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a summer residential academic program for rising 8th–12th grade students
FivePoints
FivePoints Experiencea summer residential academic program for rising 8th–12th grade students
Mass Media
Entrepreneurship
Forensic Science
Psychology
contact us: 800.883.2540 www.union.edu/fivepoints
FivePoints offers a meaningful summer experience for high school students who want to sample college life, unwind from the school year and begin to explore the next step in their education. FivePoints is a college-based, residential, academic program for rising 8th-12th grade students; as such, it takes advantage of myriad opportunities both on and off campus. Our two-week sessions begin on a Sunday and end on a Friday.
Students choose one of eight academic tracks on which to focus for a two-week session. The program integrates classroom projects, inventive activities, personal coaching, commu-nity building and field trips into a fun and powerful learning experience. Our combination of strong academic programs, fun field trips, a collegiate setting and a young, vibrant staff foster a rich and rewarding environment. At FivePoints, learning naturally unfolds in the context of a community that thrives both inside and outside of the classroom.
In addition to classroom and on-campus activities, all students take at least two field trips during each session. On Saturday, everyone visits Lake George, an amusement park or other nearby summer destination for a full day of fun in the sun. On the next Wednesday, all stu-dents head to New York City to spend a day with their class on an academic exploration.
FivePoints teachers are passionate about learning and teaching, and their passion spreads to the whole class. Our program engages students and cultivates a powerful drive to explore. This experience supports students in their academic growth when they return to school in the fall – reinvigorated and excited about learning. When students discover that learning can be fun and satisfying, the tasks necessary for succeeding in school and beyond no longer feel like ‘work.’ At FivePoints, learning is natural and enjoyable. This summer, we are excited to offer the courses listed below.
Creative Writing
Comics and Storyboarding
Architecture 101
Toy and Entertainment Engineering
Session 1: July 6 – July 18 Session 2: July 20 – August 1
Your Campus HomeWelcome to Union College! Nationally ranked and with over two hundred years of experi-ence, there is no better destination for you to explore new ideas and for you to enjoy your hard-earned summer vacation.
Designed to encourage academic exploration and community living, our 130-acre campus is a centerpiece of the Union experience. With a beautiful main quad, eight acres of formal gardens and woodland, and a remarkable assortment of buildings and facilities, our campus is a catalyst for personal growth.
Students attend classes in one of our interactive classroom and laboratory buildings. Many of these are recently renovated and equipped for computer-intensive instruction. Union College offers everything from multimedia auditoriums to collaborative classrooms to inti-mate seminar rooms.
Building a strong sense of community is at the heart of the FivePoints experience. Living to-gether on a campus and participating in program activities helps build life-long friendships. FivePoints promotes a vibrant intellectual community in which students eagerly share their passions. The small class sizes and dorm-living foster a community in which students respect each other and are supported in expanding their learning and vision.
Every summer, students from across the country and around the world travel to Union College for this unique, two-week experience. As many FivePoints students are new to the program, our staff work hard to match roommates appropriately. We use the information from the online student profile to pair roommates based on age, grade and interests.
Our staff comprises our Program Director, Academic Director, Director of Residential Life, Teachers and Resident Advisors (RAs). The Program Director is responsible for all aspects of the program, ensuring that the students are safe, having fun and learning each day. The Academic Director oversees the academic growth of the students and makes sure that students and staff are well-supported in their classrooms and coursework. The Director of Residential Life oversees the residential aspect of the program, ensuring that students are growing well as a community and that there are plenty of engaging activities.
Our teachers and resident advisors are often the highlight of our program. They are bright, energetic students and young professionals who have experience teaching and working in a residential environment. Year after year, our teachers and RAs receive rave reviews in the students surveys. They make the FivePoints experience fantastic!
Your Community
Sports and ActivitiesFree time invites students to make friends, try new things, exercise, relax, explore and have fun. Our staff of resident advisors ensures that students have well-planned afternoon and evening activities which offer staff and students a chance to get to know each other out-side of the classroom.
