Summer College for High School Students

Residential Experience

Residential College South

Summer College students live in the Residential College South, one of the newer residence halls on campus. The RC South is separated by gender into sectioned floors for Summer College, with undergraduate counselors residing on each floor to supervise residents.

Students will be assigned to share a room with one other student unless they wish to pay the cost of a single room. Students housed in the RC South enjoy playing ping pong and board games in its recreational spaces as well as games of football, soccer, and frisbee in the large adjoining green space. On evenings when there is live music in the Grove or on the Square, students may stroll up to take in the show or savor ice-cold snacks purchased from a local vendor.

Residential Co-Curriculum
When students are not involved in their academic program’s activities, they follow a residential curriculum developed to help students adjust to residence life, make friends, learn about college life, and develop skills to help them get ready for college. Activities include social mixers, skill workshops, tours of campus facilities, recreational opportunities, etc.

All Summer College students belong to smaller communities of fellow students, allowing them opportunities to get to know one another on a more individual basis.

Meals and Meal Plan
Meal plans are provided to all Summer College students. Additional meals are catered on a weekly basis in conjunction with our co-curricular events, and many students also choose to eat out on the weekends.

Students enjoy the freedom of the campus during the day but are required to return to the RC South for different co-curricular events and activities and must be in the residential building by 10 pm each evening. Students may not leave campus without supervision provided by the program.

The student recreational center, student health center, and other campus services are available to students while they are enrolled in Summer College programs.

Weekend Activities

Each session, students participate in planned Saturday and Sunday activities. Although most of these activities and trips are included in the cost of the program, students are still required to sign up at least one week prior to the beginning of the event.

The first weekend is all about exploring town of Oxford, MS, taking a tour of historic Oxford on the popular Double-Decker bus, shopping on the Square, and visiting Faulkner’s Rowan Oak among other activities.

Other weekend activities include a visit to the Mid-South Ice House in Olive Branch, MS; a themed party including an “Escape Room” game; and a trip to Memphis, TN, to visit museums, art galleries and tours, among other recreational opportunities.

Note: Some activities will depend on health restrictions, weather, and availability at the time of activity. Activities will be substituted as appropriate.

Going home for the weekend

We encourage students to remain on campus throughout the program in order to receive the full benefits of the residential college experience. All leave requests must be submitted through the Summer College leave form 24 hours in advance. We are not responsible for responding in a timely fashion to leave requests submitted in any other fashion. Leave must be approved by the student’s parent or guardian prior to leave form submission, and the program will call the parent or guardian when a student checks out, if the parent/guardian is not present at that time.

Getting to the University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi is located in the city of Oxford, in the north central region of the State of Mississippi. It is situated about 75 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee.

• Visit Oxford
• Get to know the campus

The closest major airport is Memphis International Airport. The most common way to travel from the airport to Oxford is by car or taxi.

All students must make their own arrangements to arrive and depart from campus. Our office offers courtesy shuttles for students to and from Memphis International Airport only on official arrival and departure days for $50 USD one way. If a student requires a shuttle, please complete the shuttle request form at least 15 days prior to arrival. Shuttle requests made after this period of time might not be possible to accommodate.  

Shuttle Dates and Times

Arrival/Pick Up Dates	Arrival/Pick Up Times
Sunday, May 26 (Lott and International participants only)	10:00 am and 4:00 pm
Monday, May 27	10:00 am and 4:00 pm
Sunday, June 23 (Lott participants only)	10:00 am and 4:00 pm
Tuesday, June 25 (International participants only)	3:00 pm
Wednesday, June 26	10:00 am and 4:00 pm
Departure/Drop Off dates	Departure From Campus Times*
Tuesday, June 25	7:00 am and 1:00 pm
Friday, June 28 (Lott participants only)	1:00 pm
Friday, July 26	7:00 am and 1:00 pm

*Estimated travel time from Oxford, MS, to Memphis International Airport is 1.5 to 2 hours. Please plan for the additional travel time when scheduling return flight plans.

