Jan. 28, 2022, should have been one of the happiest days of my life. The day had been filled with anxiety as my friends and I awaited our admission decisions from the University of Michigan. When I got in, I was ecstatic — until I noticed a detail on my admission letter. Even though I had applied to the fall 2022 term, and only the fall 2022 term, I had been accepted into the summer 2022 term. I was still proud — I had been accepted to my dream school, one of only four people in my class. But as I shared my acceptance letter with my three class peers, we noticed that two of our acceptances were conditional upon participation in the “Summer Bridge Scholars Program,” while the other two were not.
SBSP is run by the University’s Comprehensive Studies Program. Established in 1983, CSP was developed out of the Black Action Movement’s three decades of coordinated, direct civic action, meant to be the University’s attempt to reduce divides in educational opportunities and aid historically underrepresented populations in higher education. SBSP’s specific goal is to bridge the gap “in opportunity created by inequitable systems in education.” It offers incoming students from these backgrounds the opportunity to build a sense of belonging and complete six academic credits during a summer in Ann Arbor. CSP and SBSP mean well; trying to make educational opportunities more equitable for every U-M undergraduate is a noble goal. The way SBSP is executed, however, perpetuates the inequity it seeks to eliminate.
The existence of SBSP is not advertised on the University’s Undergraduate Admissions website. After interviewing some SBSP admits, I learned almost all were not aware of the program’s existence prior to applying to the University, including me. For students admitted to SBSP, going to the University — a dream school for many — is contingent on starting in the summer term instead of the fall term they originally applied for. SBSP is branded as an “opportunity” for incoming students, but it’s also a requirement. Program admits cannot opt out of if they would like to attend the University as a freshman.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA freshman Tasnova Adrita, a member of the SBSP class of 2023, said that she was confused when she received her U-M acceptance letter, because it was unclear what SBSP actually was.
“My initial reaction, when I came, was that everyone (in SBSP) was first-generation,” Adrita said. “Some people were from low incomes. Did they just lump low-income people all together in Summer Bridge?”
Students are not given the reasoning as to why they were chosen for SBSP. After speaking with my SBSP class of 2022 peers, I learned that many of the admits did not have access to many Advanced Placement courses, if any, during high school. Some were the first generation in their family to go to college or came from a high school where few students attend the University. Students who are curious about how they were selected are given a general statement: “Staff from the University of Michigan Office of Undergraduate Admissions make determinations for SBSP based on a holistic review of your application, background, and interests.”
When committing to the University, SBSP admits must submit two FAFSA forms — one only for the summer semester and the other for the fall/winter term. Being required to pay for an extra semester that students never planned to take in the first place places a financial burden on low-income students like myself. Despite available scholarships, I still had to pay 60% of the summer costs, disrupting my plans to work and save for fall tuition. Furthermore, SBSP prohibits students from working part-time or engaging in work-study during enrollment, increasing the financial burden for those who had intended to earn money before starting college in the fall.
LSA sophomore Jacqueline Rodriguez, who was part of the SBSP class of 2022, said that she didn’t understand their policy on part-time jobs.
“I didn’t understand that. We had a lot of time on our hands, just having two classes. I was in my room for most of the day; it was horrible. And I was so bored because of that.” Rodriguez said.
SBSP students have the options of two classes: CSP 100 (Seminar in Academic Engagement) and their choice of CSP 103 (Foundations in Quantitative Reasoning and Literacy) or CSP 105 (Writing and Culture Seminar). CSP 103 is a precursor to MATH 105 (Data, Functions, and Graphs), the University’s pre-calculus course, which in and of itself is a lead-in to MATH 115 (Calculus I), the University’s introductory calculus course. MATH 115 is required for many U-M majors and minors. However, this places SBSP students two semesters behind their peers in math, contradicting claims on the program’s website that it provides a competitive edge for the fall term. If the program were to deliver on this promise, it would need to advance students’ math skills to at least the level of standard math sequences rather than leaving them to catch up starting with pre-calculus.
The SBSP Program, though not without its drawbacks, does provide students with the chance to live on campus for seven weeks and familiarize themselves with Ann Arbor before the fall semester. SBSP students are also automatically placed into the Comprehensive Studies Program, where they benefit from CSP’s small, exclusive classes and personalized academic advising — with a lower student-to-advisor ratio than the LSA Newnan Advising Center. Still, the University does not disclose the program’s effectiveness data — which could potentially alleviate concerns and improve perceptions of the program.
New SBSP admits are currently finishing their senior year of high school, stressed and excited as they prepare for the next four years of their life. But, these students will lose their last summer before semi-adulthood, as students go from having three to four months between high school and college to one to two months instead.
“To me, personally, it wasn’t as beneficial as it was to other students,” Rodriguez said. “I definitely see a lot of people coming out with friends that they are still cool with, still go out with. But to me, it was kind of like, since I just didn’t want to be there, I came in with a very negative perspective. I didn’t really enjoy it. It was a waste of summer.”
These questions of transparency, equity and effectiveness highlight the need for clarity in the SBSP selection process. SBSP has a noble goal of addressing education gaps and supporting historically underrepresented students, but the program’s execution often leaves admitted students confused, apprehensive and lacking agency.
The mandatory nature of SBSP, coupled with financial constraints and limitations on part-time employment, raises concerns about the program’s accessibility and effectiveness. As a public institution committed to diversity, equity and inclusion, the University must prioritize transparency in its implementation of initiatives like SBSP, ensuring that all students understand the real, nongeneralized rationale behind their inclusion and have the resources needed to navigate the program successfully. By fostering a culture of transparency and accountability, the University can fulfill its mission of providing an equitable and transformative educational experience for all.
Jovanna Gallegos is an Opinion Columnist from Lansing. She writes about technology, healthcare and things she finds interesting. She can be reached at jovanna@umich.edu.