Sophomore College

Student Applicants:

Find your application status here! The deadline to confirm your status is Monday, May 7 by 5pm. Financial Aid information is now available. You can review your financial aid amount by clicking View App on the left side of the screen before clicking on your status.

Applications for Sophomore College 2012 have now closed.

Overview

Sophomore College is a three-week residential summer program during which second-year students in seminars of 12-14 students engage in intense academic exploration, forming a community of scholars with peers, upper-class assistants, and professors. An important aspect of Sophomore College is that while seminars have two-hour daily scheduled class instruction, students are actively involved in their seminar topics and classmates throughout each entire day. Depending on the discipline and focus of the seminar, students may be conducting research, working in labs, engaged in close readings of texts, and developing presentation skills. Some seminars are held in part or entirely off campus. Advising workshops help reorient students as they begin planning their second-year internship and fellowship opportunities, major declaration, and overseas studies.

Participating students benefit from the following:

Intense academic exploration of a single topic with an eminent senior faculty member
Immersion in and exploration of a field of interest
An opportunity to hone critical habits of mind
Training to become a more engaged and entrepreneurial learner
Collaborating and forming relationships with faculty and peers

Program Dates

2012 Program Dates: September 3 - September 21, 2012

Students should check with faculty regarding any religious holiday observances that will occur during September Studies in order to work through any conflicts with travel or other class activities. This is especially relevant to students who plan to observe Rosh Hashanah from sunset Sunday, September 16, through sunset, Tuesday, September 18, 2012, as most classes will meet on Monday, September 17. Students observing religious holidays should communicate with faculty about their availability for classes, program events, and travel prior to confirming acceptance for participating in September Studies.

Sophomore College Spring Dates

Who	What	When
Student Staff	SCA Student Staff Application Opens	February 17
Student Staff	SCA Student Staff Application Deadline	March 5 8 a.m.
Students	Student Applications Open	March 16
Student Staff	Student Staff Application Status Available	March 20 After 5 p.m.
Student Staff	Student Staff Commitment Deadline	March 30 5 p.m.
Students	Student Application Deadline	April 9 5 p.m.
Students	Student Application Status Announcement	April 30 After 5 p.m.
Student Staff	Required Spring SOCO Meeting with Associate Director	May, TBA
Students	Financial Aid Status Available	May 6
Students>	Deadline for Students to Commit to Attend	May 7 5 p.m
All Courses	Required Seminar Meeting with Your Faculty (If applicable, you will be contacted to attend a required seminar with Faculty, Student Staff, and Students before the end of Spring Quarter)	May 8-30
RCCs	RCC Student Staff Application Deadline	May 14 8 a.m.
Students	Students’ decisions to accept an offer to join a particular Sophomore College course will be final on June 1. (View more details on this program)	June 1

To view important dates in September, visit the Sophomore College Program Calendar.

Participating students must arrive on campus between noon and 5 p.m. on Monday, September 3, 2012 (Labor Day). Sophomore College class sessions begin September 4 and will continue to meet until Monday, September 17; however, students are required to attend additional class events scheduled after this date, such as class sessions, presentations, or field trips, through Friday, September 21. Class presentations and field trips may extend through September 21, 2012. Arrival dates and locations may vary for off-campus seminars.

*For a few off- campus field seminars, students will need to arrange and pay for their own travel arrangements to designated off-campus locations on specified dates. The program will arrange and pay for their return to Stanford University at the end of the field seminar. Arrival dates and locations may vary as noted in course descriptions for off-campus seminars.

**A few off-campus field seminars will travel back to campus on either Friday, September 21; or Saturday, September 22 from the off-campus locations.

