University College | Arts & Sciences

Washington University's Hilltop campus is located in a quiet, tree-lined suburban neighborhood seven miles west of downtown St. Louis.  You'll almost always see people out walking, jogging, or biking.

As a Summer Scholar, you will live in one of our secure modern residence halls with other members of the program and residential staff.  There are study rooms, kitchenettes, laundry facilities, floor lounges, and a computer lab available for use in the building.  The outer doors to all residence halls are kept locked 24 hours a day. Living with you in the residence hall will be six Resident Advisors (RAs) who will be available for advice and information, planning and participating in social activities, and seeing that the rules and regulations of the program are maintained. Our RA's are Washington University students or recent graduates who have had both experience and training in the kind of counseling and advice students often need. Also living in the hall is an adult Hall Director who oversees the staff and the residential aspects of the program. Because we believe residential life is a valuable part of the university experience and plays a key role in the overall flavor of the Summer Scholars Program, all students admitted to the program must live on campus for the full five-week session. Students may leave campus overnight if necessary with the written authorization of their parents.

A variety of food choices is available in the student center and other campus locations. You will be allotted a certain amount of money, programmed into your Student ID card, and will "purchase" meals by presenting your card to the cashier, who will deduct the appropriate amount of money from your card. There are vegetarian selections at all meal locations, but please note that specially prepared Kosher meals are not available in the summer. All meal locations on campus close by 8:00 p.m. during the summer months, so many scholars like to have a small stash of munchies available in their rooms.

One of the best parts of the Summer Scholars Program is the people you meet and what you do outside of class. As a Scholar, you will spend approximately 16-20 hours a week in class. Remaining time is free for you to organize as you wish around studying for class, writing papers, doing laundry, socializing, etc. There are trips and social events, but also plenty of unscheduled time where you can get to know Washington University and the other students spending the summer here.

Resident Advisors, who are especially knowledgeable about the University and about St. Louis lead outings, arrange social events, and make sure that the common life serves the needs of all. There is one large outing each weekend (Six Flags, float trip, Cardinals baseball game, etc.) and occasional social events scheduled on weekday evenings. You may leave the campus during the day as long as you sign out and back in with the duty RA. If you plan to be gone overnight, we must have a signed parental consent form telling us who you are with and when you will be back. We also have a curfew, which we diligently enforce: 11:00 pm on weeknights, and midnight on weekends.

As a High School Summer Scholar, you will have access to immediate medical treatment during any illness or emergency that occurs while attending the University. The University Health Service is staffed with a physician and nurse until 3:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. Doctor visits are $30, payable directly to the University Health Service at the time of service. Medication and lab fees if necessary are additional costs, also payable at the time of service. Scholars are given a properly coded receipt upon payment for submission to their private insurance company for reimbursement directly to them. If a student becomes ill after Health Service hours and, in the opinion of the staff, requires medical assistance, we will contact Emergency Services through the emergency room of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, part of the Washington University Medical Center. You would be billed directly for emergency services by the hospital.

The director of the Disability Resource Center assists students with hearing, visual, orthopedic, learning, or other disabilities. Services include, but are not limited to, readers, note-takers, tutoring, counseling, appropriate academic accommodations (e.g., alternate testing conditions), and referral to community resources. You may contact this office at (314) 935-4062 (voice or TTY).