Who May Apply

Academically talented high school students who are current sophomores or juniors at the time of the application deadline may apply to the Drexel University Computing Academy. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate academic achievement and an interest in exploring computer and information science by means of letters of recommendation, an essay describing what the applicant expects to gain from DUCA, and grade reports.

Selection Process

Application to DUCA requires a completed application package consisting of an application form, a written essay, a completed health form & evidence of insurance, student commitment, parent commitment, recommendations from a teacher and a counselor, and a transcript or other indication of GPA and test scores (if available.)

Application and recommendations may be done on-line via the Apply web page. The essay may be written and uploaded to the web site as well.

The required forms may be downloaded from the DUCA site, filled in and mailed in hard copy to:

DUCA Admissions
College of Information Science and Technology
Drexel University
3141 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-2494

Essay

Essay Format: 2-page maximum, typed/word-processed, double-spaced, letter-quality font no smaller than 12-point. Be sure to include your name at the top of each page. Uploaded essays are accepted in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Basic Criteria: competently written; fully developed; avoid cliches; demonstrate an interest in exploring technology and using it to articulate pursuits, ideas and information.

Competitive Criteria: Demonstrate excellent, mature writing skills; the presence of a voice and personal writing style; critical thinking; ownership of the ideas presented; self-awareness; a willingness to explore a variety of new ways to apply technology.

Academic Record

Basic Criteria: Strong transcript. Strong test scores (SAT minimum 1050), if available.

Competitive Criteria: Minimum G.P.A: 3.2. Overall, consistent academic strength. Student takes challenging courses and performs well.

Teacher/Counselor References

Basic Criteria: Rate candidate above average or excellent in most categories. Are generally positive.

Competitive Criteria: Rate candidate very strong, provide specific evidence of independence, initiative, ability to work with others, ability to accept and apply criticism, and strengths in areas relating to creativity and analytical processing.

Is DUCA Really Right for Me?

Being accepted to the Drexel University Computing Academy is a great honor. Participating in one is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Still, DUCA is not for everyone, and being selected to attend does not guarantee that this opportunity is right for you.

We highlight the following aspects of DUCA to help you understand more completely what participating in the program involves so that your decision to attend may be willful, carefully considered and well informed.

  1. DUCA is academically rigorous, and considerable demands will be placed on you both in and out of the classroom. Perhaps more significantly, you will be expected to manage the demands on your time independently and with little or no supervision or oversight.

    Further, by its design, DUCA provides no grades or other qualitative or comparative evaluation of your academic performance. If you are the sort of student who needs the pressure of external factors such as test scores and GPA to remain engaged and diligent, you might have trouble adjusting to the environment at DUCA.

  2. DUCA requires its participating students to operate under a fairly stringent set of rules and regulations. While living on your own and being away from your family for five weeks provides a level of autonomy, you may well have less freedom overall at DUCA than you do at home. Much of your time is planned out; much of what spare time you do have must be spent on academic work. Events, even those that are entirely extracurricular, are all mandatory. The geographic boundaries within which you are required to remain during your free time at the program are quite restrictive. During your free time, you are required to keep the staff informed of your whereabouts by use of a sign-out sheet.

    Restrictions on your behavior may well be more stringent at DUCA than they are at home. Your curfew at the program may be earlier. Students are never entirely free to come and go as they please. And while we go to great lengths to devise reasonable rules and enforce them uniformly and with common sense, some program rules may even seem arbitrary or unreasonable.

While very few students have been unhappy enough to leave DUCA voluntarily (although rules violations have led to a very few expulsions), a small number of students may find the abovementioned circumstances unduly stressful. We ask that you give them due consideration when deciding whether you want to accept the DUCA scholarship.

DUCA prides itself on putting together a program that provides a careful balance of work and leisure, academics and fun, and freedom and safety. We're confident that you will be surprised by how much fun you have at DUCA. At the same time, we point out the above issues so that you may make an informed decision to join us and commit yourself to that decision entirely.