Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Ethan Davis was months away from traveling to Syracuse for Syracuse University’s on-campus pre-college program when the university shifted the program to a virtual format due to the pandemic. 

Davis, now a freshman drama student at SU, participated in the musical theatre program in the summer session during his junior year of high school in 2020. Although Davis was initially disheartened that the in-person aspect of the program was canceled, he still believes he had a positive experience, he said.

The pandemic forced SU’s on-campus pre-college program, which gives high school students the chance to take classes at the university for academic credit or no credit to discover potential college majors, to operate virtually for both the summer of 2020 and 2021.

In 2020, a majority of pre-college programs around the country operated virtually, said Chris Cofer, executive director in the Office of Pre-College Programs at SU. It became clear in December 2020 that operating in person during the summer of 2021 was still not feasible, Cofer said.  

“We made the decision (to cancel the program) in an abundance of caution and considering the anticipated timeline for vaccine distribution (to teens) at that time,” Cofer said. 

Freshman musical theatre major Maggie Stephens also participated in the pre-college program during the summer of 2020. She said she found it difficult to build friendships virtually, but she was satisfied by the academic aspect of the program. 

“I loved the classes and meeting the professors,” Stephens said. “It’s a huge reason why I am a current student at Syracuse … It was nice to be able to get a very extensive education crammed into that three week period but also from my house.”

Similarly, Davis said that he learned a lot throughout the program, though he said his program was not meant for the virtual format.

“The way that they put it together was still very informative to me and my learning,” Davis said. “It was a little disappointing because theatre is such an in-person activity.”

However, moving the program to an online setting allowed it to become accessible to more students globally, Cofer said. Enrollment grew from 717 students during the in-person version of the program in 2019 to 832 students in 2020 and 835 in 2021 during the remote versions of the program.

Maya Goosman | Digital Design Director

Although operating the pre-college program virtually allowed for more accessibility, it had a negative impact on the social and independent aspects of student experiences, Cofer said. 

“Providing high school students with the comprehensive residential experience does a great deal for their personal development,” Cofer said. “The online social and recreational activities we provided in their place, while high quality, cannot replace the experience of living on campus away from home and parents.”

Stephens only discovered the program after the in-person portion had been canceled, so she was never expecting to attend virtually. Being from Utica, New York, she was already familiar with the campus and the SU community.

“For students, (a) big part of why they did summer college was to get a feel for the campus and whether or not they want to live there for four years. (Being virtual) might have been a problem, but I already knew I liked the campus,” Stephens said. 

The pre-college program is designed to give high school students a glimpse into what college is like. Although Stephens said the virtual program was missing some of the in-person typical aspects of college, it still helped her prepare for college life. 

“If I had been in-person … it would have given me a better understanding of (college), because I would have been living in a dorm room, I would have had to figure out a commute to classes,” Stephens said. “My first few days here were a challenge I had to navigate.”

Published on September 7, 2021 at 11:30 pm

Contact Shantel: sguzma01@syr.edu | @shantelguzman2