FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions Fairfax Collegiate Summer 2024

Introduction

This summer, your child can have fun and learn. Since 1993, the Fairfax Collegiate Summer Program has provided challenging and engaging summer courses for elementary, middle, and high school students.

As the area’s largest provider of academic enrichment summer classes, we have a wide variety of offerings for students. We have courses in nine different subject areas, offered at locations throughout Northern Virginia and also available online. Sessions are two weeks long and run throughout the summer. All of our classes are half-day, and families can combine a morning and an afternoon class to create a full-day registration.

Registration can be completed online or over the phone. Please contact us if you have any questions we can answer for you!

Fairfax Collegiate classes are open to rising 3rd to 12th grade students. There are no eligibility requirements or applications.
A digital copy of our 2025 catalog will be available soon.

About the Courses

In-person classes are only offered on-site at our locations throughout Northern Virginia. Class meetings are 3.5 hours long (with a break partway through), and offer a social, hands-on experience where students can learn together with their peers.

Online classes can be attended from the convenience of your home, and work well for students who are independent and self-motivated. Class meetings are 2 hours long.

Curriculum and projects are similar for both the in-person and online formats, although due to the shorter class meeting duration, some activities that are offered in-person will be skipped in the online format. However, both formats provide students with powerful learning opportunities and we advise families to decide which format is best for them based on their child's preferences and their schedule and travel considerations.

Summer program instructors include undergraduate and graduate students at leading universities as well as area public and private school teachers.

As we get closer to the summer, photos and biographies of our staff members will start to appear on individual class pages. Please note that staffing assignments are subject to change without notice.

Please visit our Instructors page for a complete list of our staff members. The list will be updated to show the instructors for the upcoming Summer Program sometime in the spring. We leave the list up in the fall and winter as examples of the type of instructors who have worked with us recently.

Our summer program is an enrichment program, not summer school, and our motto is "Have Fun and Learn." All of our classes, including the most technical and academic, are designed to be engaging and entertaining as well as informative. We incorporate a variety of instructional techniques and activities every day in every course.
We have a detailed syllabus for every course. Most are available for download from the course pages on this website. Please contact us with questions about any course.

The in-person Summer Program does not include any mandatory assignments for students to do at home, although some courses may suggest supplementary tasks for students to complete outside of class if time permits.

Some online Summer Program courses will recommend work for students to complete outside of class time. This work is not strictly mandatory, but is highly recommended for students to maximally benefit from their class.

For example, in math and test prep courses, students may be asked to complete some tests at home to save class time for other activities.

Instructors will write and email brief, individualized reports on students' progress at the end of writing, reading, math, and admissions prep courses. Diagnostic test results are available in math and admissions prep courses upon request.

Instructors can prepare written remarks for other classes by special request. Families interested in this option should notify the instructor on the first day of class.

Classes typically maintain an 8-to-1 or smaller student-to-teacher ratio. The maximum ratio is 12-to-1, and beyond that, large classes will have multiple instructors or be broken into multiple sections.
No. Fairfax Collegiate is a private organization which is not affiliated with any school system. While our math and writing courses help provide academic support to your child during the summer, they will not count as credit for a similar course at your child’s school.
These are the rising grade levels that a class is geared toward. For example, Writing Fundamentals 3-4 is meant for rising 3rd and rising 4th grade students.

Locations and Times

Fairfax Collegiate offers in-person classes at locations throughout Northern Virginia, as well as online.

Please refer to the locations page for the list of in-person locations.

Please refer to the dates, times, and rates page for the times, which are different for the in-person locations and the online classes.
Please refer to the dates, times, and rates page for the times, which are different for the in-person locations and the online classes.

Students attending morning classes should enter the building starting at 8:15.

Classroom supervision starts at 8:15am, so if you arrive early we ask that you wait with your child inside your vehicle or outside the front door until 8:15am.

Students enrolled in morning extended care may arrive as early as 7:30am.

Students attending for the morning only should be picked up between 12:00pm and 12:15pm.

Students attending for the afternoon only should enter the building starting at 12:30pm.

Classroom supervision starts at 12:30pm, so if you arrive early we ask that you wait with your child inside your vehicle or outside the front door until 12:30pm.

Students attending afternoon classes should be picked up between 4:00pm and 4:15 pm.

Students enrolled in afternoon extended care must be picked up no later than 6:00pm.

Extended care allows parents to drop off their students before 8:15 and/or pick them up after 4:15, which are the typical arrival and dismissal times. AM extended care begins at 7:30, while PM extended care ends at 6:00. Extended care is supervised by our instructors, and students may play games, use their devices, or read during this time. Families can pay in advance to use extended care for an entire session, or they can drop in and pay the per-diem rate of $12/timeblock.

Lunch and Breaks

Lunch for full-day students is from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m., and students must bring lunches. We have microwaves for students' use at every location, and instructors supervise lunch.

