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West Philly High School Senior Takes Math 103 at Penn Credit: Thomas Munson , Thomas Munson

Syeda Islam was a half hour late to her first Math 103 class this semester because she was lost in David Rittenhouse Laboratory. She had to ask for an extension on the first homework assignment because she couldn’t figure out how to access it on MyMathLab — a first day scenario that might sound familiar to any new undergraduate.

The difference is that Syeda is a senior in high school. In fact, she is the only student from West Philadelphia High School taking a class at Penn this semester.

The Young Scholars program through the School of Liberal and Professional Studies invites high school juniors and seniors from around the city to apply. If accepted, they enroll as an undergraduate in a non-degree program in classes ranging from anthropology to political science.

Fortunately, that first day hasn’t done much to dampen Syeda’s spirit. As she talked about her aspirations to be an engineer and hopes to go to Penn since she moved to West Philadelphia from Bangladesh a year ago, her smile never left her face.

Syeda’s situation is an interesting one: She is 19 years old and should be a sophomore in high school if things had gone as planned. Her visa came through last minute, so she didn’t have the chance to take the international university admission exam — called the TOEFL — before she came to the United States from Bangladesh. That left her with the choice to either go to a community college or to repeat the last two years of high school.

She chose high school for the chance to improve her English as well as to get recommendation letters and scholarship opportunities to attend a four-year university. “I was frustrated because I had to repeat my grade, I was a little bit angry,” she said. “My dream was to go to UPenn.”

Now she has the chance to because the Young Scholars are made to feel like traditional undergrads. For example, they get an academic advisor and receive a PennCard with access to Penn facilities like Van Pelt Library.

Director of Non-Degree Programs at the College of Liberal and Professional Studies Eli Lesser explained that most times professors wouldn’t even know if they had a high school student among their class. “They’re LPS undergraduates,” he said. “They’re qualified to be here.”

Juniors and seniors from public or charter schools in Philadelphia are able to take a class for no tuition through LPS, although the program is open to other students outside the district for a little over $3,000 per class for 2014-15 .

For Syeda, the chance to attend tuition-free was a major reason to participate. “We just settled here,” she said. “If I have to pay something like a thousand or two thousand I don’t think my parents could afford it right now.”

Director of Moelis Access Science through the Netter Center Joanna Chae met Syeda when she participated in the science fair. She also had the chance to work in Penn laboratories as part of activities in her chemistry class.

Chae learned about the opportunity quite close to the deadline and then offered to help Syeda with her application. “The time was right and we had the right student,” she said, noting her high GPA and glowing recommendations from teachers.

Chae noted Syeda’s unique qualities that made her stand out for the opportunity.

“She’s someone that has always accepted a challenge,” Chae said. “It’s not often you find students who are so hopeful and motivated.”

While Penn hosts many programs targeted specifically at students close to Penn, Syeda is the only one from her high school, located nine blocks from Penn’s campus.

Manager of Summer Sessions and High School Programs at LPS Lauren More explained that the enrollment from certain schools fluctuates year to year, though the program has seen overall growth in the past few years.

“It’s a great way for high school students to supplement the curriculum,” More said. “It’s a pipeline to the University for students who don’t understand the college process.”

Young Scholars doesn’t actively recruit for the program they way other organizations do toward schools in this area. Young Scholars relies mostly on organizations they work with, like Upward Bound and the Netter Center, to spread the word about the opportunity to qualified students.

The program criteria are rigorous. The average applicant has a 3.3 GPA, strong test scores, writing ability and recommendation letters — possible barriers for some students.

For someone like Syeda who is struggling with her SAT score — the critical reading section is challenging for her, she said — a program like Young Scholars could be tough to get in to.

Lesser and More both said that Young Scholars is open and wants to enroll qualified students — there’s no cap to the enrollment each year.

“There’s a good developing synergy between the program and Netter,” Lesser said.

Because Netter works extensively with students from West Philadelphia, they can be a good channel in which to reach students for Young Scholars, Chae explained.

Chae said she has been asking around to her Penn volunteers to look out for students — capable, motivated and interested, Chae said — who would be a good fit for the program for the future.

As for now, Syeda has told a friend about the program and Chae said she is working to help the friend apply for next semester. If students maintain a 3.0 GPA in the fall they are automatically allowed back in the spring to take another course. Syeda is focused on passing her Calc exam on the 16th and hoping to take Math 104 in the spring.

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