Using A Summer Workshop To Recruit Talented Minority High School Students

For the past five years, we have offered a selective 12-day residential workshop for approximately 24 high school juniors and seniors from minorities underrepresented in science and health professions. Participants are chosen by faculty on the basis of essays, transcripts, and letters of recommendation from high school teachers and guidance counselors. The program includes three mini-courses, two in biology and one in computer technology. The latter was added to help students understand the connection between technology and the health professions and also to meet the needs of a significant number of participants who express interest in engineering and computer science careers. We believe that the success of our program can be attributed to several key elements: • A dedicated and consistent team of college faculty, student-counselors, and high school science teachers. • A unifying theme (HIV/AIDS for the past two years). • An appropriate balance of academics, educational field trips, and recreational activities. • Continuous reevaluation of the program. • Personal contact with the participants before, during, and after the program. • Support from the college. With the addition of admissions interviews during the summer and a reunion of students in the fall when classes are in session, the program has become an effective recruiting tool; 12 former participants are now enrolled at the college. The model that we present can be easily adapted to other institutions, disciplines, and/or target populations.