Whether its ultimate frisbee on the quad, game tournaments, open mic night, or our end of session dance and talent show, the RAs are always organizing plenty of entertaining options. After a day of stretching their minds, students look forward to going outside, be-ing active and enjoying social activities with friends. In addition to sports and games in the afternoon, we offer relaxed entertainment in the evenings.
The combination of residential living, exciting coursework, and campus activities and events give students a taste of college life. This experience gives students a chance to learn about themselves as much as they learn about others. It is an exciting, rewarding experience that they carry with them into college and beyond.
New York CityEach session, all students spend a full day in New York City on an academic field trip. We board air-conditioned coach buses and head to Manhattan as a group. Each class visits des-tinations that directly relate to the course of study.
Previous destinations have included a behind-the-scenes tour of Bloomberg LP’s world headquarters, the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dancing Diablo design and animation studios, Thunder Dog toy studios, Cougar Trading Company, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, and much more! In addition to our academic out-ings, students also have the chance to visit some of the City’s world famous landmarks and attractions. After touring, visiting, talking, and seeing, students have dinner in the City and head back to campus. The New York City field trip is always a FivePoints favorite.
On the Saturday in the middle of the session, we spend the day relaxing in the sun at a popular nearby location. Amusement parks and natural attractions are right around the corner, and Lake George is right up the road. Lake George offers beaches, boardwalks, concerts and entertainment, games, miniature golf, fireworks, and, of course, hot dogs and ice cream. Super Saturday is a chance for students to go off-campus, hang out with friends and enjoy the summer time.
Super Saturday Fun
Academic Discovery
7.30 – 8.30 am
8.45 – 9.00 am
9.15 – 10.15 am
10.30 – 11.45 am
Noon – 1.00 pm
1.15 – 2.30 pm
2.45 – 4.00 pm
4.15 – 5.15 pm
5.30 – 6.30 pm
6.45 – 8.00 pm
8.15 – 11.00 pm
11.15 pm
Breakfast
Morning Meeting
Class Session 1
Class Session 2
Lunch
Class Session 3
Class Session 4
Activities / Free Time
Dinner
Evening Options
Activities/ Free Time
Hall Check
7.30 – 8.30 am
8.45 – 9.00 am
9.15 – 10.15 am
10.30 – 11.45 am
Noon – 1.00 pm
1.15 – 2.30 pm
2.45 – 4.00 pm
4.15 – 5.15 pm
5.30 – 6.30 pm
6.45 – 8.00 pm
8.15 – 11.00 pm
11.15 pm
Breakfast
Morning Meeting
Class Session 1
Class Session 2
Lunch
Afternoon Options
Class Session 3
Activities/ Free Time
Dinner
Special Events
Activities/ Free Time
Hall Check
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sample daily schedule
The academic program at FivePoints is remarkably different from other summer program. FivePoints’ staff facilitates experiences that build on students’ existing interests and guides the development of new skills and passions. Our classes foster a love of learning, and our teachers lead students through hands-on projects that incorporate a number of key skills such as planning, collaboration and presentation.
FivePoints distinguishes itself by offering a very focused academic program. Throughout the two weeks, students focus in-depth on a single subject. Students initiate new explorations and achieve meaningful discoveries. All students have the chance to present to peers and staff at the closing ceremonies.
In addition to our courses, we offer evening seminars on a variety of topics. Our evening seminars are extended forums for connecting the FivePoints community to the world around us. Teachers choose stimulating topics based on student needs and interests. Past topics have included “College Choice” and “The politics of South Park.” Students are intro-duced to multiple perspectives on pertinent issues and guided to develop their own views through a public forum.
To create an environment of academic discovery, we add relevant seminars to engaging coursework and offer plenty of opportunities for fun and relaxation to open and refresh the mind.
EntrepreneurshipThis course is an introduction to entrepreneurship as a way through which people express their passion. We teach the basic skills and knowledge necessary to create a business, and we cover topics in business, economics, and entrepreneurship.
