Students everywhere rejoice when summer finally arrives. Video games, social outings, and personal time can all be expected during the interim between school years. But for many high school seniors, summer marks the transition from high school graduate to college freshman.

What transforms a high school graduate into a college freshman? Other than the passage of a summer, not much differentiates the two. Though a high school graduate may be driven and goal-oriented as they take their first steps onto a college campus, they often do so still operating on an old set of conventions that no longer apply to their new environment.

Many students will enter their first crowded lecture-style college classroom and be shocked what they find there. Some will find it exciting to experience new learning styles. But many will struggle with the impersonality and discouraging lack of individual assistance that they have grown accustom to in high school classrooms. How are they ever supposed to study notes that they weren’t able to take because they had trouble following the professor?

The benefits of a college summer program can give a student the advantage they need to successfully transition into a college environment. They address realistic problems and occurrences in everyday college life: more challenging classes, more homework and reading, studying techniques, indecision regarding academic career tracts, financial pressures and responsibilities, brand new social situations, and the overarching issue of time management. Though academics should remain a student’s primary focus, in reality, college is about new life experiences and gaining insight into their potential futures, so it is necessary for college students to be aware of all of the possible pitfalls that they may encounter.

SuperCamp offers a college success program called Quantum U that addresses all of these issues and more with a unique framework called the 8 Keys of Excellence. The overall message is simple: Success in all aspects of life depends on you. The 8 Keys consist of the following principles: Integrity, Failure Leads To Success, Speak With Good Purpose, This Is It!, Commitment, Ownership, Flexibility, and Balance. Personal responsibility will be their watchword under the inspiration of the 8 Keys.

An important concept that Quantum U stresses for college students is Everything Speaks. Whether they are at a social function or sitting down to write a paper, the way they present themselves is the way that the world will view them. Similarly, their environment can affect them significantly; picture a tidy, organized desk as opposed to cluttered chaos. These things will affect the way they approach school work, be it positively or negatively.

Independent studies show that of over 6,000 graduates, 73% reported improved grades, 68% increased motivation, 83% increased confidence, and 98% continued to used the high school and college skills they learned at SuperCamp and Quantum U, which is proof that college preparation can give students a needed edge on their college experience. College success ultimately depends on the student, but they can ease the process by acquiring the skills they need to advance.

Proof of success can be found with past SuperCamp graduates. Megan Adams, a student who attended Quantum U, SuperCamp’s college summer camp, felt her experiences there were invaluable. “[Quantum U] was the most life-changing experience of my life thus far and I have recommended it to all my friends and all my mom’s friends for their kids. I don’t really know that you can completely put into word the amazingness of it… the whole program should be a requirement at some point in all kids’ lives.” Every student should be prepared to take on the world with every tool at their disposal.