright, highly motivated employees who bring a fresh perspective and can complete projects that current employees are not able to invest time in.

Internships are money-savers for businesses.

They are a cost-effective way for employers to "try-before-you-buy" potential hires, allowing firms to better gauge if a fit exists between the college student and the employer, at relatively low risk and cost. Internships reduce recruitment expenses, such as staff time and training.

Internships provide opportunities for learning within the business.

Interns can help provide employers with a competitive advantage by gaining an intern?s knowledge of the latest academic skills and information. Internships also fulfill a public relations function when interns take their good experiences back to their peers and community.

Results of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2008 Experiential Education Survey

"Employers say they extended job offers to nearly 70% of their interns."

"Nearly 90% of employers who use their programs to hire say they are very or extremely satisfied with their interns, and employers consistently name the internship program as one of the most effective tools they have for hiring new college graduates."

"Interns who become full-time hires are more likely to stick with the organization than their co-workers who didn?t go through the program."

This program links students with successful, educated adults who provide encouragement, guidance, advice and friendship. Students are partnered with mentors who work professionally in careers in which the student has an interest. In addition to one-on-one relationships with mentors, group educational and professional development activities are scheduled throughout the year to engage students in discussions around career planning & college success.

HOW DO WE SUPPORT STUDENTS ACROSS THE U.S.?

When more than three students are attending a campus at the same time, that campus becomes a Region. Currently, there are 27 Regions. Current or graduated scholars volunteer to lead campus networks as Regional Directors. For campuses that have eight or more students, there are multiple Regional Directors.

Currently, there are 48 Regional Directors and additional volunteers provide ongoing guidance.

Regions are effective in providing on-campus peer support networks where students can network and participate in academic and professional development activities together. Additionally, students act as peer mentors to each other in this setting.

The majority of colleges where our students have a presence have assigned an on-campus faculty or administrator to liaise between SCS staff, the campus and students to provide continuous support. Campus Liaisons provide top-down solutions for students when they are challenged with financial aid, academic, or other issues.

SCS provides college preparation and awareness resources and activities year-round for college-bound high school juniors and seniors coming from disadvantaged communities throughout Los Angeles. To prepare students for college, SCS hosts the following events:

High School presentations (Fall and Spring semesters)

IVY League schools and small liberal arts colleges are more supportive in every way for our students. These schools have richer financial packages and more comprehensive wrap-around services to help our students stay in college and graduate. They have small classes, are taught by professors rather than teaching assistants, and have richer diversity programs. These schools also graduate a higher percentage of their diversity students (greater than 90%) than larger state universities.

Staff partner with high schools to identify college-bound students and teach them the advantages of these schools. Often, when students are accepted to these elite colleges and universities, SCS arranges campus visits. SCS now has over 130 students attending (or graduated from) these colleges.

College Fair & Liberal Arts Summit (October)

SCS provides an evening college fair in Los Angeles with representatives from colleges throughout the United States. In addition to California state universities and colleges, representative colleges also include: Amherst College, Barnard College, Boston University, Brown University, Claremont Colleges, Columbia University, Cornell University, Duke University, Franklin & Marshall College, Harvard College, MIT, Princeton University, Smith College, Stanford University, Tufts University, USC, Vanderbilt University, Wellesley College, Williams College, and Yale University.

Parent & Student Information Night (November/December)

Parents join their students in learning more about the process of applying to out-of-state and private universities. Parents hear first-hand about the experiences of other parents that allowed their students to attend college outside of California. High School students get to network with College students to learn more about the application process and what it is like to go to school outside of California.

Financial Aid Workshop (January/February)

Parents and students learn the ins and outs of filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile (for private universities). Staff also educates families on how to navigate their tax information to accurately represent themselves in their financial aid applications.

Summer Conference (July)

A two-day conference for high school, college, and graduated students that focuses on career exploration and preparation, professional development, academic skills, and networking. Over 75 professionals volunteer each year as presenters, panelists, and mentors. Over 400 people attend each year.

SCS has seen a rise in students interested in pursuing post-graduate programs. While many SCS scholars work during school (approx. 33%), others opt out of employment to focus on their academics or participate in work study. Therefore two-thirds of students do not earn an income that will help pay for the cost of graduate school preparation such as test preparation courses (e.g. Kaplan, Princeton Review), test fees ($150-250 per exam), and graduate school application fees ($50-100 per application).

Of undergraduate surveyed in 2011 (85% response rate), 94% of students that submitted the survey stated an interest in applying to graduate school.

SCS provides Scholars with financial assistance in their pursuit of a graduate education, as well as professional development resources and support during the graduate school application process.