We start by examining the elements of successful entrepreneurship. We introduce areas like finance and accounting, human resources, management, sales and marketing, and business operations. We also consider the risks, benefits and goals of business activities. Next, we look at entrepreneur stories. Students learn about the characteristics of many successful entre-preneurs and the key actions that led to the success of their businesses.
As all of our curricula are project-based, students round out the session by applying what they have learned through creating their own business. They outline the critical factors, develop a business plan, list assessment tools and project how the business will be sustained in the market. Students prepare a presentation for our end-of-session symposium.
This interactive class gives students the skills to not only navigate and assess traditional and contemporary modes of mass media, but also to create their own forms through the class web log and FivePoints Zine. We frame our class in media literacy and discuss how the media influences public opinion and culture.
Students create a class blog and update it daily. They shape its direction and create all content. In the context of both online and print journalism, students discuss the role of the journalist. What are the responsibilities and ethics surrounding these forms of mass media? How do the opportunities of the Internet, world-wide audience and immediate access shape these responsibilities? Our students learn about the actions and consequences of pro-viding content, and how to share opinions, information and entertainment in a responsible and appropriate format.
Throughout the course, students also create a magazine from the ground up. Working hands-on with concept, design, layout and content. Students print the magazine and dis-tribute it at the end of the session. It is a great take-home for all the students!
Mass Media Communications and Journalism
This course is perfect for anyone who has ever wondered about why people act or think the way they do! The aim of this course is to expose students to a broad spectrum of topics that encompass the field of Psychology. After grasping the fundamentals of Psychology as a science, students delve into three of the most interesting areas of Psychology: Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology and Cognition.
Students first learn about the field’s scientific underpinnings; they learn the components of an experiment and how to recognize valid research. They also plan, conduct and analyze their own experiments. Moving on to Social Psychology, students learn how culture affects one’s view of the self, how social interactions vary, how people affect attitudes and actions of others, and the psychology of attraction.
Through Abnormal Psychology, students learn about the various kinds of psychiatric disor-ders and how a psychiatrist would address them. Our study of Cognition shows students how the mind processes information and how people remember events as well as explores the biological mechanisms of memory and the phenomena of visual sensation and percep-tual illusion. Students receive a well-rounded introduction to Psychology. Through the array of material covered, students are also able to hone in on specific interests they may like to pursue in the future.
Hands-on experiments and crime scene investigations supplemented by interactive lectures provide the backbone of our Forensic Science class. Our multidisciplinary approach encom-passes not only biology, physics, and other sciences, but also art, law and writing. Using simulated and authentic data, students collect and examine fingerprints, analyze bloodstain patterns, and reconstruct and solve crimes.
Our Forensics Science class is held in the laboratory. Here, students practice many tools and techniques for collecting and analyzing evidence. They learn to dust for fingerprints, collect samples, locate bomb fragments, cast dies, and decode the clues left by foot prints, dental marks, and splatter patterns. They use the microscopes and other lab equipment to inter-pret the evidence.
Students practice their techniques through reconstructing and deconstructing mock crime scenes. They also learn how to document evidence for criminal trial cases. In a brief look at Criminal Law, students explore how criminal law applies to Forensic Science and how the Constitution and law affect their discipline.
Last summer students visited the New York State Crime Lab where they toured the facilities, explored new technology and participated in a question and answer session. Our course keeps students busy and engaged, learning the many techniques and applications of foren-sic science.
Psychology
Forensic Science
Comics and StoryboardingLearn the full process of how to create compelling, professional comics. The goal of our course is to empower students to tell their own stories in a unique form that requires them to identify and express the key points in a narrative. This art of storyboarding is a skill that serves students in everything from writing to presentations, from graphic novels to film. This flexible class does not require students to have previous drawing experience; we simply require eagerness to learn and the willingness to create.
The medium of sequential art is apparently simple, but students learn to recognize its nu-ances in addressing questions including: what techniques to do artists use to tell stories through the combination of word and picture, and how are they different from other storytelling methods? What role have comic books from the United States played in world culture? Why are Japanese comics, or Manga, becoming so popular? How is sequential art world-wide transcending old barriers to express resonant political, artistic and intellectual messages?
