The Entrada Scholars program at Calvin College will have a record enrollment in 2003.

Typically Entrada, a program designed to help ethnic minority high school students prepare for college (the word is Spanish for gateway) has about 30 students. This year interest in Entrada was so overwhelming Calvin committed to a significant expansion and will host over 50 students for four weeks this summer.

The program begins June 22 and ends July 17 and see students coming from all over the U.S. and Canada. The 50 students also represent a variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious denominations.

Entrada Scholars begin move-in at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Family Orientation for students and their parents begins at 5 p.m. in the Chapel Undercroft. At 7 p.m. the students bid farewell to their parents and officially begin their four-week journey.

The heart of the Entrada Scholars Program is a regular three-week Calvin College summer school course that Entrada students take with the Calvin students. A true college immersion program, Entrada sees the high school students not only take a regular class, but also live in the residence hall, worship and grow spiritually together, eat in the dining hall, study in the library, shoot hoops in the gym, order late-night pizzas, do a service project, get a heavy dose of computer skills -- in other words, have a typical college experience.

That, says director Rhae-Ann Booker (above), is the whole idea. "We want students to get a true sense of what college -- particularly Calvin -- is all about," she says. "At the end of Entrada, students have taken an actual Calvin class for credit and they've lived on campus for a month. The Entrada experience gives them a good look at what college life entails and what it takes to succeed in college. It also gives them a taste of what Calvin's unique brand of Christian education is all about."

All students accepted into the Entrada Scholars Program receive a full scholarship valued at more than $2,500. This scholarship covers the cost of Entrada, including tuition, room and board, books, supplies and activities. Additionally, scholars who come to Calvin following high school completion receive a $1,000 Entrada grant for up to five years.

Since its inception in 1991 over 350 students have attended Entrada. About 42 percent of those have gone on to Calvin after graduating from high school. Most of the other Entrada graduates also have pursued higher education, going on to attend a variety of local, state and national colleges and universities.