For in-person classes, instructors supervise the morning breaks (10:00am to 10:25am) and the afternoon breaks (2:00pm to 2:25 pm).

Every location has an indoor break area where students may play games, socialize, and eat snacks.

Every location also has an outdoor break area.

Outdoor break activities vary by location - please contact us if you'd like additional information about break options at a particular facility.

Registration

Fairfax Collegiate offers online registration. With your Fairfax Collegiate family account, you can sign up for classes, add classes to registrations, fill out the Emergency Information and Permission Form, and download statements. You can learn more about online registration and begin the registration process on our summer registration page. Alternately, you can register by phone.
Children may enroll in one or two courses per session: a morning course, an afternoon course, or both a morning and an afternoon course.
When you register for the Fairfax Collegiate Summer Program, a non-refundable deposit of $100 per student, per session is required to reserve your seat in the class(es). The deposit will be applied towards your total balance, which will be due on June 1. Registrations completed and paid in full prior to the early registration deadline are eligible for a 5% discount.
The Fairfax Collegiate web site and online registration form only display classes that are available for registration. Classes that are at or near capacity may be marked as "(Call for waitlist)." To inquire about enrolling in these classes, please contact us.
Credits in your Fairfax Collegiate account are automatically applied when registering. To redeem gift certificates from a school, please contact us by phone or email before registration so we can apply the corresponding discount to your registration before you pay any remaining balance. If you have a promotional or referral code, you can enter it during registration to receive the corresponding discount. If you pay for courses and believe a credit did not apply when it should have, please contact us to resolve the issue.

Classes can be added through your account.

To change your student's enrollment or cancel a registration, please contact us by phone or email.

Please read Fairfax Collegiate's participation terms to learn more about our policies for registration changes and cancellations.

Pricing

Fairfax Collegiate's pricing is detailed on our in-person and online dates, times, and rates pages.
Families who register for multiple sessions of the Summer Program or for multiple children automatically get a 5% Multiple Session Discount or a 5% Sibling Discount (one of the two). In addition, families who register and pay in full before March 15 save 5% with our Early Registration Discount.

We do not add any taxes or hidden fees to the prices displayed on our pricing page.

The only additional cost is for adding on extended care, so make sure that you have not selected any extended care options if you do not need extended care.

For any additional assistance with pricing displayed on the online registration form, please contact us.

Fairfax Collegiate has a limited ability to offer need-based financial aid. To submit a request for financial aid, please send an email to registrar@fairfaxcollegiate.com with the following information: you and your children's names, your children's grade levels, the classes you would like your children to take, how much aid you are requesting, and any other details you wish to share about your financial situation that would help establish the need for financial aid.

It has been our experience that many families have successfully submitted their Fairfax Collegiate program fees to their FSAs, and we are not aware of any cases in which a FSA claim was denied.

That being said, we are not able to provide you with accounting advice and so we encourage you to check with your FSA plan administrator to see whether it is likely that your FSA claim would be approved.

Special Enrollment Requests

Yes, we permit registrations for students whose rising grade levels are within one year of the stated grade range. However, be advised that each course is designed for students whose academic and social skills are within the listed range of rising grade levels.

We are able to consider one-week enrollments, but we typically don't recommend them.

A student taking only week 1 misses opportunities to work on projects and apply what they've learned. A student taking only week 2 will be working on those projects at the same time as they try to catch up on the background info that was missed.

To request a one-week enrollment, please contact us with the class or classes you're interested in.

Fairfax Collegiate welcomes special needs students.

To ensure a successful experience for your child, we recommend that you and your child decide together whether the Behavior Code represents a comfortable fit for them.

We also strongly recommend providing a written copy of any relevant information on how to best work with your child, as well as any strategies or accommodations that you would like us to be aware of. This information can be sent via email to registrar@fairfaxcollegiate.com.

Please note that there will not be any professional special education staff or student aides on site.

Forms and Medical Information

Please refer to the forms page for the required forms.

Fairfax Collegiate locations do not have a clinic or professional medical staff on site.

Each location has a Location Director on-site at all times. Location Directors are First Aid/CPR certified, as are many of our instructors. Location Directors can assist students with minor injuries or administering medications (if requested by the parent).

Please review the Medication Policy and Authorization to Obtain Emergency Medical Care sections of the Participation Terms for additional information.

Other Questions

Fairfax Collegiate provides all necessary class supplies for in-person classes, but students are welcome to bring pencils, pens, notebooks, etc. if desired. However, Fairfax Collegiate does not provide any food and so students should bring their own snacks, and students enrolled for full-day programs should bring their own lunch.
Students may wear T-shirts, shorts, and sneakers.
Please review the Behavior Code section on the participation terms page.
Please visit our Jobs page for more information about employment with Fairfax Collegiate.