University Academic Overviews: Wesleyan, Yale, and University of Pennsylvania

Pre-College Summer Programs and Academic Tracks

• Program Overview and Regional Impact: The speaker emphasizes the benefit of students meeting other students from around the world and across different hemispheres.
• The Three Academic Tracks:     * Solving Global Challenges: This is an interdisciplinary track. It provides access to topics in $STEM$ fields and $AI$, as well as health fields and historically important topics. It features a blend of subjects for the upcoming summer.     * Innovations in Science and Technology: This is currently one of the largest and most thriving tracks due to high student excitement regarding $STEM$ fields.     * Politics of Law and Economics: An additional academic track supported by the speaker.
• Program Logistics and Application Details:     * Application Opening: The application is scheduled to open on $10/05/2026$.     * Target Audience: High school students, specifically those who will be sophomores or juniors.     * Tuition and Financial Aid: While the tuition is described as "fairly significant," the program offers support to cover tuition costs and assist students to make the process easier.     * Admissions Deadlines: The program utilizes both an Early Action deadline and a Regular Decision deadline, mimicking the structure of Yale College programs.     * Engagement: A recruitment table is available featuring candy as an incentive for students to ask questions.

Western University: Campus Profile and Logistics

• Institutional Identity: Cara Snowll, an Assistant Dean who uses she/her pronouns, provides context for Western University (also referred to as "West University" in the presentation).
• Location and Land Acknowledgement: The university is located in Middletown, Connecticut. The institution acknowledges the past, present, and future people of the Wanlak tribe, on whose traditional lands the university stands.
• Academic Model: The university offers an "open curriculum." This model encourages academic exploration both within and outside the classroom. Students are encouraged to explore different majors or concentrations, particularly during their sophomore year.
• Campus Size and Residential Life:     * Student Population: A "smallish" liberal arts college with over $3,000$ undergraduate students.     * Housing Guarantee: The university is fully residential, meaning students stay on campus for all $4$ years, and housing is guaranteed for the duration of their undergraduate career.
• Progressive Independence Living Model: This model is designed to help students become more independent over their $4$ years:     * First Year: Likely involves a "classic dorm experience" with shared rooms and a communal environment.     * Senior Year: Students likely transition to a Woodgrim house, which represents the highest level of independence for a student living on campus.

Student Demographics and Equity Resources at Western

• Demographic Statistics:     * Native Representation: $2\%$ of the student population identifies as Native American or Alaska Native.     * Domestic Diversity: $90\%$ of domestic students (identified as $US$ citizens or residents) identify as students of color.     * First-Generation Students: $17\%$ of the student body identifies as the first in their family to attend a four-year university.     * Financial Aid: A majority, or $50\%$ of students, receive financial aid.
• Office for Equity and Inclusion: This office oversees various resources, including the Resource Center.
• The Resource Center: A multicultural and interdisciplinary center on campus that facilitates:     * Student of Color Barbecue.     * Heritage Awareness Months.     * "Thanksgiving as an alternative to Thanksgiving."     * Community building, social scenes, and a dedicated library.
• First Things First Orientation: This is a specific orientation for first-generation students. It utilizes a cohort model and provides early access to campus resources, including the F July textbook library, which grants access to required reading materials.

Indigenous Academic Initiatives and Financial Support at Western

• Indigenous Studies Research Network: A network of interdisciplinary professors and staff looking at various fields through an indigenous lens, including American studies, environmental studies, African American studies, and $STEM$ fields.
• Wesleyan Summer Brand Program: This program provides up to $\$5,000$ in funding for students to pursue research questions or cultural engagement experiences. Students often use this to connect with cultural opportunities at home or conduct on-campus research.
• Course Offerings: Recent indigenous-focused courses include:     * Decolonizing Indigenous Gender and Sexuality.     * Indigenous Environmental Justice.     * Making New Worlds Encounters on Turtle Island.
• Community Resources: A local elder, who is a graduate of the university's master's program, conducts workshops and acts as a resource for student workers and the broader campus community.

Yale University: Academic Structure and Student Life

• Institutional Structure: Yale College is the liberal arts undergraduate college within the broader Yale University, which is an $R1$ research institution comprised of $19$ schools, including graduate and professional schools.
• Student Population: Roughly $6,500$ students.
• The Distributional Requirements Model: This model sits between an open curriculum and a core curriculum:     * Students must dedicate $\frac{1}{3}$ of their courses to fulfill up to $6$ different skill requirements.     * The remaining courses are elective choices based on the student's interests.
• Academic Range: There are over $80$ majors available across $STEM$, humanities, social sciences, and creative/performing arts.
• New Native and Indigenous Studies Certificate: This program functions as a minor for students interested in indigenous studies.
• Social Life: There are over $500$ active student organizations, alongside various cultural centers and resource organizations.
• Residential Colleges: Yale uses a unique housing model where students live in residential colleges (referenced in popular culture via the show Gilmore Girls).

University of Pennsylvania: Overview and Campus Community

• Speaker Background: Tina, representing the Anacoco Anapay tribal nation of New Jersey, has worked in undergraduate admissions at Penn for $17$ years and teaches in the Native and Indigenous Studies program.
• Courses Taught by Speaker:     * Intro to Native and Indigenous Studies.     * Contemporary Native Identities (specifically for incoming first-year students).
• Location: Philadelphia, the $6$th largest city in the $US$, located in Lenapehoken (the land of the Lenape).
• Community Support: The university is supported by Lenape nations from Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, as well as the Native American House Alliance in Philadelphia.
• Campus Geography: The campus consists of approximately $35$ contiguous acres located along the river.
• One University Model: Penn features $4$ undergraduate schools and $12$ graduate programs, where students in one undergraduate school have access to resources in the other three.

The Four Undergraduate Schools at the University of Pennsylvania

• College of Arts and Sciences:     * The largest school, housing the majority of Penn's $10,000$ undergraduates.     * Offers approximately $65$ different majors.
• Wharton School of Business:     * Offers $22$ concentrations, including retail, finance, real estate, and legal environmental studies.
• School of Engineering:     * Offers the Bachelor's of Applied Science ($B.A.S.$) and the Bachelor's of Science in Engineering ($B.S.E.$).     * Housing for computer science and new $AI$ initiatives.
• School of Nursing:     * Smallest but highly selective, with approximately $95$ students per class.     * Ranked as the number $1$ nursing school in the world.