About

DVC Academic Consulting was founded in 1993 by Douglas Varela to address issues of underrepresented student retention in engineering and applied science at universities across the US. As an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley and as a graduate student at MIT, and Caltech, Douglas possesses unique insight into the characteristics and performance standards required of students for admission to and continued high performance at top tier technical institutions. During his 31 years of consulting to industry, academia, and non-profit organizations, Douglas designed, developed and delivered summer and winter programs for incoming freshman and continuing undergraduates in engineering and applied science. Extensive experience with implementing engineering training programs, instructor and student assessments, allows DVC to provide assistance to academia in student selection, preparation, and development.

 

In 2010, DVC Academic Consulting launched DaVinci Camp as one of its Summer Institute programs to provide talented and highly motivated young scholars with innovative academic opportunities that expose them to a diverse range of fields.

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The DaVinci Camp team brings a combined experience from mathematics, engineering and applied science, geology and planetary sciences, architecture and urban planning, literature, music and fine arts. The team focuses on delivering an exciting and high-value summer experience.

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At DVC, we believe that our young Latino students need to be academically competitive and ready to excel at the most selective universities. Gaining admission is not enough; they need to be equipped with the skills to be successful in these highly competitive environments. We are confident that our curriculum and mentors not only prepare, but inspire students to reach and surpass these expectations.