Bridging the Gap from High School to College
Winter 2020
Experience University Research lets high school students
take university-level courses on campus at UCI.
Valli Nachiappan dreams of studying engineering at an elite
university, hopefully at her hometown UC Irvine or another
UC school. The University High senior is focused and driven,
with a strong educational background, but making that big
jump to higher education is always quite jarring, even for
the best students.
She wanted to get a taste of college before making the
transition, so Valli enrolled in UCI Division of Continuing
Education's Experience University Research (EUR), an
on-campus program that gives high school students from
Southern California an opportunity to take college-level
courses and experience life at a Top 10 public university.
It's more than just getting a feel for college coursework,
although there's plenty of that. The best part of EUR might
well be meeting counselors and professors, learning about
the opportunities available at UCI and exploring academic
and social life on campus, Valli said.
“This was one of the best experiences
I've had for sure. Firstly, I enjoyed
the tour of the UCI campus that UCI
students guided us through. It was
really a nice experience seeing several
college students in one place and
seeing how college life is.”
“What I really enjoyed was working with the instructors
because they were so helpful and provided us with several
resources if we didn't understand the topics.”
Currently a junior at Capistrano Valley High, Brandon
Trodick took the EUR's project management course and
found the experience to be a real eye-opener — the
coursework as well as the atmosphere. He was most
impressed by the wide gap between high school and
university classes.
“The atmosphere was so much more professional, I guess you
could say,” he added. “The classroom equipment, the way the
coursework was delivered, even the chairs
and desks.”
“Everyone really wanted to be
there and study hard, which
made the lessons focused and
really easy to follow. High school
isn't always like that.”
“This was one of the best experiences
I've had for sure. Firstly, I enjoyed
the tour of the UCI campus that UCI
students guided us through. It was
really a nice experience seeing several
college students in one place and
seeing how college life is.”
Valli Nachiappan
EUR Student
Exploring university life
Valli was attracted to the engineering course, not only to
prepare for college-level academics but also as a valuable
addition to her resume in an increasingly competitive UC
system. Having real university elective courses under your
belt when you apply for admission can certainly make a
candidate stand out.
“Out of all the courses Experience University Research
offered, I found the engineering course most appealing,”
she said. “I was inclined toward it because it focused on
Raspberry Pi programming, and though I knew some Python,
I wanted to familiarize myself with the Raspberry Pi and how
it works. I also wanted to experience studying at a college-level
program taught by a UCI professor.”
Valli was able to get lots of experience with the popular
device, a small, stripped-down single-board unit mostly used
to teach basic computer science. Since her class was hands-on
and free flowing, she could stretch herself and be creative
while experimenting with code. And she was able to keep the
Raspberry Pi for future experimentation.
But perhaps the main thing she took away from her EUR
experience was getting a preview of life on the campus of a
world-class university. Interacting with older college students
and having access to leading professors was an invaluable
opportunity, she said.
“After the EUR program I learned that college classes are
drastically different from high school classes, and it is mostly
up to the student to be self-driven,” Valli said. “Several of the
assignments, notes and resources were available, and it was
up to us to make use of them. This program helped me learn
to manage my time well and understand how important it is
to do your own work because there aren't going to be
parents or teachers hovering over you like in high school.”
Brandon echoed those sentiments and added that the EUR
program exposed him to a far more diverse group of students.
It was similar to the type of international student body he
would encounter at one of his target schools, either UCI,
UCLA or Cal Tech.
“One of the best parts for me was interacting with students
from so many different backgrounds,” he said. “It was
especially interesting and rewarding to meet and interact with
my classmates who were from China. The EUR program is
open to lots of international students along with locals.”
“Everyone really wanted to be
there and study hard, which
made the lessons focused and
really easy to follow. High school
isn't always like that.”
Brandon Trodick
EUR Student
College-level coursework
Experience University Research offers a broad range of
university courses over two sessions, the first of which is
available only to high school students. The second session
is offered to high school and university students, covering
advanced subject matter including global communication
skills, social ecology, and international trade and supply chain.
All courses are designed to be academically challenging and
serve as an introduction to the rigors and rewards of university
life. And students can take one or more from either session
risk-free, without affecting their GPAs. The idea is to better
prepare the leaders of tomorrow for academic success and
enhance qualifications to get into a competitive school.
For Brandon, it was an outstanding opportunity to get a jump
on his ambitions to major in engineering, although right now
he's especially interested in finance, specifically the stock
market. He and Valli both feel that any of their college-bound
high school peers could benefit greatly from the EUR program.
“I would absolutely recommend this program to other
students,” Valli said. “Even though it may seem short, it surely
is a different experience. And while others may think that
they can learn the same things online, the atmosphere and
the instructors make this program so worth it. There are so
many tours around the UCI campus and the labs, it really
helps one get a feel of college life and the campus.”