Incoming Clemson freshmen can get a jump on the college experience

Published: May 19, 2011

CLEMSON — A new summer program at Clemson University will give a group of freshman students a head start on their university experiences without sacrificing their summer fun.
 
Freshmen who sign up for ClemsonQuest, a three-week residential program, will learn their ways around campus, start making friends, take a three-credit-hour course, kayak on Hartwell, go whitewater rafting, hike at Table Rock and other activities.
 
They also will take care of some of the “must-do” tasks that can make the freshman year experience seem especially hectic, like getting their laptop computers set up, starting their e-portfolios and taking required workshops on using the library, developing academic skills and making smart choices regarding alcohol.
 
“They will get a lot of things off their checklist,” said Elaine Richardson, director of Clemson’s Academic Success Center. “Our goal is to help the students get off to a good start.”
 
The ClemsonQuest students will be housed in the Clemson House residence hall as a living-learning community. Registration for this inaugural session of ClemsonQuest will be limited to 30 students.
 
The course to be offered for ClemsonQuest 2011 is ECON 211, Principles of Microeconomics, which will count towards graduation as either a required course or a general education course, depending on the student’s major.  
 
Russ Warmath, academic coach with the Academic Success Center, will serve as the ClemsonQuest coordinator. His assistant is Richard Cornett, a graduate student who is trained as an economics tutor and will lead study sessions.
 
ClemsonQuest was scheduled for the university’s Summer Minimester C, June 28-July 20 so that the students can take part in a new-student orientation session June 27-28, have a picnic at the South Carolina Botanical Garden on the 28th and start classes the next day. When the minimester is over, the students still will have a break before fall classes start Aug. 24.
 
In addition to normal summer school expenses — tuition and fees, housing and meals — ClemsonQuest students will pay a $350 program fee to cover all of the extra activities.
 
“It’s really a pretty good deal,” Richardson said. “If they were to do all these things on their own, it would cost them a lot more.”
 
More information is available on the web at http://www.clemson.edu/asc/clemsonquest/index.html.

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