Summer School is often seen as the pinnacle of the Junior Statesmen Foundation’s programs and the ultimate Junior State experience.  Currently offered at four different locations around the nation, (Stanford, Yale, Princeton, and Georgetown), Summer School is three to four weeks of
intensive education by college professors in courses like AP U.S. Government and Politics, Constitutional Law, and Foreign Policy.

Though the courses offered at each of the locations varies, each one is generally considered to be equivalent to a semester’s worth of work in a high school AP class.

Each location has its own distinctive character and has some aspect that separates it from the others, like Princeton’s Freshman Scholars program, or Georgetown’s excellent Speakers Program and frequent visits to Capitol Hill. The four-week Summer School programs (all those except Georgetown) have classes that meet for 85 hours in total, with a Speech and Communication course offered concurrently with the “major” course selected by applicants.  At Georgetown, classes meet for 100 hours in total, and omit the Speech and Communication course in favor of the Speakers Program and extra time on Capitol Hill.

Outside of the class-work, however, the Summer School programs offer an amazing opportunity for making new friends and experiencing a diversity of political views that truly cuts across the spectrum.  Since students at each of the four locations come from all over the nation, and all are highly interested in politics and government, the atmosphere is one that fosters an exchange of ideas and ideals with such breadth and depth that even the largest state conventions pale in comparison.