Exploring the COSMOS

Deirdre Newman

The last thing 14-year-old Jacqueline Jung wanted to do this

summer was spend a month with other teenagers who only wanted to talk

about math.

Bor-ing!

So Jacqueline was not thrilled when her parents told her that

instead of cheerleading camp, she would be attending an intensive

math and science summer school called COSMOS at UC Irvine.

The outgoing Ventura teenager said she was pleasantly surprised

when she arrived on campus last month and found other students like

herself who wanted to challenge themselves mathematically while

having fun outside of class.

In fact at a brunch before graduation on Saturday, it was evident

that saying good-bye to her newfound friends while exchanging e-mail

addresses and CD’s was an emotional experience for Jacqueline.

“I have so many memories,” Jacqueline said. “It’s one of those

things I’ll remember forever.”

This is the third summer COSMOS has been offered at UC Irvine. The

program, taught by UCI professors, aims to motivate students with a

proven aptitude in math and science who want to immerse themselves in

a stimulating college experience. Out of 218 applicants, 175 made it

into this year’s summer school, which is funded by the state. To

realistically mimic the college experience, students live on-campus

throughout the month-long program.

The classes are divided into clusters with titles like “Computer

Game Development; The Power of Programming” and “Biology/Neuroscience

-- Exploring the Human Brain; Frontiers in Chemistry.”

The tuition is a modest $1,100, which enables the attendance of

students who couldn’t otherwise afford a program of similar caliber,

said Marjorie DeMartino, director. Scholarships are also available.

Students take classes every day for about six hours and complete

homework as well. On Saturdays, they get to take field trips to

locales like the beach, Magic Mountain and Catalina Island.

Lilly Allen, 15, came all the way from New Mexico to attend COSMOS

for the second year in a row. Last year she went to the same program

at UC Davis (UC Santa Cruz offers it as well).

Lilly said the main reason she came back for more COSMOS was to

enhance her chances of getting into the college of her choice.

“I want to go to UCSD and since this is such a prestigious class,

I think taking a California summer school will improve my chances

greatly,” Lilly said. “I also think it will help improve my scores on

the SAT and ACT.”

For the UCI professors, COSMOS is a refreshing opportunity to be

surrounded by a sea of passionate students, said Rocky Gipson, who

taught neurobiology and chemistry.

“It’s inspirational as an instructor,” Gipson said. ‘You rarely

see so many students with so much enthusiasm.”