College Bootcamp Helps Reduce College Drop-out Rate

Quantum U is an innovative eight-day summer college prep program that helps incoming college freshmen get ready for their new life in college. Better equipping new college students to handle the transition from high school to college can help reduce the college drop-out rate, which has been reported to be as high as 54 percent.

 Quantum U is, in effect, a college bootcamp that provides participants with learning and practical life skills that are critical to survival and success at the next level. Skills taught include techniques to manage time, energy, and finances, as well as extensive training in college-level communication, presentation, writing, and reading skills.

According to Kevin Davis, a Quantum U facilitator, the program is unique because, “Quantum U helps students transition from the attitude and skills of a youth to the attitude and skills of an adult. They learn to go from the mindset of ‘things happen to me’ to ‘I make things happen for me’.”

Quantum U accepts only 80 students a year from around the country. It is an outgrowth of SuperCamp, a learning and life skills summer camp for middle school and high school students that launched in 1982 and has graduated over 48,000 students worldwide. An important aspect of both SuperCamp and Quantum U is that students learn how to learn, meaning they discover their own learning style and they are taught several practical learning techniques in the areas of note-taking, studying and memorization.

While the overall goal of Quantum U is to prepare students to succeed in and graduate from college, there are many specific benefits a student gains from attending the boot camp, including:

·                        Better grades

·                        Less stress

·                        Clarity on choosing a major and a career direction

·                        Enhanced self-esteem and confidence

·                        Increased motivation and self-direction

·                        A new commitment to lifelong learning and success

·                        More maturity

·                         Greater interpersonal skills

From a parent’s perspective Quantum U offers the twofold benefit of, first, helping to protect the financial investment in a child's education and second, the peace of mind in knowing the child’s college experience will be a happier and healthier one.