Program Cost

The per student program fee is $1,400, but through the generosity of Stanford donors all students will automatically receive an $800 scholarship.
Students pay the remaining $600, which will be included in their University bill.
The program fee covers tuition, room, board, books, and class-required travel arranged by the program.
Students are also responsible for travel to campus (or the off-campus site for some off-campus seminars), phone, network activation fees, class project materials, and other personal expenses.
Financial aid is available to help defray the $600 remaining program fee; students should indicate interest in aid on the application form. Faculty do not see financial aid requests when reviewing applications.
These grants cannot be applied toward other personal expenses or travel. The Financial Aid Office will determine eligibility. (Please note: Requests for financial aid must be received before April 22, 2012.)
For students on financial aid, the Financial Aid Office will replace the portion of expected summer earnings lost due to participation in Sophomore College with either grants or loans, depending on the family financial situation. If you are accepted to Sophomore College, contact the Financial Aid Office at financialaid@stanford.edu when you return to campus in the fall. They will work with you to determine how loans or grants may be used to offset your lost earnings.

Application and Enrollment Policies and Procedures

Eligibility

Eligible students will be sophomores in the Autumn Quarter after the program. They will also meet the following eligibility requirements:

Have been enrolled for no more than three academic quarters
Be sophomores in Autumn Quarter 2012
Be in good academic standing
Have completed at least 36 units of academic work by the end of Spring Quarter 2012
Have an on-campus housing assignment for Autumn Quarter of sophomore year (2012-2013) and plan to be enrolled in the Autumn Quarter. No exceptions. (Students planning to enroll in Overseas Study for fall 2012 are eligible. These students must make living arrangements for the time period following students moving into fall housing, Friday, September 14, through the conclusion of the program, September 21.)
Admitted students who are found to have academic standing problems after completing Spring Quarter may have their admission revoked.

Application Process

Deadline for applying is Monday, April 9, 2012, 5 p.m.
Application web site times out after 20 minutes. Recommend drafting and revising essays on a computer and cutting-and-pasting them into the browser; save and return to your application within the 20-minute time frame.
Faculty review applications and select students. The better the instructor can understand your motivation and interest, the more likely he or she will be to keep you in mind when constructing the final class list.
Application status posted approximately April 30, 2012 after 5 p.m.

Selection Process

Selected students must accept or decline the offered spots by 5:00 p.m., Monday, May 7, 2012
Declining automatically removes student from class and invites first waitlisted student to participate.
Students selected to participate must complete a registration commitment form by 5 p.m. on May 7, 2012.
If you are on a waitlist, no action is necessary. Should a space open up in the class, you will be contacted.
Students who withdraw prior to May 30 incur a $300 withdrawal fee, if a waitlisted student accepts the spot.
Students who withdraw after May 30^th incur a $600 withdrawal fee regardless if a waitlisted student takes the spot.
All students who withdraw are charged the cost of all distributed reading materials if not returned to the program.
Exceptions to the withdrawal fee due to illness require a doctor’s letter. Any other circumstances must work with Lee West, Associate Director.

Enrollment

Students must be enrolled Autumn fall quarter of sophomore year.
Students receive 2 units of credit in their Sophomore College course. After students confirm acceptance into the seminar, they will receive notice on how to registrar for the summer course.

Student Commitment

Students are expected to be fully committed to Sophomore College. This means attending all class sessions, class field trips, and mandatory class or college-wide activities. Sophomore College participants cannot work a full- or part-time job or travel outside of required class activities during the program. Summer jobs must be completed before September Studies begins; September Studies participants cannot work at Stanford Sierra Camp, for example, which overlaps. Because of conflicts with required training schedules, RA and RCC roles preclude participation in Sophomore College, as do some other dorm staff positions. Any dorm staff positions should be disclosed as possible conflicts on your commitment form.

Students must arrive on campus on September 3 (Labor Day) between noon and 5 p.m. Students must remain on campus from September 3 until the professor no longer requires class sessions, class field trips, or mandatory class activities. Exceptions to this policy must be pre-approved by the faculty instructor and the Associate Director of September Studies.

As during the regular academic year, student conduct is guided by the Fundamental Standard and Honor Code. Admission to the program may be revoked at any point if a student is found to be ineligible or in violation of the Fundamental Standard or Honor Code.

Want to be a Student Staff member this September? Visit our Student Staff Opportunities page for more information.

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