Moving away to college is an exciting but daunting time for young adults. Depending on the student, they may be moving away from all that is familiar to them. This can be very challenging and college does not generally offer a structured program to help students adjust to a brand-new place. Fortunately, Northwest College Support offers the NWCS Summer program can help students from across the U.S. to be more comfortable moving away from home. This can help them to thrive in college where they may have struggled before.
What Is the NWCS Summer Program?
The NWCS Summer Program is a specially designed program for incoming freshmen. It is a nine-week program where students travel from all over the U.S. to Coeur D'Alene, ID. During their stay, they attend college classes and gain life skills. Additionally, they work with a mental health professional and go on community outings. When students leave the program, they have college credits, tools, and new experiences. These help them to be successful when they jump into college.
NWCS Summer Program Will Help Students Thrive in College
Students from all over the U.S. travel to Coeur D'Alene, ID. In doing so, they set themselves up for success in college through the summer program at Northwest College Support. The structure of the program itself helps students to learn skills. However, the fact that the program is located in Idaho, and may require a student to travel, can also help them in college. It serves as a practice round for going to college with substantially more structure and support.
Structured Programs Will Help Students Learn Life Skills
When a student goes away to college they are often living more independently than they ever have before. Life skills like problem-solving, managing their own schedule, and communication skills are very important in their ability to be successful in college and live independently as an adult. Research has found that life skills improve self-esteem, coping, and social connections. Fortunately, the NWCS Summer Program can help students to build these skills while practicing them in a real-life setting.
Many students are thrown into living independently when they go to college. The experience can be very overwhelming. It can cause a student to shut down and possibly struggle with getting to class, completing their work, and caring for their needs. However, NWCS offers a supported and structured environment. The structure makes it more likely for students to be successful in learning important life skills without feeling overwhelmed.
Traveling to Idaho Can Help Students Across the US
Many students in the NWCS Summer Program travel from across the U.S. to Coeur D'Alene, ID to participate in the program. This location means having time away from home. For many students, it is their first extended period that they are not living at home. Students live in dormitory-like settings, which are distinctly different than their space at home. Therefore, the experience is unique while being very similar to what a student will experience in college.
The amount of change that a student experiences when moving away to college is substantial. As a result, students are bound to have new challenges that they aren't sure how to manage. Since the NWCS Summer Program is nine weeks, it provides an adequate amount of time to address the unique challenges that a student faces. Additionally, as the program is often far from a student's home, it creates an environment where difficult situations will naturally come up.
Fortunately, when these situations occur, students are in a supported and structured environment. Therefore, they have coaches and counselors to lean on. This means that they are more likely to move through difficult situations and come out on the other side having learned something. These skills then directly impact their ability to manage similar situations when they enter their freshman year.
Creating New Friendships
For many students who have lived in their hometown for their high school years or potentially their entire life, their friend group is set rather firmly. These friendships may or may not persist. However, their experience in college will likely bring new friends into a student's life. For many students, this will be a new experience. Many young adults have not had to make new friends for a very long time.
When students from across the U.S. travel to the NWCS Summer program, they are living in Coeur d'Alene, ID without friendships and relationships that have a long history. Therefore, they will need to make new friends. Being pushed to make new relationships is hard. However, going through the process helps students learn important skills that will be necessary for college. Additionally, they can help a student beyond college. This is because, regardless of where they go, social skills help a student to build new relationships that support and improve both their personal and professional lives.
For students living in the U.S., NWCS's other programs might not be the right fit. However, the summer program is beneficial no matter where the person is from. Traveling to Coeur d'Alene, ID to attend the NWCS Summer Program can help students from all across the U.S. to build skills that will help them thrive in college no matter where they are heading next. If you have a teen who you believe will struggle with the transition into college, this program might be a good fit. To learn more about the NWCS Summer Program or speak with a staff member about any questions or concerns, call us today at (877) 485-2776.