FSI Online is a seven-week summer program that allows a cohort of entering students, who are first-generation college students and/or from lower socio-economic backgrounds, the chance to virtually experience the intellectual, co-curricular, and social life at Princeton prior to the beginning of the fall semester. The program offers scholars the opportunity to take ownership over their transition to Princeton by giving them the resources they need to shape their educational journey, while preparing to become future campus leaders and peer mentors.

After the FSI virtual summer program concludes, scholars have the chance to join the Scholars Institute Fellows Program (SIFP) during the academic year. SIFP provides students with mentorship, intellectual experiences, professional development opportunities, and social activities designed to enrich their Princeton career.

In short, you were invited because we are extremely excited about your clear dedication to scholarly learning, leadership, and community engagement and want to help make your transition to Princeton as productive and rewarding as possible. We believe that you will make use of an early exposure to Princeton’s resources in order to make meaningful contributions to the university community. 

We are particularly interested in providing this opportunity to students who have not yet had the chance to experience similar enrichment programs or mentorship experiences. In our holistic review of applications, we consider factors like intellectual curiosity, qualities of leadership and resiliency, the educational enrichment opportunities offered by the student’s high school, and familial educational background. While there is no simple formula for our process, EBCAO staff are happy to talk to you about whether and how the program might be a good fit. In the end, the decision to attend is yours to make—but we do hope that you join us!

FSI Online expanded in 2023, and we plan to continue that momentum, inviting approximately 300 students for the summer of 2024!

In the summer of 2023, FSI Online will be held virtually beginning with Orientation on July 2nd and 3rd. Classes begin on July 8^th. In-person move-in is on August 19th. The program concludes the evening of August 22nd.  

Each week, you can expect to spend approximately 20-25 hours engaged in academic, co-curricular, and social experiences. Approximately 12-15 of these hours will be held synchronously and another 8-10 can be completed, asynchronously, at your convenience.

The FSI Online calendar is grounded in Eastern Standard Time, but we recognize that Princetonians will be participating from across the world. We will do our best to schedule our programming, including the Ways of Knowing course, to make sure students living in any part of the world can become engaged members of our community.
 

As an FSI scholar, you’ll be enrolled in a for-credit humanities course titled Ways of Knowing. This seminar emphasizes critical thinking, reading, and writing, and allows you to engage with texts, fellow scholars, and your course instructor to dig deeply and creatively into questions about power, institutions, and identity. Having this course under your belt will help prepare you for text- and writing-intensive classes in the fall, and give you additional curricular flexibility to pursue other meaningful experiences, like scholarly research, service work, or mentorship opportunities. Finally, Ways of Knowing meets your Epistemology and Cognition general education requirement.

The synchronous components of Ways of Knowing include classes on Tuesdays and Fridays, a course-wide colloquium on Wednesdays at 12:30PM ET, and weekly small group and one-on-one meetings with faculty and undergraduate course fellows. Scholars can expect approximately 4-5 hours per week of synchronous work in this course. The asynchronous components include reading, a weekly speaker series, module work, and writing assignments. Scholars can expect to spend another 8-10 hours of time per week in asynchronous work.

 

By earning one credit over the summer, most FSI alums give themselves the option of taking a reduced course load in a future term, should this prove useful or necessary. Students in the B.S.E. program normally alternate four-course and five-course semesters over their four years at Princeton; students in the A.B. programs take at least one five-course semester in their first two years. FSI credit can be used to reduce their course load from five to four, or (in the case of A.B. students) from four courses to three during a semester.

In addition to our academic curriculum, FSI Online provides robust co-curricular programming for our scholars. This provides many opportunities for students to explore the seemingly boundless number of resources and opportunities at Princeton. By engaging with the many offices and resources that Princeton has to offer, FSI Online scholars get a head start on defining their pathways through Princeton, both as scholars and future campus leaders. Throughout FSI Online, you will participate in Meet and Greets, Office Hours, and workshops with university staff, faculty, and fellow students that will connect you with the many opportunities available at Princeton and ensure that you take the best advantage of them.

All FSI Online scholars will also be assigned to a “zee” (or advisee) group with a Virtual Community Advisor, an advanced undergraduate who will create community building and fun events each week. There will be 2 synchronous “zee” group meetings each week as well as two broader synchronous community events on Friday-Sunday. You can expect to spend about 6-8 hours in co-curricular activities each week.

No way! Without question, the primary focus of FSI is academic. But that doesn’t mean that Scholars don’t have fun. Our Virtual Community Advisers are experienced guides to all things Princeton, and will plan social activities throughout the week. These activities include dance parties, trivia games, and more. Scholars report that the friends they make in FSI remain good friends throughout their years at Princeton, regardless of the majors they choose, the residential colleges in which they live, or the clubs and teams to which they belong. They tell us that being part of a tightly-knit, diverse cohort by the end of the summer is a welcome relief from a worry that almost every new student faces.

Yes! The program is designed as a fellowship opportunity, so for students who receive any amount of Princeton grant aid, there is no charge to attend: the entire cost of the program is free, including tuition and any course materials. In addition, you will receive a stipend of approximately $1645 to offset living and program expenses during the summer course. Finally, students without a family contribution in their academic-year financial aid packages may qualify for no-cost travel arrangements (ground/air and 2-night local hotel stay) for you and two guests ahead of move-in on August 19th, depending on your distance from campus. If you choose to accept the invitation, we will follow up with more information about this travel program, so please DO NOT book your own arrangements prior to receiving this information.

 

We hope that you will join us! Students who have attended FSI in previous summers believe that the program was instrumental in helping them thrive in their academic, co-curricular, and social lives at Princeton.

Our former participants are eager to share their experiences with you! We encourage you to speak to a participant in last year’s program if you have any questions and are setting up open Zoom Rooms for just this purpose!

Given the popularity of FSI Online, spaces fill quickly. Although we will make every effort to accommodate all invited students, we cannot guarantee admission: acceptance is on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline for accepting the invitation will be in mid-May, please check back for a specific date.

To reserve your space in FSI, please refer to the link you received in your personal invitation.

Given that FSI will be conducted virtually, you will need to have certain technological requirements, including reliable internet access, the ability to video conference, browsing capabilities, and access to google docs. These requirements can be met by the equivalent of a Chromebook, for instance. We understand, of course, that some scholars might not have reliable access to these technologies yet, and every scholar will receive a stipend to help offset these costs. Scholars will need to participate from a location in which they can connect to the internet. 

Yes. If you have a summer internship or job that you plan on participating in over the summer, you must communicate this immediately with FSI staff. It is possible that you can participate in both FSI Online and another summer opportunity, as long as that opportunity does not take more than 20/hours a week and does not conflict with move-in on August 19th. You must ensure that you are still able to meet all of the FSI Online hour requirements, attend class, and participate in co-curricular activities.

We very much hope that you will join us for what we know will be an exciting, challenging, and rewarding summer. If you have any questions about FSI Online, please contact us at any time. We are happy to talk with you about the decision.

FSI scholars are considered full University students and are able to access various academic advising, tutoring, and co-curricular resources over the summer. In order to facilitate student connection to these resources, our office hosts regular “meet and greets” with our campus partners such as the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, LGBTQ Center, and Residential College staff.