Using legendary artist Will Eisner’s treatises on the topic, as well as works from creators who draw from diverse genres, genders, ethnicities and nationalities, Comics and Story-boarding steeps students in the immense power of visual storytelling.
FivePoints’ Creative Writing course offers guidance to all aspiring writers, regardless of experience. Students read a variety of short texts, and are encouraged to journal every day and share their work in a relaxed and supportive environment. Whether meeting at the library, in the classroom, or in a shady spot on campus, this class focuses on helping students find their voices and articulate their ideas in written format.
Creative Writing is also a good choice for students who need to work on their writing skills and mechanics; students gain the ability to express themselves more clearly and elegantly through exposure to the technical side of the English language. We make mechanics enjoy-able to learn because our writing projects are always creative. Imagination is welcomed and fostered, helping students discover their inner voices through whatever styles they choose.
Each session includes a mix of activities and projects, ranging from poetry readings to improvisational free writes, from observation and journaling to collaborative projects with other classes like Mass Media or Comics and Story-boarding.
Creative Writing
Toy & Entertainment EngineeringTeen toys like gaming devices, robotics and specialty sports equipment; the rides at amuse-ment parks and water parks; the experience of specialty theme parks - collectively, the creation of these products is known as Toy and Entertainment Engineering. It is one of the most fast-paced - and fun! - niches of the Industrial Design discipline, and it is a great way for students to be introduced to the process and skills of 3-dimensional design.
In this course, students learn the basic design principles behind some of their favorite toys and entertainment experiences. They also learn the basic manufacturing and engineering technologies that make these products possible. Then they dive into a number of projects that allow them to explore and create their own design ideas.
Students start with a few short projects then launch into a longer, final project that they present at the end of the session. After describing a project overview, students assemble market, audience and inspiration boards. They learn how to approach the project and begin generating ideas. They are shown how to communicate their ideas on paper through concept sketches and storyboards. Then, they bring their two-dimensional sketches into three dimensions. Students learn how to build basic models and how to use these models to express and refine their design decisions.
The class remains hands-on throughout. By the end of the session, they assemble their work into a presentation and portfolio piece that not only shows-off their final ideas, but docu-ments the process behind their work.
The practice of Architecture has grown from the dynamics among needs such as shelter, safety and community to classical design to the Bauhaus school to postmodernism. The study of Architecture is a fascinating blend of social science, art, technology, engineering, politics, history and philosophy – and the resulting structures seek to manipulate light, space, volume and texture in addressing both abstract and functional needs.
Students in this course are introduced to the basic principles, history and modern questions of the subject. They work through both short and long projects in exploring architectural design and setting. In each project, students are given a specific site for their work. They learn the basics of drafting their ideas and building models to describe the spaces they en-vision. Students do not need any experience in the subject, nor do they need to be expert mathematicians or artists. The class is based on understanding theory, testing designs, and experimenting with creative explorations.
If you are fascinated by the design of buildings and spaces and are ready for hands-on activities in the field of architecture - this course is a perfect fit.
Architecture 101
Application and Tuition Admissions are rolling and subject to class size. We do not require letters of recommen-dation, transcripts or essays from students to attend FivePoints. Our application process is entirely online, and applications will be accepted until the program is sold out or one week before the desired session start date. As space is limited, it is highly recommended that all students complete their online application as soon as possible to reserve a seat.
TO ENROLL
Step 1 - Online Application and Deposit
Go online to http://www.union.edu/fivepoints and click “Register Now.” Select your course and session, and enter the required information. A per student, per session, non-re-fundable $500 deposit is required with each application and is payable through our secure online system via credit card or e-check.
Upon completion of Step 1, you will receive a detailed welcome pack email. This will arrive in your inbox on the same day that you register. The email includes a PDF attachment with important program information including rules and regulations, all forms, directions to campus and a list of what to bring. The email also includes a link to your online student profile (Step 2).
