The Summer Math Success Camp helps incoming students complete degrees in both the STEM and education fields. This free SUNY-funded opportunity sets Oswego apart from many other four-year institutions.
Math Success Camp is a one-week program that unfolds the week before school starts in the summer, said Casey Towne, the program's coordinator and a member of Oswego's math faculty.
Ryan Gelnett, a sophomore applies mathmatics major, described it as "a little transitioning point from high school to college."
The camp "brings in new students who are either transfer, freshman, or international," Towne said. "And they come in for one week of math instruction."
"It's getting an idea of how the classes are going to be," said Justin Olulenu, a freshman information science major.
After a three hour class in the morning, the camp has "activities where you get to mingle with other kids who have similar interests and majored with you there," said Will Banks, a freshman majoring in adolescence education/mathematics..
The camp also allows for "time around campus and downtown so they really know what's going on and they feel very acclimated," Towne explained.
"It really just gets you into that college thought process," Gelnett said.
"I was nervous moving in at my first year, going to math camp, having that extra week where I got to go see some classes, meet some teachers, and like, I'm a math major with it," Banks noted. "So like I got to see the whole department a week early. Which helped so much moving in because once the actual classes started, I already had a week ahead of everyone else."
"I was thinking Calc 1 in the fall," said Anisha Kc, a freshman computer science major. "And everybody was saying that it was saying that it was going to be like a really hard class, like even if you did good in math in high school that you're going to struggle. And it scared me. And when they said hey, we are offering math camp, and it's free, everything's paid for, and you don't have to worry about anything when you're going to be taking the classes. And I thought that's a great idea."
"So Math Success Camp is really supposed to support our students who have math in their major and they're not real excited about it," Towne said. "So this extra time makes them more comfortable in their math placement and their curriculum, and also moving in early gives them a really good time to adjust."
"You get to move right into your room you don't have to move any of your stuff after, you get you go right in your room, you get your key, you meet your RA, you get to meet all the people at the desk," said Nicole Sedlock, a junior childhood education/mathematics major. "Which are very helpful, they help you move in, when everyone else is moving in you get to just sit in your room and just relax."
"I didn't realize how much of a perk that was, until I saw moving day, and I saw everybody trying to move in, and I was like I am so glad I moved in a week early. It made everything easier basically," Kc said.
"I would strongly recommend Math Camp because it just gives you a good footing, introduces you to new people who are in a similar situation as you," Olulenu said.
"It was an opportunity unlike any other college would offer me," Gelnett said.
"It's a great transition period," Sedlock said.
"If your really not comfortable about like moving into your first semester, and your worried about it, go to Math Camp," Banks said.
For more information, visit the Math Success Camp website.