Two years after taking government and economics summer courses at Tri-State University Middle College, Kristy Carpenter of Bronson, Mich., continued her higher education, all right—at Harvard, the vanguard of Ivy League schools.

Although she said little could have prepared her for the academic competitiveness of Harvard freshmen, the TSUMC experience allowed her to preview the student-professor relationship and explore her personality in regard to classroom interaction. “It was nice to have the professor versus the teacher aspect. I enjoyed being treated as an equal (in middle college),” she said.

The graphic art major is photo editor for the yearbook at Harvard, where many students must make attitude adjustments in the rigorous atmosphere, she said. “Most just came from a high school where they were at the top, and now they come to the realization that someone will be better than them at something, and they’ll be better at something than someone else,” she said. She received an introduction to college social interaction at TSUMC, where “It was (awesome) to mingle with all new kids, most of them from the Angola area,” she said.

She also began her lessons on discipline at TSUMC. “I saw that the workload is up to you—there’s no hand-holding (in college),” she said. That taught her to rely on herself and to budget her time wisely.

She considered the middle college experience “a jump start on my college career,” and took TSUMC coordinator Sheryl Thomas’s advice in using it to prepare for the rigors of college.

While her ACT score at 31 exceeded that required by many colleges for their premier scholarships, she applied to Harvard and Yale with no real expectation of gaining acceptance. “I hadn’t really intended to apply to Ivy League schools,” she said. “My dad said, ‘You might as well apply.’ I thought it would be interesting, and the guidance counselor told me to go ahead and try. I never thought I’d get in, although I was hoping, because my whole town knew I applied.” Both Harvard and Yale sent Carpenter acceptance letters.

She recommended the middle college experience for any student considering higher education. “It’s definitely a good opportunity to work closely with the professors, and prepares you how to interact with them,” she said.

Registration for TSUMC courses continues through June 22 for summer term and throughout the summer for fall semester. For information or to register, call Thomas at 260.665.4307 or visit tristate.edu/tsumc.