WHEN MICHELLE GAO helped out at Uni High's summer camp for local schoolchildren this year, she was struck by how excited the campers were about the idea of coming to Uni as students themselves.

Until, that is, they learned they would have to take an exam — the SSAT — to get in.

"By the way their faces looked and by their body language, [I could tell that] they were really, really upset by the fact that they had to take a test," Gao recalled. "So, I wanted to make that easier for them.”

The result? A free SSAT tutoring program, created by guidance counselor Sam Smith, English teacher Adele Suslick, and Gao herself, and staffed by Uni students, to help prospective applicants prepare for the exam.

The weekly tutoring sessions began Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. Sessions will run in five-week cycles, with approximately 10 to 15 volunteers and 15 students in each cycle.

At Saturday's session, eight volunteers helped out: Gao and fellow seniors Emily Chu, Ranny Ma, and Ethan Stone; juniors Avanti Chajed, Vaishnavi Giridaran, and Elaine Gu; and freshman Stefanie Senior. Gao said sophomore Nile Hamer is expected to join the group next week.

Gao hopes that the sessions will last until the final SSAT scheduled for 2007-08 (June 14), and that other Uni volunteers will continue the program after she graduates.

The program is aimed at minorities, with the intention of increasing the number of minorities at Uni, including economic. However, anyone is welcome to attend the sessions.

When asked if students would have to pay to get tutored, Gao exclaimed, “Absolutely not!”

The program is nonprofit and funded by Uni, which will cover expenses such as snacks. Uni students themselves have been a great help in donating books, Gao said.

In order to plan the program and tweak it, Gao and Smith held training sessions for the student volunteers. Volunteers were asked to give input, pointing out what characteristics they thought the program should have.

Uni parents also became involved.

"The Multicultural Parent Advisory Group is actually helping a lot," Gao said. "Rita Davis [parent of freshman Celinda Davis] has been there throughout the whole planning process, and the entire group said that they would help in any way possible."

So how will the tutoring actually work?

“We have a really cool system set up — we have little classes,” Gao said. “We’ve found really fun ways to teach.”

Although nothing is set in stone, Gao said the five-week cycle will work something like this:

• Week one: Icebreakers, orientation to the test, school tour, overview of the Uni application process
• Week two: Reading and mathematical training
• Week three: Writing and vocabulary training
• Week four: Reading and mathematical training
• Week five: Whatever needs to be worked on the most; fun games that have to do with memorizing vocabulary, logical thinking skills, etc.

"Overall, I think the first week for the volunteering program went well," Gao said. "There were a few bumps and things to smooth out, but that was to be expected because we had no idea what the kids would be like. I think that this first group is going to be really fun to work with."