Junior IB Student Summers at Stanford

What classes did you take throughout the summer? Would you consider them more challenging than the IB classes at the high school? 

  I took abnormal psychology, language of film and yoga and meditation. I didn’t think the classes were necessarily hard; it was just a lot of work and the challenge was learning the subject matter and studying effectively. I’ve only been in IB for about a week, so I can’t really say much on comparing the two.

Did you have a favorite class? 

My favorite class was definitely abnormal psychology. It was really interesting and thought provoking.

How did you meet new people during the summer?

I met new people in my classes and in my dorm when I would hang out in the lounge.

Do you think you will continue to stay in touch with any friends you have made?

I have stayed in touch with a handful of people so far and I think we will keep in touch at least until we go to college.

Did you have a roommate? If so what was that experience like?

I did have a roommate, and it was really cool because there were kids from all over the world. My roommate, Chloe, was from China. She would FaceTime her family and none of them knew English, so she would speak in Chinese and she also taught me the Chinese alphabet. Sometimes it was difficult just because of the cultural differences and different customs between us, but overall, it was fun.

Take us through a typical day of classes and activities while attending the summer college.

I typically slept through breakfast, but I’d get up for class around 9:30 and I’d walk to psychology. The only reason I walked was because the main quad was so pretty and it was a nice way to start the day. After psychology, I’d go back to the dining hall for lunch and then ride my bike to yoga. After, I might go to a coffee shop with my friend and go fountain hopping, which is a big thing at Stanford. Sometimes we’d ride the Caltrain to San Francisco on a day off or ride our bikes to downtown Palo Alto for dinner. I’d do homework in my room and then would come hang out in the dorm lounge for a while before bed.