Driving to Campus

If a student drives to campus and plans to keep their vehicle, they must obtain a parking pass from the Department of Parking and Transportation.

Move-In Information & Orientation

Summer College is housed at the UM Oxford campus in a residence hall designated specifically for minors and authorized adult residential staff. Arriving students must pre-register for arrival and departure using the links provided by email. For the convenience of all involved, students must move-in only during their assigned arrival times.

Move-In Dates and Times 2024 
All times are Central Standard Time (CST)

Student	First Session Dates	Second Session Dates	Move-In Time	Orientation Time
Summer College	May 27	June 26	10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.	3:00 p.m.
International Summer College	May 26	June 25	Upon arrival	TBD

Students will receive room assignment, class schedule, required book list, and Ole Miss ID at move-in. 

Orientation will be conducted online prior to move-in and is mandatory. A welcome session for students and parents will be hosted at 3 pm on arrival day.  

Move-Out Information

Students must check out of Summer College four (4) hours after taking their second final exam unless the exam is late in the day. You will be assigned a check-out window and must adhere to that time, in accordance with university safety protocols. 

Student	First Session	Second Session
Summer College	June 24 or 25	July 25 or 26
International Summer College	June 25	July 26

Some students may have a final exam scheduled on June 25th (first session) or July 26th (second session). We encourage students to make arrangements to move out immediately following their exam.

Health and Safety

The welfare and safety of all our students is the Office of Pre-College Programs’ and the University of Mississippi's top priority. We take safety very seriously and have policies and protocols in place that aid in the prevention and in the occurrence of emergent situations. Please keep in mind that the below requirements may be adapted in consultation with university officials as public health conditions change.

Students are expected to comply with all COVID protocols for the good of the community. Protocols may change according to changes in Federal, State, Local, and University guidelines. Violations of protocols may be considered minor or major. Major violations will result in program dismissal.

All participants and staff are expected to adhere to the following:

• Current UM mask guidance can be found on the university’s COVID-19 Information page.
• To the extent a mask is worn, masks should cover both mouth and nose.
• Participants and families are expected to take responsibility for self-screening prior to arrival at the program. In the event that symptoms are noted (fever, cough runny nose), the participant should stay home.
• We reserve the right to change or modify these guidelines depending upon local health metrics.

In the Event of Exposure to COVID-19 on Campus:

• Vaccinated credit students or those who have tested positive for COVID within the last 90 days who are exposed to COVID may continue to attend class and live in their room in their residence hall (RC South) as usual (unless they develop symptoms of COVID-19, addressed below). MSDH recommends they consider getting tested on day five and wear a mask around others for 10 days.
• Unvaccinated credit students who are exposed to COVID will be asked to quarantine in a designated "quarantine" room in the residence hall (RC South). They may still have their meal plan delivered, but they will not be permitted to attend class until five days from exposure and no symptoms have developed. MSDH recommends they consider getting tested on day five and wear a mask around others for 10 days.

In the Event of COVID-19 Symptoms:

• Regardless of vaccination status, if a student develops COVID-19 symptoms, they should be seen by a health care provider. If a student tests positive for COVID, regardless of vaccination status, they must leave campus immediately. Students should make arrangements to remain home or off-campus for five days and may return after five days if symptoms are resolving. MSDH recommends they continue to wear a mask around others for five days.

We will use the Student Health Center for care during business hours and Urgent Care for care after hours, as described below.

Students who must leave campus prematurely due to COVID are responsible for making arrangements with their professors. Please keep in mind that professors make their own decisions about coursework and determine what is fair – Summer College has no authority to affect professors’ decisions about their courses.

If the program experiences an outbreak, the program will close in compliance with University and State public health requirements. It is for this reason that we ask everyone to be diligent in self-monitoring symptoms, as we would not want students to miss out on the full Summer College experience.