RENO, Nev. - NevadaFIT, the University of Nevada, Reno's premiere residential academic preparation program for incoming freshmen students, running this week through Thursday, gives incoming freshman an up-close and personal look at what it means to be a college student.

"College is not an extension of high school, it's not grade 13," Kevin Carman, executive vice president and provost for the University, said. "Students will learn the value of going to class, sitting up front, how to study with other students and where their resources, like the writing and math centers, are."

Typically presented to students in the sciences, NevadaFIT, modeled after Louisiana State University's BIOS program, is the first known boot camp style, intensive introduction to the rigors of academic life to move beyond the sciences, and spans all eight colleges and more than 40 majors across the University.

The primary goal of NevadaFIT is to prepare students for the pace, style and intensity of college courses. The program is open to all registered freshman, regardless of grade-point average.

"The program is truly across the spectrum of student abilities," Carman said. "National Merit Scholars can have as much trouble learning how to be college students as any other student. The program is very diverse and is representative of the most diverse freshman class we have ever had coming in."

NevadaFIT began in 2013 as BioFIT, a program geared toward incoming biology majors with 48 students participating. In 2014, the program was expanded to include 350 students in all eight colleges with varied majors including business, community health sciences, education, nursing, engineering, journalism and liberal arts as well as the physical and life sciences.

This year, the program is anchored in mathematics. Carman said research shows students who are successful with math in college have higher retention rates, take more credits per semester, have higher grade point averages, and stay on track in their majors to graduate in four years. NevadaFIT students will attend daily math classes that relate to their field of study to learn what to expect and what it takes to be successful in the classroom, as well as participate in the rigorous curriculum in real classroom settings planned by their respective colleges.

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"In the beginning, students may be shocked," Carman said. "Math is stressful. College is stressful. They may lose confidence as they go through the program, but when they emerge, you're going to see students who get it, who will be confident and have an understanding of what college will be like."

Participants are grouped in "packs" of six students led by a peer mentor. Many of these peer mentors participated in past boot camps.

"This isn't over at the end of boot camp," Carman said. "They continue to mentor students throughout the school year."

Vicente Gapuz, a junior at the University, attended the first BioFIT program in 2013 and returned last year as a peer mentor. This year, he will guide participants through lab tours.

"NevadaFIT students bond as they go through this intense experience," Gapuz said. "It's not just to help students stay in their majors, but to produce really good students. NevadaFIT is not just whether you are fit for college, but fit and match. It helps students figure out where they fit."

Course fees are used to pay student mentors. Funds were raised to offer scholarships to students who might not otherwise be able to afford attending NevadaFIT. More than half of registered NevadaFIT students' fees are being covered by donations, Carman said.

"Thanks to the generosity of our donors, students who qualify have their full attendance paid," he said. "We work hard to make sure any student who has financial need will be able to attend."