Step 2 - Online Student Profile and Final Payment
Go online to http://www.union.edu/fivepoints and click “Student Profile.” You may also log into your account to update or add to your student profile at any time. The student profile provides us with important information that we use to make room and hall as-signments and to properly prepare for each student’s health and safety at our program. To submit final payment, visit the website and click “Account Login.” Please make sure to complete all information and payment by the June 1 deadline.
JUNE 1 DEADLINE
Your student profile and final payment must be submitted no later than June 1. Failure to submit this information by this date will result in a late registration fee and may affect the student’s eligibility for admission to the program. All health forms, provided in your welcome pack email, must be completed and faxed or mailed to us by June 1. All other forms should be presented to the FivePoints staff on registration day.
Mail all health forms to: Health Office, FivePoints at Union College 807 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308
LATE REGISTRATION
Students applying after June 1 may incur a $100 late registration fee. Final payment and all student profile information and health forms must be completed at least one week before their session begins.
TUITION AND FEES
Basic Tuition - $2,395 Basic tuition covers room, all on-campus meals and activities, course materials, facilities and field trip transportation.
Field Trip Account - $100 Each session features two field trips. Before each trip, $50 will be issued to each students to cover two meals and any personal spending.
Non-Refundable Deposit - $500 To apply to FivePoints, a deposit of $500 per student per session is required with your online registration. The deposit is non-refundable and will be applied to your full tuition.
OPTIONAL SERVICES AND EVENTS
Airport Transportation Service - $100 one-way, $195 round-trip We offer airport pick-up and drop-off service from Albany International Airport (ALB). Union College provides or arranges for all vehicles and drivers. FivePoints staff members escort students to and from campus. Detailed instructions on how to request this service are provided in the welcome pack email. Student itineraries and payment must be submitted no later than the June 1 deadline.
Optional Event - $75 Optional events are fun excursions or activities that vary from summer to summer. Detailed descriptions of these events and instructions on how to enroll are provided in the welcome pack email.
REFUND POLICY
Withdrawal on or before June 1 - All tuition, including any additional charges will be refunded excluding the non-refundable $500 deposit.
Withdrawal after June 1 - All tuition, including any additional charges, for any student who withdraws or is dismissed for any reason, will not be refunded, as the school must honor financial commitments based on expected enrollment.
contact us: 800.883.2540 www.union.edu/fivepoints
FAQsIs FivePoints like school? What are the requirements for application?
FivePoints staff understand the demands currently put on students and the resulting stress many young adults now experience. We offer a no-pressure learning environment without quizzes, homework or grades. We have designed the program to be a fun, relaxing way to spend two-weeks exploring new ideas. Likewise, we do not require letters of recommenda-tion, transcripts or essays to attend FivePoints. Our only requirement is a positive attitude and a willingness to try.
Will it be fun?
Yes! In their coursework, students have the opportunity to work hands-on with projects and participate in real-life applications of their lessons. This combined with field trips, evening activities and events, a college setting and community living, makes FivePoints a lasting and memorable experience.
What is the student profile and what else is in the welcome pack email?
The welcome pack email arrives in your inbox the same day that you complete the first step of the online registration process. The welcome pack email includes important program information and an attached PDF with guidelines, direction and forms. All health forms must be completed and mailed to the Health Office by the June 1 deadline. All other forms should be presented to program staff on registration day.
The welcome pack email also includes a link to the online student profile. This is the second step of the registration process and must be completed by June 1. The student profile consists of a series of questions about each student and is designed to help our staff match roommates, create activities and design coursework tailored to the needs and personalities of our students. The student profile also provides us with important health information so that we may best prepare for the safety and well-being of our students.
How supervised are the students while attending FivePoints?
Safety is our number one priority at FivePoints. All staff live in the residence halls to pro-vide 24-hr supervision and availability to the students. Throughout the day, students may participate in a variety of supervised activities tailored to their coursework and interests. With a staff of experienced, highly trained teachers and RAs, FivePoints provides the neces-sary supervision to ensure the safety and well-being of our students at all times.
