Fifty Chinese students are among the 700 high school students from the United States and abroad on campus this summer attending the Cornell Summer College. The Chinese students are part of the Cornell-China College Preparatory Program (CCCPP) and have just arrived to begin their studies.

The six-week program, which ends Aug. 2, gives high school students from China a taste of university life on an American campus and helps prepare them for college in the United States.

"Usually, only Chinese graduate students get a chance to study in the U.S.," says Liya Rong, director of CCCPP. "This idea [CCCPP] is revolutionary."

The student group is composed of 35 girls and 15 boys who hail from seven high schools in China and represent the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Wuxi, Wuhan and Zhengzhou and the provinces of Henan, Jiansu and Hubei.

Forty-eight of the students have just completed their first year in high school; two have finished their second year. Five Cornell students will work with the students as their teaching assistants throughout the summer.

While on campus, the students take Cornell courses, earn college credits and also explore academic majors and tour Cornell facilities. Among the varied learning venues and topics are relevant health and safety issues, banking and money matters and the local transportation system. In addition, they participate in cultural and social events on campus and take weekend trips and excursions.

For more information about CCCPP, visit http://www.sce.cornell.edu/sc/cccpp/overview.php.