Almost 600 high school juniors and seniors will trade in a summer of work or sun-and-surf for the academic demands of Cornell University's Summer College -- the nation's oldest such program, now in its 36th year -- which begins June 28. "The attraction here is to test the waters in an Ivy League institution, to get credit and to practice going to college before beginning freshman year," said Summer College Director Abby Eller. "The six-week program is a real confidence booster for these teen-agers."

From June 28 through Aug. 12, high school juniors and seniors will take subjects ranging from anthropology and archaeology to psychology and rural sociology and earn letter grades and credit they can apply to a college degree. They also will participate in career exploration programs and study-skills sessions, where they will learn time-management skills for juggling the homework load, and how to take classroom notes. The life of a Summer College student is more structured than that of the typical undergraduate. Most days are filled with classes, study sessions and organized free-time activities, and students have a curfew of 11 p.m. on weekdays.

Summer College participants will come from all over the United States, as well as from 29 countries. And thanks to Summer College's special partnerships with private corporations, public foundations, anonymous donors, high schools and social agencies, 123 students from inner-city and other economically disadvantaged areas also will spend the summer studying at Cornell.

"This scholarship support really evens the playing field here and enables us to ensure that Summer College is an opportunity available to everyone," Eller said. Each full scholarship has a value of $4,950, the cost of tuition, room and board at Summer College.

This year, scholarship contributions to Summer College have climbed to more than $500,000. Tenneco, Aetna, Mobil Oil Corp. and Continental Airlines provide scholarships for students from Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, and private foundations offer aid to students from Washington, D.C., Hartford, Conn., and northern New Jersey.

Salomon Brothers Foundation supports students from Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn, and an anonymous donor supports students from Central Park East High School in Manhattan and University Heights High School in the Bronx.

The most long-standing Summer College partnership is with the New York City agency Boys Harbor Inc., where since 1992 an anonymous donor has provided scholarship support for more than 150 students. This year 20 Boys Harbor students from high schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan will attend the Cornell program, thanks to this anonymous support.

"The students may have the academic skill to excel in Summer College but not the financial means," said Kanari Blake, assistant director of Talent Search at Boys Harbor. "This scholarship aid is key to their participation in Summer College, which goes a long way to preparing them for college."

Competition among Boys Harbor students for scholarships to attend the program is fierce, Blake said. "To be selected, students must have at least an 80 average, be 'real go-getters' and have a history of participation in Boys Harbor activities," she added. "Students are beginning to improve their grades early on in high school so they can be eligible to attend Summer College and receive a scholarship."

There is no shortage of interest in Summer College at Boys Harbor. Blake said that students who return to New York after their six weeks at Cornell talk glowingly about the program, especially the opportunity to meet students from all over the world.

To hear these students talk so eagerly about college is important, Blake noted, especially when many come from families where the college experience is an unknown. "College to many of these families seems like something that is unattainable for their children," she said. "But after the students return home and share their experiences and speak of how well they performed, there is no turning away from college."

As one mother said of her son's Summer College experience, "Cornell opened his eyes to the world."

A Summer College Web site is available at http://www.sce.cornell.edu/SC/. For more information on Summer College, call (607) 255-6203.