High school students looking for a taste of college before hitting higher education full time will have an opportunity this summer at Flathead Valley Community College.

The Summer Experience June 22-July 15 will provide Flathead and Lincoln county high school juniors and seniors with the chance to get college credit, do community service and engage in intramural activities with college students.

Beth Romain, the college’s program coordinator for dual enrollment, said the experience gives local high-schoolers a taste of what they could have in the future.

“It not only gives them some college credits which are transferable, but gives them a better focus on what their plans might be in the future,” she said. “There is a great benefit here.”

The best part for these students? 

The program is free for students in Flathead Valley Community College’s service district: Flathead and Lincoln counties. 

2015 will be the second year of the program, which is open to 100 students. These students will meet three days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) for a day of class, a day of a service-learning project, and a day of intramural activities.

“This program was initially set up for students who hadn’t had an opportunity to take Running Start,” Romain said.

Running Start is the high school/college crossover program that allows high school students to gain college credit during the school year. Students who do Summer Experience and Running Start could start with nine transferable college credits through Flathead Valley Community College while still in high school.

In 2014, 28 students participated in the pilot program. Of those students, 14 took fall and spring Running Start courses. 

“It was a smaller program last year, but we had some great feedback,” Romain said. “They valued that peer support.”

The high school students take courses with actual college students, giving a more accurate representation of college academic life than they might receive otherwise.

Students can choose between five courses for the 2015 Summer Experience: Public Speaking, Theater, College Writing, Math for Liberal Arts and Medical Terminology.

The deadline for application to the program is April 30. Acceptance into the program involves a month commitment, but provides tuition, textbooks and a lunch provided each day.

“We will give them a campus tour,” Romain said. “Show them how to add or drop classes. Just like the real college experience. I wish I had a program like this when I was going to school.”

Applications are available in the office of every area high school, at the college’s admissions office and online at www.fvcc.edu/summer-experience.html.