
After the commencement confetti settles each May, the Westchester campus heats up in preparation for LMU Summer Programs.
Every year, the program, hosted by Enrollment Management, invites eager and talented high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors to participate in two- and four-week academic programs. These programs are designed to give participants a taste of college-level academics and to show them what it means to embody the spirit of an LMU Lion.
“This year’s cohort of ‘Summer Lions’ is the largest in program history,” said Ashley Okimoto ‘06, director of early outreach programs at LMU. “Pre-college summer programs launched at LMU in 2016 with four academic courses. In 2024, we will host courses in thirteen thematic subjects across film and television, science and engineering, fine arts, business, and liberal arts disciplines.”
From check-in day – where they receive LMU swag, take an official Admission Tour, and bond with their new floormates over the shared nerves of “heading off to college” for the first time – to living in the residence halls and eating in the Lair, pre-college scholars are attracted to LMU’s summer programs for the introduction to LMU’s academic rigor, but like many undergraduates, truly find themselves falling in love with the campus community itself.
The full experience includes courses taught by LMU faculty and a small number of campus partners, meetings with counselors from Undergraduate Admission, workshops in networking and personal branding from Career and Professional Development, and the mentorship of nearly 40 LMU undergraduate and graduate students who plan community social activities, supervise the residence hall, and lead in the classroom as teaching assistants.
While students can choose from a mix of credit and non-credit offerings, all programs are structured to provide an introductory taste of college-level lectures and coursework. Most importantly, they mirror courses from many of LMU’s top-ranked undergraduate programs – majors that most participants hope to pursue one day.
“Pre-college programs have long been a way for prospective high school students to engage meaningfully with colleges and universities across the country,” Dr. Maureen Weatherall, vice provost for Enrollment Management, said. “As early, impactful outreach with prospective students becomes increasingly more important for both the student and the university, immersive programs like this help identify students for whom LMU is a strong institutional fit. We see many high-caliber candidates for undergraduate admission emerging from the pre-college program each year.”
On the weekend, participants are treated to the full Los Angeles experience, including a beach day and a trip to Disneyland. Each course also comes equipped with at least one academic field trip built into the curriculum. Depending on their area of study, this could be a tour of a local film studio for the actors, screenwriters, and filmmakers, local business drop-ins and networking for the entrepreneurs, or time spent in Marina Del Rey testing design projects built by the engineers.
Reggie Golightly ’22 was a member of LMU’s very first pre-college cohort in 2016. “The takeaway for me was getting to ‘rehearse’ college, getting to know faculty, peers, and fellow travelers,” he said. “Most importantly it allowed me to get to know myself a little deeper. That sense of self is something I took with me into college.”
“What I love most about this program is its ability to connect,” said Okimoto. “Students find a long-distance family in one another, bond with their undergraduate and graduate mentors, and network with our distinguished faculty. Regardless of where they ultimately go to college, it is a connection they carry with them long after they say goodbye to their summer on the bluff.”
To learn more about pre-college summer programs at LMU, visit summer.lmu.edu